Trees

Once there were two gardeners, and they planted three trees together.

While waiting for them to grow the second gardener became sick, and the first stopped gardening. Then there was only one gardener, and their garden withered to a dry dead brown.

Soon the trees began to sprout, deciding not to wallow in her own sadness she committed all her time to growing those trees.

Each with strong trunks and smooth leaves.

The gardener worked day and night to keep her trees healthy, making sure their leaves always stayed green. But one morning the gardener woke up to find the first tree had turned a burnt yellow. Then the second, and the third. “Take this medicine to make you green again,” she said. “Okay,” they all replied.

By the next day all the trees were normal again and the gardener hummed a happy tune. But by the next day the first tree was yellow again.

“Why don’t you take your medicine?” she asked the tree. “Because I want to be yellow,” he said. “You’re supposed to be green.” “No I’m not.”

The gardener and the first tree argued all day and all night, yet the tree still would not turn green.

After weeks of fighting the gardener came out one morning to see the first tree had uprooted himself in the night and left. Leaving broken earth and dry yellow leaves where he once stood.

The gardener built a fence, and the other trees decided to stay green. The third and littlest tree thought this would be easy, since they enjoyed being green.

The gardener’s hammer pounded away.

The gardener continued to care for the trees, and each year they grew a little taller.

“Don’t grow too tall,” she always said. “If you do, how will we see each other?”

Years passed, and one morning the gardener woke to find the second tree had grown so tall she could barely see all of her. “Why do you grow so tall?” the gardener asked the tree.

“I want to be tall,” she said. “But why?”

“So I can see new things and continue to learn. I want to keep growing.”

“But how will we see each other,” the gardener despaired. “I will bend my trunk down to speak with you,” the tree answered.

“How often?”

The tree didn’t have an answer. The next morning the tree had grown above the clouds, and the gardener could no longer see her.

“Please don’t grow any taller,” the gardener cried at the base of the third tree. Her tears hit the dirt and sank all the way down to their roots.

“Okay,” they said.

So the little tree stayed small inside that fence, and they watched the lives of other trees around them. They watched other trees grow big and tall, change their colors with the season or whenever they felt. They watched other trees make friends and fall in love.

“Can I change my colors?” they asked. “Will you leave?” the gardener asked. “No.”

“Will you grow tall?” “No.”

“Okay,” she smiled, continuing her work. And the tree shook their leaves with joy.

One morning the tree woke up much taller, towering over the gardener.

“You said you wouldn’t grow!” she cried. The gardener’s tears soaked down to their roots, and the tree turned green. But they couldn’t shrink.

The tree continued to watch, and as time passed they grew envious. They wanted to fall in love like other trees. Change their colors and express themselves how they wanted. They even once thought of uprooting themself and climbing over the fence.

But every time the tree went to speak, the gardener’s eyes filled with tears. So they never did.

The tree grew more and more, and they became bitter with the gardener, and the gardener with them. So the tree decided to start changing their leaves, discovering new people, and even growing as they wished. “Why can’t you be my little tree any more?” the gardener asked one night, her voice thick with grief.

The tree didn’t know what to say. The gardener started to cry and cry. Afraid to be alone again, she just wanted to love her little tree

And as she cried, the tree withered.