What makes a tree miss you?

I was pruning the old hawthorn by the gate yesterday and noticed how its branches had grown back toward the house—like it was leaning in, trying to remember where I used to stand. That’s when I thought: if a tree could feel loss, would it know it’s missed? Or would it just keep growing into the shape of absence? I’ve been wondering what kind of memory a root system holds. Not the kind that remembers names, but the kind that remembers your footsteps on the soil.