First published in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy July 1954
A woman has had what seems to be a love affair with an old apple tree. She goes to see the dried up old tree one last time to break up with it for good, but for some reason eats the apple that rolls down the hill behind her as she leaves.
That night she gets violently ill. Their farm is far from the hospital, and she dies from what the doctor ends up ruling appendicitis before her husband can get her there. Seven or eight months later her husband and father-in-law visit her grave and find an apple tree growing in the field.
It’s obviously a quirky story but I like the mise-en-scène.
Cast of characters
- Lori Patterson
- Steve – Lori’s husband
- Ed – Lori’s father-in-law
- The apple tree?