My wife and I met at college. Like most universities, our school had a large open space in the middle of campus. Actually, it was inside the large circular drive at the front of the administration building, but it served as a sort of 'central quad' for us. There was a university sign out by the street, and a walk crossed the field near the street, running parallel. There were a few bushes near the sign and along the walk by the flag pole, but otherwise it was a large grassy space, perfect for stretching out on a blanket and pretending to study on those rare fall Indiana days when the rain stops and the warm breezes return. But there was one tree.
It seemed almost like an afterthought, really. It was a large deciduous, of a type I don't remember. Probably maple or some other kind that is common in the Hoosier state. It wasn't in the center of the circle, but set at one of the corners, not where it figured prominently in any official university photos. It did not grow like other trees. Near the bottom of the trunk, right at the ground, a large limb branched off and ran parallel to the ground. It was nearly large enough to be a second trunk, only horizontal, and perfect for sitting on and thinking.
Alicia and I used to sit there, not long after we started dating, and dream of all the possibilities that lay before us. She it was who dubbed it the Magic Tree. Many plans we laid there, and many visions and dreams we shared. I'm not sure if there was much real magic in the tree, as nothing we ever dreamed there came true in the way we pictured it, but it was one of the places I associate with the deepening of our love. I suppose, for me, that's magic enough.
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