Finding roots

Once upon a time, there was a tiny little seed, hidden inside the fruit of a very huge tree. While all the fruits on that tree were wholesome and healthy, the fruit that this seed dwelled in was small, dull-colored and deformed. Despite its imperfections, the fruit was still able to serve its purpose well. It nourished the seed with nutrients, and protected the seed from animals and bad weather.

Months after the formation of the seed was completed, the tree decided that it was time for its fruits to leave. So with the help of a gentle breeze, the tree swayed its hands and wriggled its fingers, sending all the fruits to descend from its branches. The moment the fruits fell onto the ground, the fullest, juiciest-looking ones were carried off by the passing animals. Squirrels, birds, cats and wild boars came to enjoy the harvest. However, none of them would take the deformed and ugly fruit. So the fruit sat on the bed of the forest, and waited. For days and nights, it waited.

After a long long time, when the colors had faded and the pulp dried up, the fruit finally caught the sight of a passer-by. A hunter was on his way home with a bag of game for his family when he tripped over the fruit. Looking down on the floor, he saw the shrivelled fruit in his path. Thinking that it might be a pity if the seed of the fruit was to go to waste, he said to himself, “Why not bring it back to plant it so that my children may play under it when they are older?” So he put the fruit into his bag and went back home, where his wife and offspring were expecting him. While his wife was in the kitchen to prepare the dinner, the hunter went into the garden. He extracted the seed from the fruit, and placed it deep in the soil. He also took some of the animal waste to put around it as nutrients. Contented with his day, he returned to his house to enjoy the company of his loved ones.

The seed was happy that it has found a place to plant its roots. Whenever the animals came to lay their waste on the soil, the seed ate heartily from the remnants. Whenever the sky cried and sent its tears down to the ground, the seed drank to its heart’s content. So quietly and peacefully, the first year passed and the seed blossomed into a young sapling.

In the second year, leaves began to sprout from the sapling. So whenever the sun came out, the leaves would be busy making food for the sapling. Whenever the wind passed by for a visit, the leaves would rustle and dance in joy. When it was night time, they closed up and fell into sleep. And so the second year went by, followed by the third year.

By the fourth year, the sapling had already grown into a small tree, eight feet tall. The leaves were thick, and the branches were few but strong. By then, the children in the house had also grown taller and bigger. There were two boys, and two girls, from the age of four to nine. In the day, the eldest boy would follow their father to hunt for food, while the other three children stayed at home with the mother. They were all very active, and spent much of their time playing in the garden. And to its greatest delight, the small tree became the children’s favourite spot.

In the afternoon when the sun was high up in the sky, the children would hide under the cooling shade of the tree. When the boys wanted to get away from the girls, they would climb to the top of the tree. As the girls were not as athletic as the boys, they could only watch the boys from below, much to their dismay. However, the girls enjoyed doodling which the boys did not, so they often stole chalk from the house to doodle on the tree trunk. Sometimes they would write their birthday wishes or ambitions, sometimes they would do arithmetic, and sometimes they would draw pictures of their family or their home. Each time after a downpour, the rain would wash away the writings and drawings, so the girls were able to start all over again. The presence of the children made the tree very happy. It thought to itself, “I have found a home and made myself useful”. So firmly and faithfully, it stood in its spot in the garden.

In happiness, the fifth year flew by. Followed by the sixth year, seventh year and the eighth year. With each passing year, the children grew, and began to enter adolescence. Unfortunately, as the children matured, the tree also started to see less and less of them.

By the twelfth year, they had stopped being children, but teenagers who were no longer interested in playing under the tree. All the tree saw of them, were their passing shadows as they moved in and out of the house. Unlike the children, the tree could not talk. Neither could it walk with its roots already entrenched in the soil. So it could only remain still, as each afternoon became very quiet, and each day crawled by very slowly. Thinking that it had outlived its use, the tree felt very downcasted and dejected. The only friends who visited were the occasional breeze and drizzle. Over time, the tree was filled with loneliness.

One morning, when the tree was at its lowest point, a bird stopped by and started picking at its twigs and plucking its leaves. It was terribly painful for the tree. To add on to the discomfort, the bird would not stop chirping, and this disrupted the peace that the tree had. Then the bird sat down on the branch and refused to barge from its position for the next few days. The tree felt even more forlorn and discouraged. “Even the birds have come to bully me!” it cried in despair.

On the third morning, at the break of dawn, the tree woke up an incessant chirping that was louder than before. Irritated that its sleep was disrupted, the tree looked down at its branches. Lo and behold, on the branch was a small nest, and in the nest was the bird, surrounded by five tiny ones! The tiny ones had very fine feathers, and they looked very tender and vulnerable. And the mother bird was busy attending to each one of them, carrassing them and feeding them with food that she has collected. Together as a family, the choir of birds sang in joy.

This was a very, very pleasant surprise for the tree, who had never experienced something like this before. By now, the branches of the tree were firm and well-shaded enough for birds to set up its nest. Furthermore, the tree was well-situated in the garden, where there was plenty of food for the young. Indeed, it was a blessing for the tree. Realising that it had now moved on to the next stage of its life, the tree was filled with happiness and excitement. “You and your little ones are most welcomed to live here,” it said to the mother bird. “I will shelter them from the sun and storms until they are able to take flight on their own.”

It had been a long search, but the tiny seed had finally found its place and purpose, one that it could keep for the rest of its days. With every year added on to its age, the tree only grew bigger and stronger, making it a more comfortable place for each generation of birds. So firmly, it stood at its spot, and faithfully, it provided and protected. There was never a lonely day again, and you can very well say that it was a merrily ever after.