I hesitated, but I saw she gripped it so that its roots were freed. I dropped to my knees and spread the roots, loosened and sifted soil about them, covered them, filled the hole energetically with Zora who huffed across from me.
We three tamped it down.
Cesca stood back, assessing, tipping her head slightly. "It's straight."
Once again I tried to smooth my hair, but with
more attention to it now. I thought I could have gazed at the beautiful
sight of the tree planted for an hour but I turned my eyes, quickened with
curiosity, to our visitor. "I'm Cella, and this is Zora."
"Cesca," she responded, with another movement
of her head like a little bow and I noticed the laughter dancing deep within
her eyes. It caught my heart up into an amazing twirl.
"My it's hot, and we've been at that tree forever it seems. Would you like some lemonade?"
"That would be splendid."
"You were passing on the road? Have you come far?"
"It did not seem so," she said.