The Venerable One

The trees throughout the wood murmur to each other as the breeze runs through each green leaf. They dance together and the sun dapples through the sway of branches and creates patterns on the earth below.

Dusk rushes forth.

What do they speak of to each other? These trees, some who have the span of a century; some so young they have but one or two branches and burst from the ground only a year or two ago. Tales of the past and perhaps secrets of the darkness to come as the moon sheds her glow across the Great Forest?

An Elder speaks and shares the story of a young teen who had run away from home.

Tears fall down her face uncontrollably as she takes step after careful step up the steep trunk and settles on a sturdy branch, covered from the world by huge leaves.

She sobs her heart dry and smears tears and snot onto her jumper sleeve as she struggles to see through swollen blurred eyes. She starts to mumble her woes. Nobody loves her; she always gets blamed; why her? Always her?

She wants her stepmother to just leave. Home was once wonderful and then she came and wrecked all. Now Papa only hears her screechy tone, no matter what she says. When does he hear me? She wonders.

What happened to the rare bond they shared? Gone… from the uproar that woman created! Suddenly, she became boss and that meant no one else mattered. Clearly not the brood that came with Papa.

So the daughter was tormented; the woman acted as she wasn’t even there. The hurt when he took her word over the only daughter… that hurt, badly!

The games ‘She’ played around her, to confuse her, to make her feel less than, to always upstage her, no wonder her head was a mess. No wonder, when that woman would be sweet around her dad then venomous and just truly nasty when they were alone. Not only would she play games but she would hurt her too - rough bumps and scratches as she walked passed were not even the worse stuff.

Suddenly, there were footsteps and the teen went mute. She could vaguely see her Papa take careful steps to look for her.

He looked up; somehow he just knew, and spotted her away up there. He called out a plea to come down, to come home, to let those great arms hold her.

Eventually, reluctantly, she came slowly down, as the odd tear fell. The warmest embrace she had ever felt seemed to engulf her and she felt safe… just for a moment.

Turns out, Papa saw. He saw all and he had told her to leave. He couldn’t put the young lass through any more than what she already had been through. He had seen and felt crushed to see her so degraded. He’d made the correct judgment and home was safe once more.

The other trees agreed that was sad but a happy end for the young teen.

One of the younger trees dared to speak;

“There’s a tale about a cat…”

They all stopped suddenly and looked around to hear as the young one rarely spoke, he preferred to just learn from the elders. So when he spoke up, they held breath.

“The cat was a small mangey scrap but her belly was huge. A stray no doubt and half starved, yet somehow she was full term and needed a safe haven to have her babes.

At the base of my trunk, a dog had once dug a hole to bury a bone and the cat snuggled on the grasses centred there.

A warm spot for the small tabby but maybe not warm or sheltered enough for her babes. A worry of thought came to me over and over as my young short branches attempted to protect her, and not much luck at that. So prayers for no great gusts or storms were spoken aloud - by me.

She meowed loudly a lot and the agony was clear. To bear these alone, how could she? Her tummy was so huge, and doubt for her was all over me.

A great cry and one was born, puny and oh so small, covered by blood, as worry crowded me. Thankfully once she bathed the babe a foot moved. Phew!

She went through the same agony three cycles over and ended up a mother to four. But would they all move? One looked frozen and fear was over me. That last one, there were many doubts and her strangled cry told me the runt had already passed from here to the next realm.

My heart broke for her, but there were three healthy small fur balls and we could hear the teeny mewls as they looked for food and latched on.

The mother cat looked exhausted but she came through the ordeal. What a brave wee puddy cat she was. Suddenly her sleepy ears perked up as she heard danger. Very alert now, she looked up then down at her babes, then up, her eyes scared. How on earth could she protect these new meagre forms when she needed recovery after the ordeal?

A great brute of a feral boar approached. My heart was broken. No way could the babes keep breath as the beast approached and heard the teensy mewls. A tasty meal for the take? No way! We couldn’t allow such a dreadful feat to occur.

Me and my fellow mates, we came together and somehow managed to brush some of our stronger longer branches onto the track, and the pathway became strewn - lots of stuff to dodge. We had no clue as to whether we could make the beast leave but we worked hard to try. He must have changed thoughts because he turned around and thankfully left the way he came, as he snarled at some sound to the left.

We could relax and breathe now as the mother cat tended to her bubs who were content to feed and sleep.”

The other trees nodded the tops of the tallest branches and they agreed, a good story for a young chap.

One of the elders spoke up then.

“Can you hear that? There are strange sounds afoot and are louder and stronger. Before, they were rather muffled but now, much clearer.

Be alert and watchful”, he demanded gently yet forceful.

The forest around them hushed as they stalled all talk and even breathe. What was that? Not a leave or blade of grass rustled.

Soon, great beams spread throughout and shone upon the group, on old and young and they knew. They just knew danger had come!

The screech of tyres and loud drunken shouts told them who approached. The ceremony and feasts down at the old town had ended but clearly some wanted to party on.

Cars and trucks came to a halt - dust flew and drunken people, smartly dressed fell out and crashed to the ground and each other, unable to stop laughter.

The forest shuddered. These were the worst of all the horrors that could come. No care or respect for the essence, heart or soul of such a Great Wood, they knew these people would trash whatever they wanted so long as the fancy took them.

And that’s just what happened. To start, they made flames from the branches of some of the oldest oaks of the grove and everyone watched, to horror and shock as they tore great boughs just to warm themselves rather than to use those fallen to the ground and they drank more and more.

The blaze snapped and crackled as the drunkards pursued what they deemed fun, yet the forest was devastated.

One of the oldest most venerable of them all caught ablaze and the people laughed as sparks flew to the dark sky; the fellow trees keened and groaned as they looked on. Powerless to help as the very loved aged elder cracked from heat as bark and trunk fractured and shattered apart.

No help or answers to save the Venerable One, all they could do was rub branches and boughs together as they shared sorrow and and felt utterly desolate at the loss of such a noble soul, as he accepted the fates.

To see the appearance of the flames completely engulf such a regal well regarded fellow was too much for many to bare and they to had to look away.

Once the humans had had enough and gone home, what seemed as seconds but was hours later, the beauty that was, once, now stood, a black skeleton. The frame of the once spectacular Oak that had shared governance with the other elders, was now no more.

He was beaten and bent, folded over and hunched. Yet, one feather touch would make the crumpled frame turn to powdery ash as they all looked on, eyes open and large from the shock of such a huge loss to the Great Wood. Smoke rose to the black sky and followed the clouds. No one moved a breath. No one dared, as they were utterly shocked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next dawn, the sun shone onto a clear fresh day. The sky was blue and the creatures of sky and land awoke.

The group of trees had barely slept, so shocked were they. Numb to the core. The early morn made the shadow of the enormous former Elder even more stark. Small plumes of smoke rose from many spots on the knarled charred trunk and what felt the whole of the Great Forest, saw and wept.