I woke up one morning with a vivid memory of a dream in which a plant called Immortelle was calling me to come and visit it in my grandmother's garden. The call seemed important. “I had to go”, I thought as I woke up. However, the practicalities of such a visit seemed too much for me. Driving more than an hour in the middle of the week to Grandma's house, with a lot of work ahead of me, seemed far from reasonable. My reasoning overrode my feelings, and I decided to forget the dream and go see the Immortelle the next time I visited my grandmother in the distant future.
As I took my shower before getting dressed, my eyes closed for a moment to enjoy the sensation of water on my face. At that moment I got sucked into the vision of a plant with small yellow flowers, which said to me, "Come Serena, come and visit us today, it's important.” I opened my eyes and changed the temperature of the water until it was freezing cold to wake me up. I must have been still half asleep to see and hear a plant talking to me in the shower!
I dressed eagerly, headed to the kitchen, grabbed my yellow cup and poured in the herbal tea from Grandma's garden, the one she had given me for Christmas. As I turned the cup towards my mouth, a yellow flower escaped from the tea bag and stood in the centre of the liquid in my cup. An Immortelle. She said, "Serena, when did you grow up so much that you lost your sense of adventure and mystery? When you were little, you used to hide in my branches and discover every millimetre of life in your grandmother's garden. It's time to rediscover that taste, come and find us. You don't have a minute to lose, it's very urgent.”
At these words something in me was deeply touched, perhaps it was the child I had been to whom the flower was referring, the adventurous little girl who was always in her grandmother's garden. I can't say what exactly changed at that moment, but I decided to go and see my grandmother right away. I sent a quick email to my work saying that I would not be available today as I had to rush to my grandmother. I put on my coat and got into my car to drive to Grandma's house.
As I drove along the road, I saw the woods that had animated my childhood, the countryside roads that I had ridden with my bike and the houses of my childhood friends. A sense of peace came over me and I found myself smiling; I put on some music and hummed some songs. The distance that had seemed insurmountable, so many times too far to go, was covered more quickly than I had hoped. Grandma's house was a big white stone house with green shutters and mustard-yellow window frames. I rang the doorbell, a chime echoed through the house and I heard footsteps in the distance moving slowly towards the door. The door handle turned and a small woman, frail with age but alive with heart, opened her door for me. I couldn't help but throw myself into her arms.
- “Grandma, I am so happy to see you.”
- “My Serena, I'm glad you're here too, thank you for listening to the Immortelle, it was important, they're waiting for you in the garden, don't make them wait any longer. I'll wait for you in the living room.“
She knew about the Immortelle, I wanted to ask her how she knew about them, but she was already heading for the living room, her way of telling me that the discussion was over. I then went to the garden. What a delight to find it again with its little pond, its trees, its plants growing with strength and harmony, a little corner of paradise. I easily spotted the yellow grove of Immortelles. I approached with great steps, crouched down at their height and asked them:
- “I am here now, what did you want to tell me?”
- “Touch us," they answered in a whisper.
I gently moved my fingers towards their delicate flowers and was immediately transported on a journey to the centre of the earth. There I saw that their roots were intertwined with each other, but also with those of other plants, as well as my own roots, those of the animals and also of the house... Underground, in the invisible, everything was connected, everything lived in connection with each other. A blue substance, a form of liquid electricity circulated from one to another. "It's time to open your roots, Serena," the Immortelles told me.
I looked at my roots and discovered to my amazement that although the branches existed, the blue electric liquid was not flowing through them. I decided, as they had suggested, to open my roots to others and suddenly the electric liquid flowed through me, moistening with intense joy the interior of my being. I saw other roots rising towards the firmament and I was like a tree with its roots planted in the ground and its branches towards the sky. I discovered that just like me, all the beings, plants and buildings around me also had branches in both directions. As my branches reached for the sky, I connected with loved ones who had passed away: my grandfather Eliot, my dog Turbo and many others. They smiled at me. My grandfather Eliot came up to me with a smile and said: "We never left you, but what a joy that you can finally see us too! My Serena, nothing dies, nothing is born, everything changes, life is a circle and not a long line as we tend to imagine. Now that you know where to find us, Serene's mission is finally over and she can come and find me.”
At these words I opened my eyes suddenly, I was lying in the garden near the Immortelles, nothing had seemingly changed but everything in me had, I felt connected. I quickly got to my feet and ran to the living room. From her chair, my grandmother, with a tender smile on her lips, beckoned me to come closer. I crouched down beside her. I put a hand on her cheek and she put one of her hands on my face:
- “My Serena, thank you for coming today, now that you know, I can leave to find Eliot in peace. The house and garden are yours. I love you.”
- “I love you too, grandma, go in peace, I know where to find you.”
Her last sigh penetrated the space, I closed my eyes, saw the blue electrical strands again and as I climbed the highest branches of my tree, I saw Grandma's physical body rising to find her Eliot. The branches of Grandma's body gradually dissolved into larger branches and connected her to everyone and everything. She had become an Immortelle as well.
