A Family Who Survived The Low Odds

The sun slowly climbed up into the sky beams of light hitting the ground for the first time without death in the air. The frost that laid on the ground slowly started to melt from the heat the sun brought. A sapling broke through the surface. The leaves on it were a deep green but when the sunlight hit it an aqua blue gave it a unique look. The frost around the sapling seemed to grow towards it when the frost touched was absorbed into the sapling making it grow. Soon by the time the sun was over the mountains the sapling was a fifteen foot full fledged tree. In the trunk six feet above the ground was a heart shaped locket opened.

The locket was open and showed a faded photo of a couple and a message that was faded but still readable. The chain of the heart shaped locket was intertwined and connected with the tree. A woman came out of a cave that was at the base of a hill a few yards away. She walked over to the tree and picked the unique fruits that growed on it. She smiled after taking a bite of it. The juice that came out the sides of her mouth and down her arm. A small child with a smile ran to the woman eager to show her something.

“Moma!” The child shouted glee in their voice. The woman turned and smiled at the child as she bent down. Her arms opened wide for the little child to run into them. The little child at full force rammed into the women. “Moma, I can change my breathing!” I women smiled with a quiet but loving laugh.

“Wow you can do that Admira?” The women had a proud and loving gleam in her eyes and in her voice. Admira nodded her head very fast causing her moma to worry that it might fall off. She hugged her tight to the point Admira started to squirm. Feeling this, the women let go and looked at Admira proudly. Admira looked at her Moma before looking at the tree and the heart shaped locket with curiosity.

“Moma, what does the tree and that thing do?” The women looked at the tree with a small smile but a spark of sadness was showing in her eyes. She looked at the look and read the message inside before looking at her daughter who was in her lap looking at her expectantly.

“Admira, this tree looks like what people called long ago an apple tree. But this one is unique and different from anything they have ever seen. But they never got the chance to see or learn of the tree.” Admira moved forward, eager to hear more from her mother. “ This tree instead of fighting for it’s life and staying alive for hundreds of years give or take dies and regrows with every sunrise and sundown. It never really ever dies in a way it’s immortal as they would have put it.” Moma tapped Admira's nose at the end of the sentence, sending the little girl into a fit of giggles.

“What else Moma?” The woman chuckled at her daughter's eager and curious nature before continuing. She enjoyed telling the story even though she has lost count how many times she told Admira.

“Well one couple who were assigned to make a new kind of formula that would alter their bodies at their will. The leader who assigned them to this wasn’t the smartest or sanest. But he was the ruler by law so they did as they were told. They made a formula that was like no others but they never tested it on their kind. Instead they made three different kinds of this formula and took three different fruit tree seeds. They use the tools at their disposal which are far more advanced than what we have. Injected the formula into the seeds. The couple were married and so the husband one day before going into their lab gifted the wife a necklace. It was a locket, the very one in the tree right next to us.” Little Admira looked at the locket with wonder before touching the little crystal hung around her neck by grass weaved together gifted to her from her moma.

“Him gifting it to her meant that he really cared for her right?” Admira asked, tilting her head to the left side. Her mother chuckled, moving hair out of Admira's face , staring at her adoringly. Then ever so lightly kissed her forehead.

“Yes, Admira, it meant he cared for her a lot. Now when the wife opened the locket there was a picture of them together and a quote. This quote was something special for them. They would tell each other this quote when the other was down. They weren’t sure if it was from someone important or that it was made up but they loved and cherished it. After putting the necklace on they went inside and gasped in horror at what they saw. The first seed had turned to dust from the formula that was injected into it while the second one had disa[[eared. The last one looked fine as if it had just been put there. They hurried over to it but in the process the man tripped on a table leg. This table had ice on it for a different project they were working on as well. The man tried to turn and catch the table with the ice but he wasn’t fast enough. The ice fell on the seed.” The woman stopped smirking as the suspense anticipation built up in her daughter.

“When the ice touched the seedling it was absorbed. Realizing that they had sessecced they hurried over to the seed and watched it sprout into a sapling. Seeing that a seed could do this they didn’t want to find out what would happen if it was given to the wrong people. SO they warmed the seed up enough and soon the sapling retreated into the seed. To sneak it out the woman put it in her locket. Then they ran. They ran as fast and hard as they could, they didn;t stop for supplies or to tell anyone they cared about or trusted. They completely vanished. The leader learned about this and was furious. So he sent out his hunters to bring them back dead or alive.” Admira snuggled closer, scared of this part. She had heard it countless times but it still scared her. Hugging her tight, her Moma continued staring off into the distance.

“These hunters were like no others. Rumors about them varied and seemed so unbelievable but one thing was for sure. That if they were after you then say goodbye to everyone you care about and hide. For if they find you they won’t leave you unscathed. Even with the head start it only took a matter of a few days for the hunters to find them. Not wanting anyone to know if they had so they took their own lives. The heart shaped locket lay open between them. Finding them like this the hunters informed the leader. Causing them to be banished all of them took it in different ways. One disappeared never to be seen again, another changed his name and looked like he was living a peaceful life, one came here and tended to the tree and the couple. He buried them with the sapling that had attached itself to the locket laid on the ground between them. He lived in the very cave we call home.” Admira looked at the cave in wonder, then got up and went to the tree laying her hand on the trunk. Then looked at her moma with a smiling feeling about what she thought the couple from the story pulse would be. Seeing this the woman got up and laid her hand on the trunk feeling the pulsing as well. All of a sudden they heard whistling causing them to smile. Admira turned around and ran at the man who was walking towards them, bow in hand with a quiver hooked to his waist. He bent down, laying the bow down and caught Admira as she launched herself at him. He laughed with her as he spawn them in circles. The woman walked over with a smile and love showing in her eyes.

“Evander, how was the hunt?” The woman asked pecking him on the lips earning fake gagging from Admira making the two adults chuckle at her. The man wrapped his warm around the woman's waist pulling her close. The woman in retaliation put her hand on his chest so she wasn’t too close.

“It was good Zuri dear but I missed you and our little star.” Zuri blushed and lightly slapped him causing him to chuckle, he looked at Zuri then Admira. “Now what were the two most beautiful girls I know doing while I was away?” Admira giggled while wiggling to get free. When she did, Evander gave Zuri a very passionate kiss. Zuri pulled away with a smile before answering Evander question.

“I was telling our little star the story or the tree and how the world ended giving us our utopia.” Evander nodded while walking over to the tree to sit under it relaxing. Zuri and Admira followed his example but Admira was snuggled in between them with Zuri having her head on Evander's shoulder. She began to tell the story again as she braided her daughter’s hair.

“He had brought with him his entire family of three kids. Along with his three closest friends, who all had huge families as well. And as the years went on a community was formed around the tree. The women would pick fruit from the tree while the men hunted all seemed well but the last hunter who was banished wanted revenge on the leader. So with him being highly intelligent and his skills as a hunter he snuck into a lab created something that could destroy all life once it touched it. So to spread this world wide he stole an aircraft. Then replicated the stuff he made and flew all over the world before he was finally shot down. BUt by then it was too late the stuff he made had been spread all over the world. The tree survived along with all the people that seeked cover in the cave we call home now. No one is sure how the tree survived but one thing is for sure. Is that whatever formula was infused to the seed made a whole new kind of tree. And we can see the Fadi-Kambrie tree. Since those were the names of the couple who made and protected the tree with their life. And their memory lives on through the locket that is intertwined with the trunk of the tree.” Admira murmured wow under breath now playing with her father’s fingers.

“What does the locket say dada? Admira asked, turning around to look at her father's curiosity burning in her eyes. With an arm around Zuri's shoulders and a hand on Admira's shoulder he smiled at her, answering her question.

“ It says Senza fallimento non possiamo avere successo ma con speranza e fede il mondo è nostro. Meaning Without failure we can't succeed but with hope and faith the world is ours. Do you like the phrase my little star?” He asked with a small but loving smile. Admira nodded loving how it was so simple but spoke volumes. She then started to excitedly tell her father what she had accomplished that day.