The Lovers on 24th

Two Lovers stare at each other from across 24th avenue. They are the only lovers
in sight. Frozen in space, silent, they reach out for one another in hopes that they can one
day touch. They share the same dark brown skin, with his slightly rougher than hers. He
is slightly taller than her, but at first glance they appear the same. Cars zip by and
students rush to class, completely unaware of the inexorable romance budding around
them. After years of waiting, she is finally ready to bear children.
On one of his branches, the Diospyros virginiana contains the key to life. He is a
persimmon tree, and the only way to promote his genes is to use the flowers studded all
over his body. In a long stalk in the middle of the flower, a microscopic powdery
substance is produced. This powder is called pollen, and it contains the flower’s sperm
cells. As the cool winds send his potential children in all directions, he prays that a sperm
cell will reach his wife across the street. With a little bit of luck, his pollen soars over the
24th avenue traffic and finds one of his wife’s flowers. A narrow tube called the style
collects the pollen on its adhesive tip, and the pollen travels down a pollen tube where the
male and female sex cells unite. After years of reaching out to each other, it seems as if
the couple have finally made contact. One sperm cell fuses with his wife’s egg, while
another sperm cell fuses with the endosperm nucleus, the structure responsible for
feeding the new organism. Together the two structures form and sustain the early-stage
child. The process is long and tiring, but eventually they begin to see signs of life. After a
few months, she finally brings a child into the world. The fruit is a juicy berry- pale
orange with rosy red cheeks. For the next few months he sends off more and more pollen,
until his wife holds dozens of beautiful children in her outstretched arms.
As the summer comes to an end, the couple has accomplished their goal. Their
children, having grown up and matured, are nearly all gone. They go off to wherever life
takes them, fulfilling their roles in whatever way possible. Although the couple is sad to
see their children leave, they know that the extraordinary process will repeat itself again
next summer. As June comes around again, the gentle winds blow his pollen into the air
once more. For the second year in a row, the two lovers watch their children grow up,
mature, and go off into the world. Year after year she is decorated with children, and as
monotonous as it sounds, the novelty never wears off. They spread life for decades, until
one day a large truck comes to alter the landscape of love forever. On a cold winter day,
the grass around him is torn away, the buildings that surround him are knocked to the
ground, and eventually, he is sawed down. She watches- distraught and motionless- as
her husband is uprooted and loaded into the back of a truck. She cannot help, she cannot
scream, and she cannot cry. As the dust settles and the air clears, she identifies the
culprit: It is mankind, once again exploiting the miracle of nature’s romance for its own
benefit. The trucks drive away, the construction workers go home to their families, and
he is gone forever. Without him, she will never bear fruit again. She will never feel the
joy of children in her arms. She will never be complete.
One lover sits on the corner of 24th avenue. She is the only lover in sight. Frozen
in space, silent, she reaches out at the ghost of her true love in hopes that he will one day
return.