My dear Tree

Story written in co-authorship with Paoz

The rain fell slowly as I walked aimlessly. It was a Tuesday afternoon, an ordinary Tuesday with nothing to do after school, not the best day, not everything had gone as well as it usually does. However, I don’t feel so heavy as I walk along the seawall and feel the rain on my face, while strangers pass by without noticing that I’m here.
  
After walking in the rain, I decided to sit under my favorite tree, the one that has watched me grow all my life. Under its branches there was a dry place, jealously guarded for me, protected by the green branches of the tree that awaited my return.
 

In the fall it was fascinating to feel its dry leaves falling on my head, every year I eagerly looked forward to experiencing those unforgettable moments again, which I enjoyed more than anything else. But this time there would be no fall by the lonely tree, the monstrous yellow machines were getting closer and closer, as the new highway kept expanding for the benefit of people who had never stopped to rest under the shade of my tree and who surely wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t there.
  
I don’t understand why they wanted to take away the moments we had left to live. It was my only friend, I shared my joys and my frustrations with it, it comforted me during my sad moments, but all of that was about to end. At first I wanted to save it, to oppose the machines, the workers, to get help to save its life, but time passed while I planned, and no one around me seemed to care about a tree, and the construction moved forward day by day until it reached here, just a few meters away from my tree.

Perhaps this is the last afternoon I will spend sitting under your branches writing poems that no one will ever read, it’s useless, I did everything I could but they won the war. I just want to thank you for always being here, offering me your great shade, for being my only friend and for keeping all my secrets, I will never forget you, I will always carry you in my memory, my dear tree.

The sun disappears on the horizon, taking with it our last moments together, painting the sky above us purple. I don’t care who looks at me, for the first time since I met him, I hug him and shed a tear for him. It’s time to start anew on the path that will take me home. I will miss him so much, but not everything good will last forever.

The sky is already clear, the rain has gone away and the stars are already lighting up the sky. At home, I await a scolding and a punishment, I don’t care. I can’t stop crying as I leave the pier and walk into the streets that will take me home.
  
The alarm clock rings again to remind me that I have a long day ahead. For a moment, I had forgotten what they surely already did to my tree. Tears flow again from my eyes, sliding down my cheeks, it was inevitable, however I had to get used to living without him. I take my backpack and realize it’s too late for my Literature class.

Another day, classes pass one after another, but I remember nothing of them. All my thoughts are on him. When I return home, I don’t want to pass by there and see him lying on the side of the road, agonizing. I don’t want to go that way, but it’s the only way to get back home. I will have to endure the great pain this will cause me. I feel so powerless and guilty because I could have found some way to save him, however it wasn’t that way. I will be a witness to this misfortune.

Each time there is less time left to reach that place, I turn the corner, my eyes never leave the sidewalk, I see the cracks in the ground pass under my feet with every step I take. Suddenly, some muddy black boots appear on my path, before I can stop, my head hits a bright orange vest, I lose my balance and that man catches me in his arms, preventing me from falling. Meanwhile, I hear a deep, strong voice telling me I can’t pass, that the machines are working and the path was closed for a couple of hours. I look around, the whole area is covered by sheets that prevent me from seeing the other side, I only hear the machines moving, I hear hits and loud noises. In front of me there is only a passage to get home, I cover my ears with my hands and run until I get home, my parents get worried, it’s the second day I arrive crying, but it won’t be the last.
 
I lock myself in my room, I try to do my homework, but the pain prevents me from doing so, I can’t concentrate. After a while I decide to lie down on the bed, I play a little music to relax and look at the stars through the window… finally I manage to fall asleep because another day awaits me.

Days pass like this, one after another, with my mind lost between sleep, crying and wakefulness, until one day a conversation brings me back to reality:
- “Did you see how the highway turned out? They opened the section of the promenade today.”
- “No, not yet… I think I’ll pass by in the afternoon”…

After finishing classes, after thinking about it for a while while lying on the green grass, I decide to go see what I’ve been waiting for for a few days. The pain had returned again, slowly under the sun’s rays and with the breeze I walk toward the promenade… I turn the corner, it’s hard for me to lift my eyes, the passing of a car at full speed scares me and makes me look ahead, right there, in the big median strip at the center of the road, a garden full of flowers shines with the sun’s rays, some butterflies play among the plants and fly into the air. A bird, scared by a car passing by, takes flight and lands on a tree whose branches are familiar to me.

No, it can’t be, maybe I’m just dreaming, but I react when I feel the rain wetting my face and I realize it’s true, my dear tree is there, where it has always been waiting to cover me with its great shade… my tears flow with happiness, I feel an immense joy that is hard to describe.

The rain intensifies, carefully I cross the avenue and approach my old friend next to his trunk, a dry place waits for me. I know it’s my imagination, but it seems like I hear his voice telling me:
- “How long?… I was waiting for you”
- “Sorry, it’s that the idea of losing you caused me a great pain, and it was impossible for me to pass by here, I missed you so much friend and here under the rain I want to promise you that no one will ever separate us, I’ll never let anyone hurt you, even if I have to fight against everything around us”.

I sat under his shade and played that song, the one that my tree loved so much …