The Old Tree

fictionspawn Aak,

The Old Tree.jpg

The old tree was standing on a hill. The wind went through it’s leaves, the birds jumped around on its branches, there were insects piercing into its trunk. It didn’t care. It was just the way things were. It had water. Earth. Sun. It was all it ever needed.

On the hill it had been standing all its life, as natural was. It was part of the hill, and almost as big under ground as over ground. Under ground sometimes a little creature touched its roots. Sometimes some worm dug into them. It didn’t care. It was all part of being a tree.

Today a man came along. He was measuring it’s trunk. Looking at it. He even made a cross in it’s skin. It didn’t hurt. Things didn’t really hurt when you’re a tree. It was good being a tree.

The next day the man came back. He cut the tree down. It didn’t really hurt either, but it wasn’t good. It was not good at all. When the man pulled up the root, cut it into pieces and carried it all away, the tree’s life was over for ever.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(paranormal)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(physiology)

Under Ground

Published by fictionspawn Aak

Norwegian trilingual writer and illustrator. Contact information in my Gallery.

33 Comments

    1. Found them! Two of them. You somehow ended up in the spam. I found a couple of other people there as well, seems I have to be more careful. Thank you, and thanks for your comments.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Well worth the read. Oh, stop by my blog. I published the latest “time traders” story yesterday. Yes, it’s long, over 5,000 words, but I’m having fun reading about historical events and incorporating them into time travel fiction.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

        1. We’ll see if I’m able to get through 5000 words on a scrolling screen, but I’ll give it my best shot 😉 Have you considered cutting your long reads up in shorter chapters? I know I’m not the only one who have a hard time reading long texts without any place for natural pauses, and that way you would publish more frequently as well. Easier to read *and* the search engines would keep a closer eye on you. Everybody wins 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

        2. I get requests going both ways, actually. I try to create chapters that are logical blocks of the entire story. One alternative would be to read each chapter in sections rather than attempting to go through the entire thing in one sitting.

          Liked by 1 person

  13. You’ve just cut me down! Oh…..it’s true: reality is a mix of joy and sadness. The more we know about the other living things we share this Earth with, the heavier the burden of our choices becomes. And when you’re slowly getting older (in my case 😉 ), you also become more emotional. As I see myself back in childhood and early youth, I was taking things lighter. I always loved trees but never gave much thought about their life cycle. Now things changed. I am fully aware of our needs as species and I know trees are cut down for various reasons. But I have changed and I am now marching on cutting down only if it’s truly necessary. I have a small orchard with old trees that are offering habitat to very special bees (Carpenter bees), to birds, to other creatures. I leave them standing as much as it’s safe and enjoy the richness of the habitat.
    I love your story because it’s natural and true. Thank you for writing it. Your tree has now a place in my heart.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment