Tree of Life

Warnings be damned, she had to do something. Patty put on the bright orange safety vest and carefully picked her way out into the flood waters. The dirty brown river was cold, unseen things brushing against her pant legs as the passed, and she didn't want to think about what may be coming downstream in the muck toward her as she tried to reach the stranded horses.

The farm was an island now, and the water that blocked her way was rising but still running slowly enough that she could make it back across. She opened the gate and grabbed the halter of the nearest panicked horse, patting its broad cheek gently and speaking to it kindly as she led it into the water. The whites of its eyes showed as it waded through to the other side, one of the other horses following behind. The mare's kin, she figured.

Another trip across, and the water was getting dangerously high. It sloshed around her buttocks and splashed her gut so that she began to shiver. One horse left. She grabbed its mane since it had no halter and began to gently lead it across the swift, brown waters. Halfway across, her feet were swept out from under her, but her hold on the horse's neck helped her regain her footing.

Five feet from the bank, the other horses waited and called to the third as it awkwardly climbed the slope to safety. I've done it, thought Patty. Then her feet slipped again as did her hold on the horse.

Screaming, she struck out for a branch, or fence, or anything to hold on to, but there was nothing. Trying to keep her head above the swirling waters, she paddled as best she could toward the nearest shore. A branch connected with her head from behind, and everything went black.

***

Coughing water from her lungs, Patty came to. Despite a throbbing headache and being half drowned, she managed to stand up and look around at where she had ended up. Patty had no clue where she was. The flood waters had left her in a marshy area, the churning brown river now several feet away as it receded. How long had she been out?

She gently touched her head and found a good sized lump where the branch had clobbered her, then she realized that most of her clothing had been torn off in the waters. Beginning to shake from the chill, she looked around and began stuffing big pads of moss into her remaining clothes to keep warm and wished for some dry firewood. Looking in every direction, she could see no trace of civilization, only marsh and swampland for miles. Some large white birds called as they flew overhead, and suddenly she felt very alone.

Several hours later, hypothermia was really beginning to set in. "Must... keep core body temperature... up..." she said out loud, just to hear her own voice. She rubbed her bare arms and watched the river mud pill up into little rolls and fall away. Suddenly she heard a low rumbling... was it another flood? An earthquake?

A bright red helicopter appeared from behind some distant trees. Gasping with panicked hope, she tore off her safety vest and waved it in the air as she jumped up and down. "HERE!!" she screamed, "HERE! OH GOD, PLEASE COME GET ME!!"

The helicopter stopped, then turned toward the moving orange dot. She had been spotted.

***

Night fell as Patty finally got out of the shower. It had taken what seemed like hours to get all the grime out of every crack and crevice of her body. The on-demand water heater allowed her to crank it up as hot as she liked as she scrubbed off the scum, lathered her hair three times, and rubbed fragrant herbal soap all over. She even used her exfoliating sugar scrub, her special facial wash, and a gentle vaginal douche for good measure. Patty couldn't remember when she had gotten dirtier, or when a long, hot shower had been so delicious.

She still wore her towel around her head and was doing a final cleaning job under her toenails when she felt a pang. "Goddamn period," she muttered to herself. "And I just got clean too. Ah well, this is just the ovulation pains... it'll be a couple of weeks before the flow starts."

But somehow... something in the back of Patty's mind knew that it felt different... that it was in the wrong place. And it wasn't so much the light cramping of ovulation as a strange, unfamiliar... something... that she couldn't put her finger on. Not painful exactly, but not comfortable and normal either. Pushing it aside, the weary woman climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning she went to her County Search and Rescue debriefing, was reprimanded for not requesting assistance despite her insistence that the horses would have died without her, and was urged to get a medical exam in case she had been exposed to a hazardous disease in the floodwaters.

Patty drove home, the last of the rain continuing to keep the streets wet. Her mind wandered and she found herself parked in the garage, not quite remembering how she got there. "Stress," she murmered to herself as she got out of the car.

As she stood up, the odd feeling returned... not a cramp exactly, but some kind of dull pulling feeling in the vicinity of her uterus. It was getting stronger, so she took a couple of ibuprofen and relaxed on the couch with a heating pad as she flipped on the television. Almost immediately the feeling increased, a pressure building up where the heating pad rested on her abdomen.

Feeling a little ill, Patty decided to turn in early. The office was still a mess anyway, and it would be days before the ground floor was cleaned up. Her boss had called to let her know that she wouldn't be needed for a while, so she had volunteered for a Search and Rescue volunteer shift...

Getting into bed, her mind wandered back to the day she had saved the horses. She curled up on her side to try and relieve the uncomfortable feeling inside as she fell asleep. In her dreams, ocean waves turned into horses, and as she sat on the beach, the horses galloped inside her vagina and filled her body until she became water too.

Jerking awake the next morning, a welcome shaft of sunlight came through her bedroom window. Patty smiled as she opened the blinds and let the sun bathe her in warmth. Instantly, the pressure returned to her belly and the smile faded. It was getting worse, and she began to think that maybe a trip to the doctor was in order in case she had gotten an infection or something from the dirty waters. She closed the blinds again, and the pressure disappeared.

Patty stopped and thought. She opened the blinds, allowing the sun to hit her pubic mound, and the pressure was back with a vengeance. She closed them again, cutting off the sunlight, and it subsided, but not completely this time. Frozen to the spot, she opened the blinds a crack and let the sun shine only on her arm. Only a little sensation. She moved to her face, only a little twinge from her belly. She let the sun fall on her belly and pubic area, and the strong, sudden pushing sensation almost brought her to her knees.

But it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Still curious, now she got the heating pad and applied it alternately to her belly where her womb was located, and alternated it with sunlight. The heat stimulated the strange feeling, yes, but sunlight made it go wild. Her crotch began to tingle slightly now as well.

Standing in the sunlight, she allowed the feeling to grow inside her. She began to breathe a little more rapidly, and ran her hands over her belly as she prepared to masturbate. She reached the soft area just above her pubic hairs and began to tease herself, then realized with a shock that its shape had changed since she had last been there. There was a distinct bulge now... why hadn't she noticed it when showering yesterday?

She felt the bulge, and it was firm. Definitely something there. And the longer she stood in the bright morning sunlight, the more pressure she felt from within. Was it... growing? Right before her eyes?

She became more stimulated, even though she wasn't pleasuring herself. Patty began to feel her vagina moving slightly, an exciting pressure growing there as well. Still she stood in the sunlight, enjoying the sensations it was creating within her body. Overcome at last, she began to finger her slit as she felt her pussy stretching deep inside, Yes, she decided, her belly was getting larger. She massaged the growing bulge with her free hand and became even more stimulated.

Still standing in the sunlight that was somehow creating this rapid change in her, Patty felt the skin of her belly begin to tighten as it grew even larger. Her cunt was so large now behind the tight ring of muscle at its entrance that she could feel it pushing against both her anus and her increasing womb. At last she came, her quickly moving fingers stimulating her clit into release as the sunlight did its work too.

Sinking to the floor, still in the shaft of morning light, she closed her eyes and panted as the orgasm subsided, but the sensations inside still increased. Patty shuddered with another wave of pleasure as something began pushing out from between her pussy lips. She opened her eyes and saw a thumb-sized, pale green shoot emerging from between her legs, its large leaves slowly unfurling as it moved to collect the sunshine.

Transfixed, and sure now that she was dreaming, Patty simply sat on the floor and watched what was happening to her. The shoot grew larger as it continued to slowly push its way out, and she could feel the moving stalk begin to stretch her slit open as two more eight-inch leaves unfurled themselves toward the sun.

She pinched herself to see if she were awake, and it hurt. The stalk continued to issue from her vagina, and her belly continued to grow. She pushed on her belly and could feel a hard knot within that slowly increased as two more leaves began to open.

Finally shaking herself out of her shock, she scrambled up and closed the blinds, causing the plant's growth to cease. She stood shaking, her legs apart, looking down at the green, heart-shaped leaves that quivered as well, tickling her belly. Patty tentatively touched the substantial leaves, and they were velvety on the underside with thick veins. Exploring further, she used her fingers to follow the stem downward, feeling the smooth surface and the union where the leaves emerged from it.

She continued, feeling her way down the shaft and trying to hold the leaves out of the way so she could see what she was doing. She found the point at which the thing emerged from her vagina, and shuddered again with the feeling of it, her inner muscles twitching against the hard form.

She now used her finger to go inside, following the stalk deep into her cunt where she found its point of origin -- it was going into (or rather coming out of) her womb. With her other hand, she pushed on her swollen belly and felt the pressure of a large, lumpy form within pushing back.

Patty knew she had to get help. She called for an emergency appointment at the hospital that night (knowing the dangers of exposing her belly to daylight) and headed for the kitchen. There, she found her pruning shears in the drawer, and, holding her breath as if it might hurt, severed the shoot as close to her pussy lips as she dared. Exhaling with relief, she had felt nothing. A pale juice slowly dripped from the plant's wound. Patty grabbed some loose-fitting clothing and sat down to wait for the sun to go down.

Over the next few hours she only felt a small amount of growth, and by evening, when she was ready to leave, the inch of new shoot protruding from her pussy was sliced off to make the drive easier.

At the hospital, the doctors were baffled at first, but some X-rays showed what had happened -- a seed from some large tropical plant had somehow been washed into her vagina during the flood and had germinated in the moist, dark warmth of her body. Experts were called in, and it seemed that a careful abortion-like procedure would do the job of getting the root ball out of her uterus.

The next morning she awoke after the surgery of the previous night, and immediately noticed that the hard pressure inside her had gone. Patty felt a mixture of relief and loss... she understood the relief, but why did she feel as if she had actually had an abortion? Shaking off the grogginess, she had a hospital breakfast and then slowly drove herself home. But a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right remained.

She left a message on the machine at work that she would miss being there the next day, and took some pain killers for the dull throb that was in her gut. Damn doctors, she thought... then wondered why she had. They had helped her, hadn't they? They had all been very kind, and worked hard to ensure that she wouldn't be embarrassed...

Patty went into the kitchen and saw the shears she had used to cut the plant. A bead of dried liquid rested on the blade and she shuddered involuntarily. Getting a small glass she took a shot of brandy to calm her nerves. Something scratched at the back of her consciousness.

Later in the afternoon, after two more shots of brandy and some bad television, she took some more pain killers and laid down for a nap. Rest is what she needed now. Wonderful sleep. The dreamless sleep of the dead after such a trying 24 hours.

Some time later she awoke, stretched, and noticed that it was dark outside. A terrible flavor in her mouth made her get up and brush her teeth, then she used the toilet. The doctor warned her that there might be some faint traces of blood, so she wasn't surprised by the droplet of pink that appeared on the paper, but something wasn't the same. It was thicker than urine, almost as thick as tree sap. It looked just like the droplet on the blade of her shears, and she stared at it for a long time before wiping again. Another droplet, just like the first.

She figured it was residue from the roots and tried to shrug it off, but when she stood up, a familiar pang visited her womb. Patty froze and felt her lower abdomen with her hands, but couldn't feel anything inside. She took a deep breath (not realizing that she had stopped), and strode toward the bedroom. Another small pang. But she didn't feel frightened at what might be inside her body. She wondered at this feeling... this strange, welcoming feeling of hope. Hope that it might happen again.

Irritated with her foolishness and trying to shake off any bizarre, romantic notions, she strode swiftly into the living room and landed hard on the sofa, determined to live a normal life as if none of this had ever happened. She grabbed the TV remote and savagely changed the channels, found some random reality show to numb herself with, and got up to get some more brandy. Another little flutter in her womb. Or maybe it was her period this time? Perhaps a little pang of ovulation?

Tossing her hair and ignoring it, she wrenched the whole bottle (or what remained of it) off the counter and swung back onto the sofa where she was soon fast asleep.

At some point in the middle of the night, she awoke to find that the television was still on, and hazily watched a couple of commercials as she woke up enough to go pee and move to her bed for the rest of the night. One commercial in particular, however, caught her attention. It showed a spray for tough weeds, like dandelions, and showed how if any of the root was left behind when you pulled it up, a whole new plant would grow from that tiny bit of root.

A tiny bit of root.

They hadn't gotten it all.

A cold feeling shot down her body as she felt something again. Was it a cramp? It felt like the little dull pain she got when ovulating sometimes... she could feel it on the left side, right about where her ovary was. Yes, that had to be it. Patty laughed roughly at her own wild imagination, grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes and getting up from the sofa. A wave of feeling shot through her belly and made her gasp... but not from pain... from pleasure.

She straightened up and felt another movement from within accompanied by another sensation of pleasure and a little dull ache in the vicinity of her left ovary. Still slightly groggy from awakening and from the remnants of the alcohol, her mind tried to work sensibly as she tottered down the hallway to the bathroom. But nothing made sense at 4:00 in the morning under these conditions. Sitting down to pee, the change in position caused another movement from within, and another tingle of pleasure in her pussy. Wiping carefully, she saw another pink droplet of the thick, sap-like liquid. The act of drawing her hand across her slit gave her a chill of desire.

Standing up, another movement in her belly, another tingle of pleasure (were they getting stronger?), and another dull pull at her ovary. Her mind wouldn't focus, and she decided to simply ignore it until the next day as she crept under the warm, soft covers of her bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

Having turned the alarm off and enjoying the warmth of her comforter, Patty slept in quite late. She turned over and was awakened by the dim awareness that something wasn't quite right in her body. She felt a familiar pressure from within. Did she have to pee? No, that wasn't it, she decided as she rolled to her other side and was rewarded with a strong wave of stimulating pleasure in her cunt. Then her eyes opened wide at the thought of what it might be. She felt as if Christmas morning had arrived, then caught herself... what in the world was she thinking? What if the damn thing was back?

Yes... what if it was?

She slowly reached down and touched the skin of her lower belly where the root ball had been before. She breathed deeply, then pushed inward with her fingertips.

Something was there. Something firm and irregularly shaped.

It was back.

Trembling, she withdrew her fingers and examined her feelings as she drew the blankets up around her chin. For a long time she laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching the light play there from the top of the window where the blinds didn't quite meet. The blinds.

She noticed that the lips of her slit were pulsating with her heartbeat. She slowly reached down with her right hand and began to play with herself. It felt so good. The thing inside her was somehow stimulating her, and she responded. She loved it, the life within her womb. It was hers. Nobody had to know about it. She could keep cutting it off and nobody would ever know.

A feeling of dismay hit her, and she stopped moving her hand. She could never cut it again. It wasn't right. It would be like cutting her own body. The memory of the sap on the clippers haunted her now, like a murder weapon. Patty got up and went into the kitchen, the movement of standing up from her bed causing the form inside her belly to push against her in different ways. Pleasant ways. Unconsciously, she rubbed her belly as she walked.

She went into the kitchen and threw the clippers into the trash, then noticed what she had been doing. Taking her hand away, she saw that yes, there was a bulge inside her again, her skin stretching to accommodate it. Staring down, she rubbed it again, feeling the new shape, caressing the tightened skin, welcoming it into her heart.

Patty called her office and explained that she had just had surgery for a... uterine growth. A benign uterine growth. Yes, she was fine. But it would be a few days before she could go back to work. Maybe a week. Or two. Depending on what her doctor said. She would let them know as soon as she was coming back.

She absently hung up the phone and went back to the bedroom. The morning light strained to enter but the blinds prevented it. She could feel the plant inside her straining as well. It needed light. She could give it what it needed. She climbed onto the bed and crouched there on her knees, facing the window, preparing herself for what she knew would happen. She could feel the root growing restless, the slow movement and increasing pressure causing her pussy juices to begin flowing and her inner thighs to tingle. Patty opened the blinds.