Time to Grow

By Michael Kozubek

Dark Interior. Light Above.

Girl Bulb : I think it’s finally warming up above. Almost time to push out.

Boy Bulb : What’s the rush? I like it here. It’s warm enough. There’s still plenty to eat.

Girl: You really have no choice.

Boy: Why? Is this my fate?

Girl: It is– for both of us. And you’re an early bloomer.

Boy: I want more from life than living a short dull life, then shriveling up and die. I want to soar on winds or be king of the jungle, conquering all before me.

Girl : You’re a TULIP!

Boy: A daffodil actually, narcissus type. I don’t know how I got tossed in with this group.

Girl : You still bring beauty to others.

Boy: I don’t see the beauty in standing around all day in one place, swaying in the wind with bees poking at you.

Girl : Basking in the sun, looking at the trees and all the other flowers. That’s heavenly. Didn’t your mother teach you this?

Boy: I’ve heard stories of Uncle Ralph getting trampled by children and Grandma Lorraine eaten by a deer. Ghastly! It’s not safe out there. It’s safe here in our beds.

Girl : There’s nothing more sad than having an animal or human dig you out of the ground before you’ve had a chance to bloom.

Boy: This is what I was made to do, is what you’re saying.

Girl : That’s right. Push on.

Boy: You’ll miss me.

Girl : Some of us will be right behind you. I’m a late bloomer. I’ll see you in late Spring.

Boy: When I’m shriveled and old, ready to fade to nothing.

Girl : You can be re-planted and grow again next year. And if you’ve been a good flower, eventually you go to heaven. Or perhaps you prefer your karma? You be a good tulip and in a few generations or so, you can maybe become an oak tree or even a frog.

Boy: Sounds exhausting! Can I stay in bed just a couple more days?

Girl : It’s your time. Go!

Boy: Well, maybe I’ll see other daffodils out in the sunlight.

Girl : That’s the spirit!

Boy: Adios, my friends. May your short Spring be sweet.

Girl : You leave here a bulb. Soon you become a flower!

(short silence)

Boy: Stay back! Rabbits!

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