Trevor the Terrified Tree

Trevor was found deep in the forest. He was the biggest tree of all. And the oldest by decades. Thick and tall and towering over all the others, his presence was marked by moss growing out of his every orifice, and roots that reached so far around his trunk, that it seemed part of him would grow throughout the whole of the forest. Age didn’t wear well on Trevor. His branches were buckled and bent and huge crevices spread throughout his huge and heavy body which bore a striking resemblance to an angry, terrifying face. His colour was worn and it was impossible for any human or animal to climb or swing from his branches, without them snapping and breaking and causing him unending pain. As the years passed, less and less people would visit Trevor, fearing him and the mysteries that were brought along with him.

Story had it, that when someone so much as ventured close to his trunk, he would seize them. Holding them captive as his twigs and branches prickled the sorry fellow, until he tired of their fight and they escaped a little scratched and embarrassed, but safe enough. One brave soul thought he would climb into Trevor's mouth to see what or whom he had eaten for dinner. He was never to be seen again…

Poor old Trevor. Left all alone. He would look at all the young, smooth barks of certain kinds surrounding him with faint jealousy. They grew up and up. Not out and about and into the ground. They soared in height and their gentle leaves would sway in the the wind as it whispered sweet nothings around their being. He reminisced over the times he shared many a year ago with his best, most trusted friend. They both were planted together and stood side by side as they watched the seasons come and go, growing taller and larger by the year. The travellers came to visit these remarkable hardwoods, passing by in their many forms and ways, seeking solace and shade under their huge and heaving stature, reading and picnicking, hugging and sitting and whiling the hours away. They marvelled over their bulk and families of birds that would flock to them in spring and summer, breeding and feeding their young on strong branches until they became adults themselves and bred and fed their own. At the delicious, most nutritious fruit they bore and allowed to be feasted upon. They were the most loved and visited trees of all the forest and their happiness breathed life into the souls of those around them.

This continued for years and years until Trevor didn’t feel the freshness of air by his side any longer. His friend was beginning to lose his strong, rich, dark mahogany and was becoming grey and white. His bark was peeling from him and his wounds were seeping. The leaves would brown and fall, even in the height of summer. Trevor did all he could within his limitations, but nothing could bring the life back into his friend. Slowly, he realised the disease was eating up his strong and vibrant partner of the forest, as his bark now withered and the leaves became long forgotten. The only other of his kind was lost. Uprooted and destroyed for fear of the others trees catching the deadly disease. Trevor was left alone. 

Trevor couldn’t seem to see the world much like he used to. The joy of hearing the song of the bird, the laughter of children, the breeze blowing softly through his leaves. He closed his eyes to the bright sunlight that bore down on him and the refreshing drops of rain that showered down upon him. It all seemed pointless if he couldn’t share it with another. Slowly the beauty and prestige he once proudly bore alongside his fellow being crept away from him. His bark twisted and crevices appeared around him. His vibrant colour trickled out of him like the juice of a crushed orange. His branches became brittle and they no longer gave off the energy so raw and charged they once did. Trevor was very sad. Not only was he very sad, but now he was very lonely. He had no-one to talk to. To impress. To laugh with. The forest had changed a lot over the years. Less and less humans came to visit or to pass by. He felt isolated and bitter and quite terrified that he might be uprooted too and taken from his home. 

One dark and cloudy day, he felt the need for a stretch. His roots were so tangled and twisted around him, he felt like he was suffocating. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, every single root that was wrapped around him took a great leap from him and spread themselves out across metres of ground. Trevor gave a huge sigh of relief. He felt so good, he did it again. And again he felt the wonderful ease that seemed to have been choking him for so long. His roots now spread out so far, he could barely see where they ended. Trevor looked and thought to himself that he had kept himself confined from life for so long, that he literally had imprisoned his very being. This was the moment, he decided, that he would stop being so terrified. He would reach out more and take from life what he could, instead of wrapping himself up in his own misery. Yes, his best friend was no longer by his side, but he was certainly alive inside his head. He would embrace whomever or whatever passed by and breathe that fresh oxygen again back into the air and those around him.

He heard a few birds flutter past, but none that stopped to rest on his weak and brittle branches. He waited and waited and thought of all the pleasant things that had occurred in his very long and large life. There were so many memories that came up that a long time had passed by and he barely noticed the form in front of him. It was a young boy. A very curious young boy that had come on a dare to visit the terrifying tree that eats its visitors. Trevor looked at the boy and was so happy to have a guest that he tried to exhale the purest oxygen he found inside of him, out of his branches and in the direction of the the boy. The boy looked at the majesty of the great, big tree, at its roots growing all around in every direction and the large knots and holes covering its entirety. The boy, in his wonder ran his fingers over the bark. He put his head in the crevice, looking for what might be. He held onto one of the larger branches and made to climb. Trevor was so delighted that someone had finally come to see him, to take an interest in him, that he couldn’t help himself. He gathered his branches round and embraced the young boy. The boy screamed with fright. On no, thought Trevor. I didn’t mean to scare, I just want a friend to talk to. He tried to express this through his air and removed his branches from the boy. The boy was so shocked he stood completely still. Trevor let a few of his leaves fall to the ground in surrender. The boy remembered the story of this tree eating anyone who came near him, turned immediately and fled from Trevor, bellowing all the way to his escape that the terrifying tree tried to eat him. 

Trevor once again felt the sadness well up inside of him. He remembered how his friend looked and what others might think if they saw him looking the same. He didn’t want to be a tree rotten down to the core. He wanted to be the proud and strong tree that breathed life and energy into others that passed by. He wanted birds to live among his branches and nest and make families. He wanted to be what he used to be. But he was determined not to let this take away his positive spirit. He would not let his roots recoil around him, constricting him again. He would learn from what had happened, imagining how the young boy must have felt at the sight of such an ugly, monstrous creature and how frightened he must have felt at being grasped between his branches. He would not allow himself to cradle another human again, but would enjoy the intimacy of their wonder as they beheld the area around him. 

Again, he returned to the memories of his happiness and of the friendship he bore with anyone and everything around him. Lots of time passed by, seasons changed and soon, Trevor saw the colour of his leaves blossoming. The greyish green now developed and brightened. Little buds of fruit appeared. His whitened trunk refined itself into the most marvellous, rich brown. His appearance of wellbeing gave him so much more confidence that he broke into a smile. The once hollow and empty soul was being made full. It was as if his entirety was reawakened. 

Just as he was admiring his loveliness, a flock of birds perched themselves on his strongest branch, twittering and singing as if they had always been there. A couple passed by on their merry jaunt and sought solace under his shade, seating themselves between his roots.

Trevor closed his eyes, breathed in very deeply, counted all of his blessings and exhaled the freshest oxygen the forest had ever encountered.

THE END