Francesca and Darcie were walking leisurely down 12th avenue, enjoying the last rays of the early spring sun on their way home. It had been a long week of classes and both girls were ready to just sit back and enjoy their few days off.

The snowdrops had been popping up for a few weeks and now so were the occasional bunch of daffodils. Trees were turning greener and birds chirping with a little more assertiveness. It was finally spring, no doubt about it.

A few blocks after turning up McGuire the girls conversation faded and Francesca’s gaze settled on a small Japanese maple at the edge of someone’s garden.

She smiled and let out a small laugh to herself.

“What’s so funny?” asked Darcie, somewhat puzzled. “It’s that tree,” said Francesca pointing it out “I just think it’s neat.” She smiled. “It looks like a little version of a regular big tree.”

Darcie almost stopped in her tracks laughing. “You know Cesca sometimes you just sound like such a stoner.”

Even though she had felt a slight sting at the dismissive comment Francesca laughed along. How could she deny it? She did in fact smoke weed, and what she had said did sound rather dopey, but she had said it in all seriousness. She knew she had a different way of looking at things than her roommate but Cesca didn’t quite think it was worthy of such a disdainful reaction.

You see, Darcie had just seen a small shrubbery; but for Cesca it was a chance to see something familiar in an unfamiliar way. To her it was a new perspective. She was seeing an ordinary tree as if she herself had grown a tenfold.

Cesca was a giant in her world suddenly, and even though she knew it was a childish untruth, she had relished in it briefly.