The Tree Boy tells me the story of his brave people (short story)

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash

I ran through the forest. I was worried that I was going to be stuck forever in this maze of green leafs, and brown branches. Everywhere I looked, I saw more leaves, more trees, shrubs, plants, insects, and more green. I couldn't figure out which direction I had come from. I felt more and more confused the more I ran.

I fell again on some undergrowth, some tree's root that was as big as my body, and I just lay there. I was too tired to move. I hadn't had any food in the past 24 hours and I was thirsty.

All I could think of was water. I want water. My body needs water.

I sat down on the ground, and saw a little green bug crawl up my leg. I was too tired to even brush it off my leg. I sat there listlessly, wondering how long it would be before I would die and decompose among all of these leaves and trees.

That's when I heard some motion up high in the tree next to me. I suddenly remembered that this forest had dangerous animals, some of whom lived in the tree branches high above all of the humans and predators. As I hadn't seen a single human in the past 24 hours that I had been lost in the forest, I assumed that I would be the first one they would go after.

What if it was some scary carnivorous animal who would bite my head off? All of these horrifying scenarios ran through my head, and I willed myself to look up.

"Look up now, right now," I talked to myself, eventually taking a glance up top. Even though it was the middle of the day, the thick tree cover prevented much light from coming all the way down to the ground. I could see there was someone sitting in the tree branches above me, looking at me. I could see the little light there was glinting off their eyes.

A second later, a boy dropped down in front of me, as gracefully as he was doing a waltz through the forest floor.

"Hello," he said, bowing down quite formally. "You are a girl, aren't you? My father always taught me to be courteous to women and girls. They are the glue that holds all of us disgusting men together, he used to say. Why are you roaming around in the forest like this? By yourself? That's not a very lady-like thing to do, is it??"

It took me a few seconds to recover from the shock of seeing this random boy standing in front of me. Not only was it random to see a young boy like him jump down from the trees, but he was an unusual character himself. He was as tall as one of these small trees, maybe six feet tall, but I called him a boy, because he looked as young as a boy. He was also wearing one of those hats that people in the 60s wore. I think they are called Trilbys. It was a worn-out one, but still fit him perfectly, sitting atop his tiny head, covering all of the curly hair that he had on his head.

He was covered up with more leaves than I had ever seen on a person, and he looked, to be honest, like a human version of a tree. I didn't say that loud, because I was afraid of offending him.

"Are you mute? Can you speak? Or maybe you can't hear. I have heard of people like you - they can't speak or hear or sometimes even see..."

"I can hear you perfectly well. I was just startled, that's all. I mean, it isn't everyday..."

"So what are you doing here? Got lost, huh??"

"None of your damn business." I said, bristling up to my roots. I could hear the pity and condescension in his tone. I hated people being condescending towards me. That's one thing I couldn't take.

"Of course, it's my business." He said, smiling at me kindly. Before I could ask why, he offered the answer himself. "It's because I'm the Tree boy, in charge of all of the lands here. I am their saviour and protector. You are the trespasser, and I have the right to clear you out by any means necessary. But I am being kind and asking you, if you are lost, I can help you find your way out."

I blushed. He was right. I was the one intruding on this land. They were going about their business. I was the one who was being rude.

"I'm sorry. I am just really tired. And thirsty."

He pulled out a little leafy flask and handed it to me without another word. I grabbed it gratefully and gulped the whole thing down. He took it back, and said a few words over the flask, which caused it to refill again with water.

I looked at him amazed. "You must be hungry as well, right? If you can walk a bit, I can see about getting you some fruit. There are some delicious fruit trees not far from where we are standing now."

I nodded at him, gratefully and we walked on.

As I stumbled through and he danced across the forest, I asked him a question. "Why are you the guardian or the saviour as you called it? How did you end up getting that job? I have never heard of any human getting such a job."

He looked at me as if I were a little child who was either really stupid or really slow.

"I think you are mistaken, miss. I am not a human. I am Tree Boy, which means, I am the tree. I have the spirit or soul of a tree. I am a tree on the inside, even though I might look like I am human on the outside."

As we reached the fruit tree, he climbed the tree as gracefully as he did everything else. He picked out a mango, and a banana for me, and bought it back down. We sat down on a bed of leaves, soft against my bare scratched up legs, and I munched on the fruit. I had never had fruit that was as fresh as the ones in my hand right now. They had been plucked seconds ago. They were as juicy and plump as ever. The juice from the mango dripped down my face.

I must have looked really dirty and silly, but I didn't care. He didn't seem to care either. He sat there, looking at me as if everything I was doing was absolutely fascinating.

"Will you tell me your story?" He said, once I finished eating.

"It's nothing interesting. Not as much as yours." I didn't want to tell him that my parents kicked me out and I was running away from the street kids from whom I had stolen some food. "You tell me - how are you here? I mean, I have never heard of tree boys or tree people in general."

He saw that I didn't want to talk about myself and let it go. He shuffled about on the floor, getting himself comfortable and told me the tale of the Tree People.

"A long time ago, all of the trees on our beautiful planet realized that humans in their greed were going to destroy all of them to make paper, furniture, and boxes. A few trees got together to create a potion. A potion which when placed on a particular human's head, a very special human's head, would turn them into the guardian, the first of the tree people. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was one of the first tree people ever born. He was a brave man, and a brave warrior. He protected the trees against the destruction that humans were so good at. Now, the trees are at peace with the humans. The humans have found another way to make paper, furniture and boxes, and they normally leave all of the trees at peace. Unless, there is a war, and then, the madness begins again. I am one of the few tree people left behind, as there is no need for any of us any more. Most of us have gone and intermingled into normal human society, becoming part of what we were never allowed to be part of."

I sat there, sticky from the juicy mango, my thirst and hunger assuaged, and I watched this beautiful person or tree person telling me his story. Isn't that the reason my parents threw me out? Because I don't fit into this normal society of greed and hate.

I patted him on the hand, thanking him for telling me his story.

We sat there, human, and tree human, at peace with each other. It was what they had wanted such a long time ago. We fell asleep on the bed of leaves as the night came and it was time to rest.

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