There are many like it around here, but this one is mine. It calls me. It’s an old friend I get to visit every day, no matter the weather. With its big branches looming over, I get all the shade I need. It protects me from the bright rays of the sun and shelters me from the storms rolling in. All these trees in the woods have those branches, but I don’t get that same warmth from them.
This tree is my tree.
Once covered in bright green leaves, they now hold a few leaves of gold, red, and orange. Every few seconds, one of those leaves falls and lands at my feet. The trunk I’m leaning against, sturdy and brown, provides a good place to rest my back. By my feet, I spot the roots sprouting out of the ground. I dig my toes into the ground as I prepare for another day sitting and pondering. I could go somewhere else, of course, but it won’t be the same. No one’s around me to cause any commotion. Good. I like the quiet. It’s always quieter in those final months of the year. People would rather stay locked up at home where they can be warm. Not me. I prefer nature. I prefer to be outside where I can think about things like life, death, and all that falls in between.
A leaf lands on the ground, all torn up and brown. The poor tree. It’s been losing all those brown leaves for a while now. There’s no reason to keep them. I can accept that death is inevitable. All the leaves will fall one day. What I hate is how fragile they become. I’ve picked them up before. They’ve crumbled between my fingers. It isn’t fair.
Gazing up, the sky turns from blue to gray. The clouds fade away as another leaf falls off the tree. Then come the first flakes. Soft, white snow starts landing on the ground, surrounding me. The flurries speed up though I can’t leave. The cold wind won’t pull me away. The wet spots from the snowflakes don’t bother me. I don’t want to get up and leave. I want to be right here by my tree that’s slowly losing its leaves with the first snowfall. After all, this tree is my home. It’s where I feel safe.
It’s been my sanctuary ever since I died.
INSTANT NOODLES 