My student, Delia (surname undisclosed) in year 10 did me proud when she submitted this piece of writing to me for homework. She said she took “years” to write this, so I hope you appreciate her aging for this story. Enjoy!
Title: Treeeeeee
My friend is one hundred and nineteen years old. According to my grandpa anyways. My friend is tall, unique and always listens to me. In fact, she is so tall, that if she had eyes on her highest point, she could see over the top of the forest. Every autumn the ground surrounding her would be covered with radiating golden leaves. Every spring, she would shine like a lit candle in the darkness. She is the best friend in the world. I called her the Golden Oak.
I thought it was a fitting name. My grandpa told me the Golden Oak’s first leaves were golden yellow and that they sprouted with the sunrise. Strange though, he had said, they had sprouted in autumn, when the leaves are suppose to fall off. It also grew acorns which attracted many cute squirrels. The acorns were the size of my fist. My tree is special
My Grandpa and I used to sit under that tree everyday, and he would tell me stories. When no-one felt like talking, we sat against the trunk and watched the sunlight dance on the clear crystal water of the river. When the sun set, we would follow a hidden trail, slowly back to our house. There my dad would be waiting. He’s always worried that we’ll get lost or something. Our house is small, hidden within the centre of the forest. We have everything we needed right here.
***
“What’s wrong with you?!” the Macdonald manager yelled at me as I attempted to clean the oily floor. Jeez, it was just a bit of oil spilt, nobody died. Yet.
“If you spill another drop of oil, you’re going to be sacked. Got it?”
I nodded glumly. The manager left the room, leaving me alone to vent my anger onto the slippery floor. I scrubbed hard.
A bit too hard. My hand slipped across the oily floor and punched into the steel tank of oil. A loud dong echoed around the whole room. The manager came tramping back, just in time to see the large tank fall and roll across the floor, spilling litres of oil into the room. There was a moment of silence. Then I stood up slowly,
“It was an accid—”
“GET OUT!” The MacDonald manager’s face was as red as the ketchup you never get with your fries unless you asked for it.
I flew out. So fast that I left an image of myself behind. Better go before he makes me clean that up too, I thought.
Great, this is the sixth job down the drain. I stopped running after a bit, and slowed down to a walk. I walked past a nuclear factory which was filling the air above it with grey smoke. Suddenly, I felt so tired. I was overwhelmed with grief; finding a job, then getting fired two minutes later, six times in a row. I sat down on the concrete path and stared at the traffic driving past. Across the road was a timber factory, which also had a grey aura surrounding it. I wrapped my arms around my head and tried not to cry. I thought of what to do next. My parents won’t be pleased when they find out MacDonald’s fired me, so I won’t go home. For now anyways. I am pretty strong… strong enough to knock over a tank full of oil. Perhaps I could find a job that needed strength. Then I realised, it was because of my strength that got me fired in the first place. I laughed silently into my arms at the irony.
Then it hit me. I looked up and saw that it was a sheet of grey paper that hit me. Angrily, I tore it away, and my reaction changed in an instant. I had found an answer to my problem.
***
My grandpa’s old now. He can hardly walk around the house, let alone walk to the Golden Oak. He would stay at home, and teach me how to write and count. Dad was busy doing business over the phone with other people and I was old enough to follow the tracks. So I walked there myself.
I sat at the base of the Golden Oak and leaned on it. I watched the silver fish glide in the crystal water from the river. One fish. Two fish. Three fish, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine fish. Ten fish. There were a few more after that, but ten was all I could count up to. There seemed to be less fish in the water than before, and the water would sometimes flow onto the bank of the river.
It is spring. All the leaves on the trees in the forest were lusciously green. All of them except for the Golden Oak. The leaves on her were all scattered, and they were still yellow from last autumn. I climbed the tree, which swayed a bit under my light weight. The top branches were practically bare.
I stayed there in the tree for a while, watching the sun rise. It was pretty hot for autumn; I could feel my neck turning red. I retreated back down under the pitiful shade of the tree, and followed the hidden trail back home.
***
‘Low on pay? Don’t have a job? Don’t mind a bit of fresh air? Well, we’ve got a perfect job for you. Call ### for more details.’ That was what the newspaper said.
There was a telephone booth nearby. I ran into it and punched the numbers in.
“Hello, welcome to the Timber Factory. We provide quality timber for our customers. For more information on a certain product, press 1. If you are currently seeking work, press 2.” I pressed 2.
“Please wait a moment until one of our staff members is free to talk to you.” Then an annoying tune came from the phone.
“Hurry up; I only have 3 dollars 25.” I growled, just as the tune abruptly stopped.
“Hello, how may I help you,” A female voice spoke on the other end.
My face reddened. I hope she didn’t hear that.
“Um… well, I… bought a newspaper, and found your ad… Are you still hiring workers?” I crossed my fingers.
“Oh, no sorry, we have enough woodcutters at the moment. Please call—”
“NO! I mean, wait, please hire me… err, I am experienced at… woodcutting.” It wasn’t really a lie… I saw people cutting wood at the Easter Show. It looked easy enough.
“Hmm, hang on a second then.” The annoying tune was playing again. I probably have less than a dollar worth of time left.
After what seemed like hours, a male voice spoke to me.
“Okay lad, you say you were experienced? Got arm strength? Ok good. Seeing as I have more than enough workers already and you’re the last one, I’ll pay you 5 dollars less.” This guy seems used to bossing people around. I’m guessing this is the manager.
“Uh sure—”
“Okay, good, meet you tomorrow morning, at 6am. Be here on time, or we’re leaving without you. Any questions?”
“You have 5 seconds left” A different voice came from the phone.
“Yes- I mean, no, ok, see you tomorr—”
Beep, beep, beep.
I was hired. For 5 dollars less than everyone else. But I was still hired. I was so happy. There was no way I’m going to be late for tomorrow. I looked across the street again. I was already at the Timber factory and it was getting late. I decided that the corner of this street is going to be where I sleep tonight.
***
“It’s dying,” my grandpa had said. “The Golden Oak is dying.”
“But… Why??” I was shocked at the statement he had made. He didn’t look like he was joking. In fact he looked, in some ways, like the Golden Oak herself. His grey hair was falling out, and there was a bald patch on the top of his head.
“Global warming,” grandpa replied with an effort. He fell back asleep after that.
“Golden warting? Is she growing warts?” I was confused. I tried to ask dad what grandpa meant, but dad was busy talking to someone on the phone about wool-cutting. That’s strange… we don’t have sheep.
That night I fell into a restless asleep with a head full of questions.
***
I woke up from a restless sleep to the sound of cars driving past. I slowly stood up, looking around me. The sky was still dark, but there was a hint of orange amongst the clouds. The edge of the sun can just be seen over the Timber Factory. There was a huge truck in front of the Timber Factory. Oh no, don’t tell me I slept in. I ran towards the truck as fast as a person that just woken up could. I didn’t feel very well. I didn’t have dinner last night and hard concrete doesn’t make a very comfortable bed.
I hobbled around the front of the truck and found eight tough looking people standing in a line. There was also a fat man in a tight, well-ironed, black suit holding a clipboard.
“Ok, seems like everybody’s ready! Start boarding already! I’ll be expecting a truck full of beautiful wood when you lot get back!” the man in the suit shouted. I recognised his voice. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday. He turned and walked towards the factory.
Nobody noticed me. I attempted to moderate my breathing, smoothed down my oily hair, and ran up to the man in the suit. I tapped his shoulder from behind,
“Excuse me—”
“ARGH!! A tramp’s attacking me!!” The man made a big arm waving motion as if to wave me away. He almost toppled over. The eight men, who were in the middle of boarding the truck, turned around and glared at me. More than one of them tensed up their muscles, and started to reach for their hatchets.
My face reddened.
“No! No! Um, I’m one of the woodchoppers. Um… I called yesterday, and you hired me.” The man continued staring at me in disgust. “For five dollars less…?” The man’s eyes slowly softened a bit, and scanned me from my oily strands of hair to the hole in my tattered shoe.
“Ah, you. Hmm. Are you sure it was five dollars less? I could have sworn I said fifteen dollars less. As you can see, I already have more than enough people.” He indicated to the men who, by now, sensed no threat to the man and continued boarding the truck. He wrinkled his nose, and he slowly turned away to leave.
“OKAY! Wait! Yeah it was fifteen dollars less.” Whatever, I was desperate enough.
“Get on board then, you’ll get your pay when you come back.” He said without turning around. I ran onto the truck. The men glared at me again. Oh boy, I don’t smell that bad, do I? There was no more room inside, so I sat outside, where there was no cover from the blazing hot sun. But it was better than sitting with a bunch of people who gives you killer glares every second. The truck started moving. It bumped along the uneven road, away from the timber factory, away from the grey clouds of smoke.
***
“Honey dear, let’s go and visit the Golden Oak.”
“Yay! Okay, we haven’t been there together for so long. I miss being with you there, grandpa.” He just smiled back at me, eyes shining. I took two apples with me, in case we got hungry.
The walk there was awfully slow. I would pause every few minutes for grandpa to catch his breath. I didn’t know why, but watching him was really heartbreaking. Grandpa had to use a wooden walking stick to keep balance. I wanted to speak with him, but he hardly had enough breath to walk, so I just walked beside him, thinking of my friend in the middle of the forest.
Finally, we reached the Golden Oak. Grandpa limped towards the base of the tree trunk and sat down slowly. His breathing slowed down after a bit, and he started counting the fish in the river.
“Look, two silver fish just swam by.” Grandpa held up two bony fingers. He was trying to teach me to count again. I didn’t mind, fish were more interesting than counting hours at home.
“One, two fish.” I counted after him.
“Three fish, four… there’s the fifth one…six, seven…” He continued counting with his fingers on his other hand, paused for a minute, waiting for the next fish.
“Three, four, fifth, six, seven…” I repeated.
“…Eight fish… that one took a while to come… Nine.”
“Eight, nine… look I see ten!” I said as the tenth fish swam by. Two more came after that, but I forgot what was after ten.
“Yes, that was ten.” He smiled, closed his hand into a fist, and then pointed, “That’s eleven, and that’s twelve”
“Elephant and elf!” I said happily.
“Eleven. Twelve.” He smiled again. “And guess what? If you count to twelve, ten times, that is how old the Golden Oak is turning today. One hundred and twenty.”
He leaned his head against the Golden Oak, and slept. I thought about what he had just said. Up to twelve… ten times? One hundred and… twenty? That sounds really old.
***
Soon, the scenery gradually changed. I sensed it before I saw it. The atmosphere was fresher, the skies appear to be bluer, and the grey clouds were replaced by pure, white fluffy shapes. I decided to fall asleep for a little bit, seeing as I may need full strength later. It wasn’t hard, the truck bumped softly along the rocky road, and there were no noise out here at all. No traffic to wake you up.
“Oi, dude, get up. You weren’t paid to sleep mate.” Okay. Maybe there were grumpy looking guys to wake you up, but at least this time it wasn’t to the sound of the busy traffic.
I looked around. There was not a factory in sight. In fact, there were no houses here at all. Just a forest full of green trees. I glanced back at the hired woodcutters. They were unloading their equipment and eating the food they packed. My stomach growled. I walked away quickly in the other direction, before I jump on one of the men for his thick sandwich. To keep my mind off the thoughts of food, I followed a faded trail towards the centre of the forest. There were so many trees in the one place. The ground here was soft and littered with leaves, instead of hard footpath littered with rubbish.
After a few minutes of walking, I decided to head back before I faint. I was parched, and starving. Nobody would look for me amongst these trees. I turned around and that’s when I heard it. Running water. The soft splashes of something swimming in water. I turned back towards the direction I was going before and ran towards the sound of trickling water. Suddenly I burst into a clearing.
***
I laid the leaves out. Twelve golden leaves in each group. Ten groups of leaves altogether. I stood by the base of the Golden Oak; grandpa was still sleeping on the other side of the trunk. So this was how many years my friend had been through. Unbelievable. I knew my grandpa didn’t lie. I wonder if grandpa was this old.
“We’re going to be friends forever,” I told the Golden Oak.
Then, out of nowhere, a hideous looking person came trampling over my carefully laid leaves.
***
The scenery had just changed from green to orange. Before my eyes was the biggest tree that ever existed. I couldn’t even see the top of the tree, as all its branches were in the way. Attached to those braches were golden leaves illuminated by the bright sunlight. The tree’s trunk was so thick, that if two people hugged the tree from opposite sides, their fingers won’t reach each other. There was a small river too, water sparkling like the diamonds on for sale in the city. There was also a small girl gaping at me.
“Harr…” I guess this is what happens when you haven’t drunk anything for days. I cleared my throat, and tried again.
“Hello little gir—”
“Are you a monster?” The girl stared at me with her head tilted to one side.
I stared back. Honestly, I don’t look that bad. I guess no shower for a few days must have made a lot of difference. I ran my fingers through my oily a couple of times and attempted to wipe the grime off my face. And just made it worse. I grinned at her.
“No little girl, I’m a hired woodc—” I was cut off again. This time by my stomach growling at me. My face reddened. The girl giggled at me. How much further can I embarrass myself? I wondered. The girl was holding something in her hand. It was red, shiny and it looked delicious. It was an apple. My mouth started to drool just from the sight of an apple. I literally flew at her and snatched the apple out of her hands. Before she even blinked, I was holding a few apple seeds and the stem of the apple.
“Um, you’re welcome.” She said once she realised what just happened.
“Can I drink from the river?” Without waiting for a reply, I kneeled on the bank of the river and slurped noisily. I drank until I could hold no more, and I stared at the river. It wasn’t as clean as it appeared a few metres away. There were fish swimming too. Well half swimming half being carried along with the flow.
Then someone groaned agonizingly behind me.
***
This person looked even worse than my dad in the morning. I spotted a hole in his pants when he bended over to drink from the river. I hope he doesn’t choke on a fish. I wondered where he came from; he doesn’t look as if he has a home. A loud groan interrupted my thoughts. I ran around the Golden Oak.
“Grandpa, grandpa, we have a visitor! He like apples.” I told him. Grandpa tried to speak, but his voice came out hoarse.
“Water,” was all he managed to say. I looked around for a container for the river water, but found none. So I gave him my other apple instead. The stranger stopped drinking from the river and stared curiously at grandpa. I guess he didn’t notice grandpa lying hidden behind the tree.
“I want an apple too,” He mumbled. He looks funny, I thought. He reminded me of a squirrel who couldn’t find an acorn.
“Okay, you wait here. I have lots of apples back at home. My dad collects from the forest. And I’ll get a cup too. You can stay here and talk to my friend.” I told him. Without another word, I turned around and skipped towards my house.
***
Yay, I was going to get another apple. My mouth was starting to water again. I walked around the big tree and found the little girl’s ‘friend’. He didn’t look very well. He was old, his hair was grey, and there a bald patch at the top of his head. His eyes were unfocused, and he was holding the apple as if he didn’t know what to do with it. I stood there staring at him, trying to figure out what to say. ‘Hi, I’m from the city, and I was hired to cut down trees’? I stared at the helpless figure lying against the tree. He looked as if he was dying.
I searched my pockets, and found a small Swiss knife. I took it out and walked towards him.
***
I followed the path back with ease. The path was pretty well hidden, but after years of walking the same path, it was as clear as pointing arrows. I opened the door to my house. It was never locked; nobody else lived out here but my dad and grandpa. I found grandpa’s old cup at the side of his bed, and a basketful of apples. I was about to head back out again, when I saw my dad giving me a questioning looking at me.
“Where’s grandpa?” He asked me, clearly worried.
“He’s sitting beside the Golden Oak. Don’t worry, he’s safe. The Golden Oak is Grandpa’s friend too. Plus, there’s this hungry person that likes apples looking after him.” I told dad. It didn’t make him less worried. In fact, it made him look even more worried than before.
“WHAT? You don’t just leave grandpa like that with strangers! What were you thinking? There are woodcutters in the forest today! Take me there now.” He looked angry.
“Woodcutters?” That person who snatched the apple off me doesn’t look like a woodcutter. “But he’s with the Golden Oak.”
“The Golden Oak. The Golden OAK. IT’S JUST A STUPID TREE!! Take me there now.” I was fuming with anger that my dad called my friend stupid. He doesn’t understand. He never visits the Golden Oak. I took the cup and the basket of apples with me and lead the way. It was slow with dad following. He doesn’t know the hidden track.
I was halfway there when I heard a loud, continuous, bloodcurdling scream.
***
I flicked open my knife and sliced up the apple he was holding. I divided it into 4 large pieces so he wouldn’t choke, and handed him one. He took the slice of apple off me with shaking hands, and smiled at me.
“Thank you,” he whispered and he started nibbling the apple with the teeth he had left. He said ‘thank you’ to me. Someone acknowledged me. I was happy beyond words. I grinned like a madman. I walked around the tree and was about to start dancing when I saw the eight woodcutters glaring at me. They were all holding recently sharpened hatchets, and one wearing earmuffs had a chainsaw. The grin was wiped off my face.
“Dude, where were you? You weren’t paid to frolic in the forest, mate.” One of them said, clearly irritated.
“Grab an axe. Let’s get rid of this big thing first” The man with the earmuffs and chainsaw jerked his head at me. Without another word, seven of them split up into the forest, leaving me alone with the man with the chainsaw. He started it up. The noise was terrible. It echoed through the whole forest, scaring all the animals and birds away. He walked towards the big oak tree.
“WAIT! There’s someone behind that tree.” He couldn’t hear me. I ran around the tree and spoke to the old man.
“There are people here to cut this tree down. You better move.” I tried to make my voice soft and light, but he didn’t seem to hear me over the noise. The chainsaw man advanced towards us. He waved his hand angrily, trying to tell us to move away. I could hear the chainsaw getting louder and louder. I looked at the helpless person against the tree. His wooden walking stick lay beside him.
“C’mon.” I carefully lift him up and carried him to a safe distance away from the tree. He was lighter than I expected. I could feel his backbones stabbing into my arms. I heard a weak protest from him and he resisted feebly. I placed him on the edge of the clearing along with his wooden stick before the chainsaw man steps on it. Then we watched as the scene unravelled before our eyes. The merciless chainsaw made contact with the thick trunk of the old oak tree. It produced a loud, shrill cry. Golden orange leaves glided down like light snow. Without warning, a blurred figure flew past me. As the air cleared itself of leaves, it revealed a little girl attached to the dying tree.
***
I panicked. The scream came from the direction of the Golden Oak. I forgot all about leading dad, and ran. The apples and the cup dropped out of the basket I was carrying and rolled onto the ground. I was running so fast, the trees around me turned into a green blur. The continuous screaming was getting louder. I was getting scratches and cuts from twigs sticking out onto the path. I took no note of them.
Finally, the Golden Oak came into view. But something was wrong. The Golden Oak stood upright before. Now it was leaning to one side. There was also a tough looking man standing below the tree, where the gap on the tree was getting larger and larger. I dropped the basket in shock. Without another thought, I ran with the speed of the wind and flung myself onto the Golden Oak.
The noise was terrible. My head felt like bursting. The tree was shaking. My whole body was trembling. The tree stopped screaming. Complete stillness hung in the air. It was as if the whole forest was holding its breath. The silence was then broken by another loud scream. This time, it was from me. The Golden Oak was falling. Towards me. I couldn’t move. My arms were still attached to her thick trunk. Something pushed me onto the ground. The last thing I heard was a gruesome crunching sound.
***
It seems to me that every single job I do, hard or easy, I always manage to screw it up. This one was no different. My fatal mistake this time was placing a walking stick next to an old man. It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t know a dying man can still move. It wasn’t my fault he rushed to the dying tree because of the sudden appearance of the girl. It wasn’t my fault that he now lay crushed under the gigantic tree.
I looked away from the awful sight, and saw another man appeared into the clearing. He took one good scan of the scene and he stalked towards the man with the earmuffs. They then started talking, with quick glances towards me and the fallen tree. To put the blame on me no doubt. Suddenly, I just couldn’t handle it anymore. The realisation of events swept over. The eight intimidating woodcutters. The old man and the innocent girl both laid crushed the huge oak tree. Nothing to eat but a small apple for days. I’m not even going to get paid. My legs gave away and I fainted onto the soft forest floor.
***
I woke up. My head still throbbed from the deafening noise. I looked around. I was back at home, lying on my comfortable bed. I tried to remember what happened. A hungry stranger. Apple. Dad’s angry face. The Golden Oak screaming. Me screaming. Something pushed me. Someone’s bony hands, with fingers he would hold up to teach me how to count. Grandpa? Where was he now? I stood onto the floor, and the whole room tilted. I sat back onto the bed, willing my head to stop throbbing. It was painful; it felt like someone beating hammers inside my head.
Eventually, my head stopped spinning, and I got up more steadily. I ran outside the house, and was about to head off in the direction of the Golden Oak, when I saw dad just standing there. His shoulders were slumped, making him look shorter than usual.
“Dad…?” I said softly to him. He turned around slowly, revealing his tired face. His eyes were red, with dark shadows under them. He looked ten years older than before. “What’s wrong? Where’s grandpa? Where’s that stranger? ”
He didn’t respond. He just looked past me with those scary eyes. Then he turned around again, hiding his face. Now all I could see was his slumped back.
“He died.” He said with a hollow voice.
“What…? Where? How?” I rained him with questions. But he didn’t say another word. Realising he wouldn’t budge, I decide to find things out myself.
So again, I swiftly ran through the forest on the hidden track, towards the Golden Oak. This time, dad wasn’t here to slow me down. My apples still lay scattered across the track. I found Grandpa’s cup on the forest floor, and took it with me. I kept my head up, trying to see my friend’s golden leaves as I got closer. I never saw them. I quicken my pace. There were still no golden yellow leaves visible. The clear blue sky, which was usually hidden by the golden leaves, mocked me.
I was nearly there until I stumbled over something. It was the funny apple person. Though, he didn’t look very funny now. He is lying on the ground, chest moving up and down. Didn’t dad say he died or something. I looked up. The Golden Oak was still there, also lying on the ground. Her golden leaves lay scattered around her. There was a short thick stump where she once stood.
***
I slowly regained conscious. There is a small figure standing near me. I was pleasantly surprised; I thought she got crushed as well. She looked sad though. I felt sorry for myself, but that was nothing compared to the little girl. I am stuck in the middle of a forest; the truck had probably left ages ago. But this girl had her friend crushed by probably the thickest tree in the world. I struggled to get up and express some sympathy for her.
“Arr… sossee….” My voice came out raspy. My throat was so dry. The girl turned around, surprised by the sound.
“You’re alive! Where’s my grandpa?” The old man was her grandpa?
“Heth…” I clasp my throat in pain. The girl went and fetched a cup of water from the river. She handed me the old tin cup and stared at me curiously. I accepted it gratefully and drank it in one gulp. I found a basket of apples nearby, and starting munching on them.
“Do you have a home?” She asked. I thought about the simple question. My parents never noticed I existed. They’ll kill me when they find out my seventh job went down the drain too. And how am I supposed to get back even if I wanted to?
“No.”
“I have a house; it’s in the middle of the forest. You can live there if you want. We have showers too.” This girl was just too kind. Doesn’t anyone teach stranger danger here?
“But… why?”
“My grandpa would want company.”
“Your grandpa…” I decided to tell her the truth. It was only fair that she knew.
***
“Your grandpa died saving a life. He died saving you.” He finishes.
I was told the last moments of grandpa’s life. I didn’t know what to say. I went over to the stump of the Golden Oak and sat down. The forest was so peaceful. I started counting.
“Twelve lots of ten rings. My friend was one hundred and twenty years old.” I wondered if my new friend was as old.
“Yes, this tree died at 120.” He said simply.
“So many deaths today. I never knew Golden Wartings were contagious.”
