21 Maria’s Grove Madi Filber In a grove, twenty minutes from the edge of town, was a young adult who struggled with everything ‘adult’ that was happening in her life. Maria had come to this grove ever since she had found it twelve years prior. Twelve years prior, she was eight years old, living in the old farmhouse just over the hill in the distance, and was giving her mother a panic attack because she had wandered to this small section of trees that stood alone in the field of grass and mud. She was a curious child and Willow, her over-hyper childhood husky, had caught a glimpse of something that Maria had to know Willow was following. The grove was like heaven on earth. The trees were perfectly straight, there were no weeds, and a small pond ended the small grove. The grove was the only thing perfect in the entire field. The rest of the field was full of rocks, uneven patches, and even the old farmhouse ruined the ‘image’ of the field in Maria’s mind. Now that Maria had started her third year of college, she didn’t feel the need to come out here anymore. Not that she didn’t need a mental break, she did, but she believed that she was drowning her problems by never being alone. If Maria came here, she would be alone, fearing another human being would ruin the beauty. Willow was the only one to experience this grove. After she had passed, Maria refused to let someone bond over the grove like Willow and she had all those years ago. “One day we’ll have a grove like this all to ourselves, Willow,” Maria would say as Willow’s head rested on her leg. She hadn’t visited this spot in three years, but today she felt the need to. She needed to see the perfection of the forest to remind her of her own perfection, even if Willow was no longer around to experience it. She waded her way from the road farther and farther away from her allwhite vehicle. Her perfect nails and perfect hair were a complete contrast to the imperfect dirt beneath her feet. The contrast between her ‘old life’ and her ‘new life’ was completely black and white. Her old life was what her parents wanted: quiet, non-confrontational, and family oriented. Her new life was loud, protesting, and self-bettering. Maria’s parents were forgiving but unrealistic. Old-fashioned was the best way to describe them. She loved her parents, but their way of life and what they wanted for Maria were out of the question. Her parents wanted her to get married right after college to Spencer, the boy she grew up with from the church they attended once, if not twice a week. Maria had gone to a small school nearby with Spencer. His parents and hers had constantly hung out, so the two kids were destined to spend time with one another. Willow, what do you think about Spencer?” Maria would ask. Willow would give her usual head tilt. “Yeah, I don’t really like him either and you’re probably not the biggest fan of him because he won’t pet you.” He was a nice kid but he was bland. He made vanilla taste like cayenne pepper. He was so ungodly boring. He wore the same two pairs
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