Tree giggles

an excerpt from my book, "Limora Gate"

..................................................................................

The next “Afternoon” was lightly attended and Limora guided Sally’s choice of seat – a pillow on top of an old milk can. It was so positioned that she could watch two of the grandest trees at once, separated by a corner support for the porch. On stage-left was an ancient oak, somehow alive despite a lifeless trunk with gaping cavities and gnarled roots. She had previously noted five special ‘fingers’ used by this elder for giggles. On the other side was a magnificent chestnut, a favorite for climbing kids and vigilant squirrels. It had a dozen laughing spots – maybe because the kids tickled. She focused on the five spots that were similar on both trees – mostly because she had worked out a system for recording the ‘messages’. She had calculated that there were 27 different combinations of giggles, but math wasn’t her best subject. Since that is a magic number she pounced on its importance and devised a chart to keep track of the signals. Her tick marks looked like ants on a slice of cheese.
“What ever are you doing?” asked Aunt Beth, peering with her glasses held far from her face. The truth never hurts.

“I’m studying how the trees giggle when one of you says something silly.”
“Well, Phil here will be pleased to learn that someone finds his jokes funny”
“Actually,” whispered Limora to Sally behind her eyes. “It is when you get serious that they really chuckle.”