Final Tree
Re-growing the world one branch at a time
Scanning the silent facility, she drew her slimline saw and began to cut, her hand feeling the soft bite of titanium into wood.
Thump.
The limb fell neatly into the bag, and she had it closed and flung over her back before the leaves could even finish rustling in protest.
“Sorry,” she muttered, heading for the window. Avoiding the broken glass, she vaulted out into the cool air of night, sprinting along the second-floor balcony.
Not that it could hear her- it was an ordinary tree.
At least, that’s what she’d been taught. Big brown trunk, gnarly branches hanging like over-extended android arms, and tiny green leaves sticking up like miniscule solar panels, flat and stretching for the sun.
No-one her age had ever seen a real one until now. It felt almost wrong to remove a branch, sacrilegious even. But now was no time to discover morals.
The last tree on Earth had sprouted for the first time in fourteen years.
Orders were clear- obtain a graft at all costs.
Three guards, three darts, and a clear path to the roof. Diving off, she activated her hover-pack, heading for the coast.
Time to grow a tree.
About the Creator
Joe O’Connor
New Zealander
English teacher
Short stories and poems📚
Please be honest- I would love your constructive feedback, as it's the only way I'll get better. Would rather it was pointed out so I can improve!
Currently writing James The Wonderer
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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'20/20'
"Do It Again" the track that would ultimately open the Beach Boys final album on Capitol Records which was released on February 10th 1969 had originally been released as a single in August of 1968. The track was the first of many post-Pet Sounds era throwbacks to the early Beach Boys sound which would become continually more cliched and eventually lead the Beach Boys to the level of self-parody they would eventually succumb to in the 1980s while their closest contemporaries The Beatles nearing the end of their run in 1969 would go on to be viewed as the most influential band of all time. However, the song itself is not bad on its surface, and it opens with a futuristic sounding (for 1969) drumbeat captured by then-Beach Boys engineer Stephen Desper using tape delays on the drums performed by Dennis Wilson and John Guerin. The song has been re-recorded numerous times over the years on various Beach Boys-related projects most notably the 2011 re-recording at Capitol studios featuring the five surviving Beach Boys at the time backed instrumentally by various members of both the Brian Wilson Band and Mike Loves touring "Beach Boys" to promote the then upcoming Beach Boys 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012. The hammering and power drill sound at the end of the song was an excerpt from a track called "Workshop" that was to be a part of the uncompleted "SMiLE" album.
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Comments (3)
Happy belated congrats!!! Excellent story and expertly written. It definitely has a solid premise for a longer version.
Loved this microfiction! Great idea for a story. Well executed. Congratulations!
Great story. Made me smile. Congrats on your win, may there be many more