“Grandma, what are you doing here? Staring at the tree?”, asked a small girl aged 9. She’s a little girl with curly blonde hair, and freckles on her nose. “I’m not staring at the tree, I’m staring at someone.” Grandma sat on a bench, facing the tree with the little girl right next to her, looking at Grandma. She has grey hair and wrinkles on her hands, and also at the edge of her eyes whenever she smiled. She looked elegant wearing white loose clothes, white pants, and her lips are naturally red. The little girl could not understand what she meant, but she didn’t bother to ask. Instead, the little girl stares at the tree the same way as Grandma. The breeze is cooling, with houses situated further away from the area. The tree is huge with its heavily dense leaves. The sky is blue with white clouds. It was an afternoon, but the sun is not scorching hot at that place. The warmth of the sun makes people loves going outdoor, and doing their sunbath. It’s been 10 minutes since they talked. The little girl got up and went toward her friends, who called her to play with them. As for Grandma, she fell asleep with her head leaning on the side, still in a sitting position.
“I believed I was born under this tree.”, said a boy sitting under the same tree, but without the bench. “How do you know that?”, asked her. “Well, you gotta believe in something. Can’t say I don’t know forever, can you?”. It’s been 10 years since we first arrived at the orphanage, except I had arrived a month earlier than him. We were both babies, and the only ones of the same age. Growing up together, we were best friends and siblings to each other. It wasn’t long till we were both adults. The day after graduation day, we went to our tree spot at the far end of the village. No one really go there except us. The tree is a heavily dense tree that provide shade for our afternoon nap, a place to finish our homework and a discovery to all small creatures that crawl under the tree. We grew up with this tree, and the tree grew with us. “So, what are you gonna take after this?”, asked him, as we both sat next to each other. We lean our back against the tree, while he continued throwing pebbles in front of him. “Hmm…probably something that involved studying all this creatures that we found under the tree.”, I kept staring at a group of ants walking in train - like , climbing up the tree. “I wanna know about this tree too. We never really figure out what kind of a tree this is.” He got up first, while I was still warping my arms around my knees, and then said to him, “Hey, let’s meet up here again. Maybe 5 years later?”. He turned to me, held out his hand to help me got up, and shook it, “Deal. See you in the next 5 years.” We went back to the orphanage but that night, I couldn’t sleep. I got up and look around me in the dark. We were the only grown up in this orphanage, except of course our guardian, a nun from a local church. I saw all the little girls slept peacefully in their bed, in front of me and next to my bed. One snored throughout the night. It’s funny how a small frame girl can produced such a loud noise at night. That night, I knew it will be the last night I’ll sleep on this bed, inside this house and with this family of mine.
That was 5 years ago. Now, 5 years had passed, and here I am standing under this tree. It grew bigger since the last time I remembered, and of course more dense than before. I wondered if the young orphans go here like we used to, just like me and him. Hours passed by, and I was beginning to give up on the idea of meeting him. The sky was turning dark, and I had decided that was enough of waiting. “He’s not coming.” I got up and left.
A lot had happened since then. I got married to a decent guy, bear children, and 10 years is not that long when you live life day by day. When things started to settle down a bit, I’d realized years had gone by. “Momma, who’s this?”, asked my 2nd child, while holding onto a black and white picture. Constantly wearing boy’s clothes, messy hair that she cut by herself, she reminded me a lot of myself. At least the other two kept their long hair, but they taught themselves to curl it up, making it look like a Grandma’s hair bun, and covered it underneath a cap. I took the picture from her and stared at it. It was a picture of me and him, standing outside the orphanage house, on our last day. Our Mother, the nun wanted to take a picture of us before we left. It was the only picture of me and him. “Where did you get this?”, I asked my little one as she pointed her finger to a dusty box, under the stairs, that she and the girls found, along with other things. After telling her to clean herself up for dinner, I told my husband that I planned to go back, to see if somehow he’s there. “Besides, it’s been 10 years. Maybe I could ask Mother if she heard any news from him, though I doubt if Mother ever remembered us.”
I went to the orphanage, alone, and with a small suitcase. I didn’t plan to stay for long, and it wasn’t a surprise when Mother told me she hadn’t had any news of him. Mother was happy though, as she introduced me to the new ones. I couldn’t stay for the night, as everything was not the same without him. The train had arrived and stopped, letting passengers walked out. The train let out steam, and it covers the air above. “What if, he is there?”. So I got up, and went back to the village, passed the orphanage, and towards the tree. From a far, I could see someone. A shadow of someone sitting, leaning against the tree, and it was a cloudy day. The leaves on the tree are brown, and it won’t be long before winter season comes along. As I got closer to this man, holding a suitcase on my left hand, he said, “ Watch it! You might hit me with that ugly suitcase of yours.” “Maybe I should! Where have you been all this time?!” , I dropped my suitcase on the ground, and sat next to him. I had noticed he didn’t wear any thick clothes. It was all black of him. Black jeans, black shirt and a black leather jacket. “So, what are you now? An emo? Aren’t you too old for that now?”, he smirked, without turning his face to me. We talked for a long time, catching up on each other life. Turns out, he had become a scientist at one point of his life, until he decided that’s enough of researching about trees, and that no matter what, humans still chopped down trees regardless of what you tell them, or how unique certain trees are. “Trees are just trees. No one bother to know, it’s a living creature that feed of water and earth. It just happened to be a very static creature.”. As for my story, I didn’t finish my studies and I blame the spiders. I can learn about anything there is on earth but not spiders. And so, I ended up being a teacher, but then I quit. “It’s bad enough that their mother is an orphan, and I have no intention of them experiencing the same thing.”, and I continued talking about my husband who worked as a doll maker, and having his own company, thanks to a high demands of dolls, and how my 3 girls drove me crazy, running around the house, making me believe that I have 3 boys instead of girls. Hearing my stories, he sometimes laughed it off. “I wanna tell you something. No one supposed to know.”, he looked at me with a serious expression. I agreed, thinking that he was just teasing. “I’m different. I’m not like you or your husband or anybody else.”. He told me several moments where he finally realized that he is different. After a long silence, I told him that nothing really changed, that he was still the same boy that I knew ages ago, and that whatever it is, I’m still his friend. He smiled to that, got up and held out his hand to help me up. We walked toward the train station, and we sat there quietly for sometimes, until the second train came up. He waved me goodbye, and when I finally found my seat near the window, I shouted, “See you again in the next 5 years!”. The train began to move faster and faster. He nods and smiled, still waving his hand to me.
Within 5 years, my little boyish girls had slowed down on the running. My eldest one become a 10 years old girl while her sisters aged 8 and 7 years old. All went to school, and so I had been alone at home, being by myself and going to fish once a while. I sat on a folded seat that I brought with me, while I let the fish rod planted deep in the dirt. There had been an incidence where I lost the rod, tugged by a big fish, and sunk deep into the lake. That happened while I was still falling asleep under the warm sun. This time, I have put a bell at the end of the rod. After awhile, the bell rang, woke me up and I know there’s a fish. Quickly I got up, and took hold of the rod. Maybe I pulled too quickly, that the fish escaped again. “You wouldn’t catch anything if you’re not patient!”, he said as I’ve lost a big one by the stream. The river stream near the village is right across the train. Once a while, the fishes goes into hiding whenever the train comes close. Remembering him now makes me want to go there, to see him again. Besides, it is near winter season and after much persuasion of my part to my husband, he allowed me to go and left him with our three princesses. “They won’t cause much trouble, now that they’re all grown up.”, my husband took my words with a grain of salt, and his expression said everything that could not stop me from going.
I arrived there late, where the sun is almost out and decided to proceed to the orphanage. Hopefully I get to stay overnight, and see if he’s there with Mother. “Yes, can I help you?”, asked an old woman, slightly younger than Mother. Turns out Mother had passed away last year, and was replaced by this new nun. She was generous enough to allow me to stay for the night. They have a spare room for the cleaner, that comes twice a week, and lucky for me, it wasn’t the day she comes. I asked about him, just in case she knew. “You’re the girl he always talked about. I’ve heard a lot about you. He was here attending Mother’s funeral. He’s a quiet guy, but very friendly with the children. He stayed here for a while, being a teacher to the children. He talks about how the world is a big discovery, waiting to be discovered by the little ones.” The new nun continued on telling how the children found him sleeping under the tree one day, and when they tried to wake him up, he fell to his side, never to wake up again. That was a month ago. I never fully grasped the sickness he had, and I refused to hear all about it. All I know is God loves him so much, that He decided to take him while he was asleep. The nun told me that she found his will, while searching for the best clothes the coroner can put on him. He wanted to be cremated. I always knew he’ll be the guy that refused to leave in a common way. “Did he say anything about where his ashes should go?”. She left me in the living room alone. It was midnight and the kids were nowhere to be seen. She came back, holding onto a small jar. “I believe you know the right place for your friend.”
The next day, early morning, I went to our favorite spot and dug a hole just under the tree. I poured out his ashes there. “One day, when the world becomes boring for me, I’ll come and meet you here again.”
The tree grow larger and larger each year, and its branches become longer. The little ones at the orphanage have grown up, and the tree becomes part of their childhood memory, just like me and him. There’s a bench placed in front of the tree, insisting that anyone should sit there and not under the tree, as he had been buried there. Its been years where I’ve lost count. People come and go in my life. My husband passed away and my children all grown up, left home and married, and gave me beautiful grandchildren. They do come to visit me once a while, but I’m still lonely in this house. I couldn’t stop thinking about my childhood memories, the tree, the orphanage and him.
I looked back at the house for the last time, with a large suitcase placed beside me. “Ready Grandma?”, asked my grandchild. He’s a good kid, helping Grandma walked slowly inside the car. My youngest daughter was reluctant at first, but then she volunteered to at least send me there safely. I had to bear 3 hours lecture of her, talking about the danger of an old woman going somewhere far alone. I stared at the window, while my grandchild fell asleep on my lap. Those trees that were used to be there, now are replaced by houses and buildings. Things have changed, and I fear it will be the same in that place, that they might chopped down the tree, or that the orphanage had moved to somewhere else.
I fell asleep and woke up when the car stopped. My daughter went outside, wanted to make sure that everything is safe for her dear old Mom. She went to check the orphanage and the tree herself, while I stayed in the car, waiting. When they came back, I could see my little boy was smiling, and I knew everything is still the same. They left me at the orphanage, and I was greeted by the same nun. There are new children who come from a distance land. The civil war that happened a few years ago had left a lot of children and their parents separated. My youngest daughter herself lost her husband during the war. No news ever heard from him since the last time he join the army.
I had breakfast the next day, with these young children and the nun. All the chatters and those young energies made me realized that I really am old, that I couldn’t keep up with them. After breakfast, the children ran around the house and went out. I asked if they could help me go somewhere, they laughed it off saying that I’m not that old, and that there’s a bench where I could sit. A boy and a girl held my hands side by side till we arrived at the bench. They continued playing with others, after leaving me there.
It was Saturday afternoon. The tree looked liked me in an amusing way, that we’re both old. At least the tree grow bigger and stronger. The roots dig deep into the ground, and the leaves had turned orange. It won’t be long before winter season arrived soon. I sat there alone on the bench, facing the tree. The sounds those leaves made, when the wind passed through them, and the warm sun is good enough for an old lady. “Grandma, what are you doing here? Staring at the tree?”, asked a small girl aged 9. She’s a little girl with curly blonde hair, and freckles on her nose. “I’m not staring at the tree, I’m staring at someone.” Grandma sat on a bench, facing the tree with the little girl right next to her, looking at Grandma. She has grey hair and wrinkles on her hands, and also at the edge of her eyes whenever she smiled. She looked elegant wearing white loose clothes, white pants, and her lips are naturally red. The little girl could not understand what she meant, but she didn’t bother to ask. Instead, the little girl stares at the tree the same way as Grandma. The breeze is cooling, with houses situated further away from the area. The tree is huge with its heavily dense leaves. The sky is blue with white clouds. It was an afternoon, but the sun is not scorching hot at that place. The warmth of the sun makes people loves going outdoor, and doing their sunbath. It’s been 10 minutes since they talked. The little girl got up and went toward her friends, who called her to play with them. As for Grandma, she fell asleep with her head leaning on the side, still in a sitting position.
The children were about to go back to the orphanage, as the sky turned orange. The very same children who brought Grandma there, came to approach her. “Grandma, it’s almost dinnertime. Let’s go home.”, but Grandma never wakes up.
Finger – colored drawing. Thank you for your read
=)
