Page 84 - It Ends with Us

“It grew on its own,” I sai d. “Most plan ts do need a lot of care to sur vive.

Bu t some thi ngs, like trees, are strong enough to do it by just relying on
the mselves an d nobody else.”
I had no ide a if he knew what I was tr ying to say witho ut me coming out
an d say ing it. But I just wan ted hi m to know that I tho ught he was strong
enough to sur vive what ever was going on in hi s life. I di dn ’t know hi m well,
but I could tell he was resilient. Way more than I would ever be if I were in hi s

situat ion.
His eyes were glued to the tree. It was a long time before he even blinked.
Whe n he final ly di d, he just nodde d a little an d looked do wn at the gras s. I
tho ught with the way hi s mouth twitche d that he was ab out to frown, but
instead he ac tual ly smiled a little.
Seeing that smile made my he ar t feel like I had just star tled it right out of a
de ad sleep.

“We’re just al ike,” he sai d, repeat ing hi mself from ear lier.
“Plan ts an d hu man s?” I as ked.
He sho ok hi s he ad. “No . Me an d you.”
I gas ped, Ellen. I ho pe he di dn ’t notice, but I de finitely sucked in a rush of
ai r. Be cau se what the he ck was I supposed to say to that ?
I just sat the re, real ly aw kward an d quiet until he stood up. He turned like

he was ab out to wal k ho me.
“Atlas , wai t.”
He glan ced bac k do wn at me. I pointed at hi s han ds an d sai d, “You might
wan t to tak e a quick sho wer before you go bac k. Compost is made from cow
man ure.”
He lifted hi s han ds an d looked down at the m an d the n he looked do wn at
hi s compost-covered clothe s.

“Cow man ure? Seriously?”
I grinned an d nodde d. He lau ghe d a little an d the n before I knew it, he was
on the ground next to me, wiping hi s han ds al l over me. We were both
lau ghi ng as he reac he d to the bag next to us an d stuck hi s han d inside , the n
smeared it do wn my ar ms.
Ellen, I am confide nt that the next sentence I am ab out to write has never

been written or spoken al oud before.
Whe n he was wiping that cow shi t on me, it was quite possibly the most
turned- on I hav e ever been.