DAUGHTER OF THE TREES
FLASH FICTION
COMMENSALISM | RENATE ALLER
Commensalism 11, 2023, Photograph, archival pigment print, Ed 1/15 22.5 x 34 inches © Renate Aller
By Victoria Gonzalez
The woods had an essence that drew her in, something real and true. On lonely afternoons, she went down to the pond. She recited her prayers softly, for the mountains and the valleys to hear, and then, she undressed. Shed her garments onto the dirt. In an act of purification, she dipped her body into the murky water, feeling her skin softened by its moisture. Afterwards, she made her way around the trees, just as she did as a child playing hide and seek, blessing each one with her touch. For hours they confided in her, sharing their ancient wisdom, telling stories of love and loss, heaven and earth, war and reconciliation. In them, she found unconditional friendship, absent from the outside world.
In the wake of a lethargic Appalachian summer, there was nothing else for her to do other than bask in her solitude and welcome the trees as her intimate companions. Many have written about the crossroads between woman and nature, yet no one knew it as well as she. When she embraced the tree, bare skin on the mossy bark, she became as it was: uncomplicated, free of all feeling, complete. She became fluid. As the seasons changed, so did she, as the tree carved deep roots into the earth, so did she. She repeated this ritual, until it gave way to her metamorphosis. She became one with the towering trunk and the spidery branches. Still utterly herself, and simultaneously part of the ecosystem that gave her a home.
December 2025
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Article originally published online at museemagazine.com
https://museemagazine.com/culture/2025/12/8/vp10c0sxt5zoomvxupvn0st745smjj