Littlest Tree in the Forest
Part 1: The Awakening
For the next few posts, I am using my Medium account as a source or inspiration. These posts are December- or winter-related, and I want to share them with you. There will be more posts than usual as ‘December presents’.
This Medium story has been completely rewritten in three parts.
Needles shiver in the cold. Voices mumble. Blurry shadows.
“He is waking up too!” A light voice near him. “See, he is shivering like I did last year.”
He shakes, feeling…. Branches stretch, feeling warmth when one catches light shining through the surrounding shapes.
“Shush, Twigs, he is fine. Look up at me, dear. I’m Ama. It will be alright.” A soft female voice said.
Trying to clear his vision, everything suddenly swam into view.
He is surrounded by fir and spruce trees. The one talking to him is a big but slender spruce. On his other side and a bit higher on the mountain is a fir with dark needles. The biggest of all said with a deep, rumbling male voice, “Welcome, little one, or should I say ‘Littlest Tree’? I am Bar.”
The air is alive with anticipation, warmth, and a welcoming vibe. He took a deep breath.
“There you are.” Ama rustled softly.
“Where, where am I?” LT asked hesitantly.
A lot of rustling needles, like gentle laughter. “You are with us in the forest, dear. You are newly awakened; it takes some getting used to.”
A high little voice behind him said, “Because he is so tiny, right?”
“Shhh, don’t be rude,” came Bar’s deep rumble. “You are newly awakened too, remember.”
“Just not that small,” mumbled the spruce, staring at him darkly. Unlike Twigs, this tree had little branches, like LT himself, though it was a bit taller than him, and the needles stood out all prickly.
“Can’t be helped; all you little ones will grow in time.” Bar shushed him
Small? Roots? It was all confusing to the Littlest Tree. But he did feel something. A gentle tickling from below. The others looked like they were standing on the stuff beneath him, but, like him, didn’t stop at the ground level.
“That is called the ground or soil, dear. We get our food and water from there. Can you shiver your stem? Then you will feel it in your roots.” Ama said to encourage him.
He shivered again; this time he felt it go way down. Suddenly he felt something tickling.
“Ah yes, excellent,” she said. “Plant them firmly; that is the most important thing for now. We will send you some water. Make sure you take as much as you can; it will help you grow.”
The warmth on his branch had shifted, and now he felt like his stem and needles were taking the heat. He rustled.
“That is the warmth of the sun. That and its light will make you grow tall,” Bar rumbled.
Obedient, LT stretched his branches towards it.
“That’s it! Well done, dear.”
He felt the love of the other trees washing over him.
The light voice of the one-year-old fir turned out to be Twigs, because in between his branches there were many little sprigs. In his enthusiastic way, he told Littlest Tree all about the worms, the surrounding animals, and that he was part of something called the ‘forest’ with many different trees and bushes.
The fir and spruce trees were grouped on a slope of a mountain. He learned about the other creatures in the forest, what and who they were. Animals would shoot up in the branches, birds flew in and rested, and bunnies would nestle in the ground.
Littlest Tree was indeed the smallest around. The rude new tree teased him regularly, earning him the name Little Bully. Bar would shush it, but he would deliberately overshadow Littlest Tree without a word, daring LT to tell on him.
The other trees sent him more water and lifted their branches to let him catch the sun. He even started to feel more in tune with the signals the others sent each other over longer distances. He grew to like the murmur in the distance by this ‘root system’ that connected all the trees at their roots.
The sun seemed to crawl towards the earth as it got colder, until it would stay low during the short day. One night white specks came down. Snow. The other trees explained it would help his roots stay warm and give a bit of water. It snowed for a few days, making the world sparkly.
As the snow clouds drifted away, the Littlest Tree could see the stars again. He loved to gaze at them.
“Look, Ama! The stars are bright tonight, especially that one.”
As Ama looked up, she suddenly shook all over. “Bar, dear, look! The Season Star is here!”
A soft rumble answered her. “Indeed.” He raised his voice, thundering through the root system as well, “It is almost time!”
This set off the whole mountain of firs and spruces. The root system pulsed with sudden delight and anticipation, sending pulses with everyone talking all at once.
“Ama….!? Time for what?” LT tried to understand the excitement, but his branches quivered.
“It is okay, dear, don’t worry. It is the Measuring,” but her needles were shaking and her voice rustled.
The air was buzzing with anticipation, and he felt it in his stem, his little branches trying to shake like the others did.
When the sun came up, the littlest tree attempted to tap into the water, yet the nearby trees were no longer sharing.
“Can I have some water, please?” He asked politely to the trees a few years older than he. They gave him only enough for the day, and the rest of it was distributed to the young trees that awakened last year or before.
The older trees did not get any extra but didn’t seem to need it. Their roots had spread farther, while the younger trees had a shorter range, still farther than he had.
Littlest Tree had seen several humans walking around before, in pairs or with dogs. The other trees didn’t get fazed by these visits normally. Yet now a whole group of humans came into the forest. Big vehicles rolled by the group, called ‘carts’. Their voices rang in the air, only heightening the expectant buzz.
The trees all responded with big pulses in their roots and thinly concealed rustling. Bar said to the young firs and spruces, “Make sure you stand as tall as you can and spread those needles wide. Reach high when it is your time for the measuring tape”.
One human held small tape next to the three- and four-year-old trees first, pointing at some of them. After each pointing, two humans began hacking at the ground. At first the Littlest Tree thought they were going to water the forest. As humans worked, whole parts of the soil were removed.
“Hey, wait, we need that!” He exclaimed in his little worried voice.
“It is called digging, LT,” Ama said, while encouraging the younger trees to reach as far as they could. “They are going to choose some of us and take them.”
“Taking them? Where?”
Bar rumbled, “Taking them home for the Tradition. Be quiet now.”
LT now saw that the trees were dug out with a big ball of roots still attached. They were laid carefully on the carts.
The measuring human came closer, holding a tape beside one- and two-year-old trees. Just like them, he stood as tall as he could. He wanted to go too.
When it was his turn, he said to the human, ‘Yes, I am awakened; I will go with you!” Yet he didn’t measure up, not like Twigs who was already being dug out.
“Wait, what about me?”
Little Bully laughed with an edge in his voice, “Don’t think they will take you if they didn’t take me, LT. I am taller than you will ever be.”
“Aw dear,” Ama said when LT started to shake, “Don’t you worry. Make sure to drink, catch light, and grow… Next year they might take you too.”
Puzzled, LT stared at where the other trees were lying on the carts. He stretched his branches as if he could keep them within their circle. The holes where his friends had stood stared at him mockingly.
Bar said as Twigs was hauled away, “Well done! Enjoy the Tradition and make us proud, you hear?” Ama added more softly, “You will have a great time. I am so proud of you!” Instead of being supportive, LT let his branches hang with shame, berating himself for not growing enough.
As the forest returned to a calmer state, LT focused on the food and water from the soil. The rooting system certainly felt different with numerous trees dug out. He realized there were a lot fewer pulses, yet a lot more water.
That is good, right? I have to grow bigger.
He missed Twigs for his company and humor. Even more so that Little Bully kept pestering him now that the focus was no longer divided. He tried to ignore the teasing and vowed to grow. All he wanted was to be chosen next year. Just like Twigs.
One night loud bangs echoed over the forest; flickering lights were setting the whole world on fire. If he had been able to, LT would have left the forest. What noise and flashes! Some specks were falling, but not the pretty white snow. These things were black, and if they touched his branches, it would feel almost as hot as the sun. Shaking his branches to get rid of it, he asked, “What is this? Is it dangerous?”
“It is just from the humans. They shoot fireworks up once a year but always make sure we are safe.” Bar rumbled, “It is part of The Season.” His voice was distant, as if remembering something LT didn’t understand at all.
After that another group of humans came, with the carts… and the chosen trees! The firs and spruces were put back into the holes and covered with the soil. They were talking over each other. “The colors! And they were so nice,” or “I had cats in me every morning, such a strange feeling.” All of them agreed it had been splendid.
LT tried to look happy for them, opening his branches in support while listening. Yet, his branches on the other side were sagging with disappointment.
I’m awake too. Why am I not good enough? I want that merriment even though I don’t understand. What do I have to do to be seen?
Little Bully said in disdain, “Well, I don’t care whether I get chosen or not. It is stupid to return with all this stuff to get out of your branches. Hmph,” and refused to talk to the lucky trees, jealousy as green as his needles.
Finally, the older of the chosen trees calmed the younger ones down. Gradually the root system connected with the replanted trees again, restoring the pulse and murmur. Finally, it felt like they had never left at all. Yet LT kept thinking about being chosen, longing to be picked next time.
It began to get quiet in the forest. The more trees fell silent, the more animals seemed to get active.
Night by night, LT saw the Star getting less bright and harder to see. Bar noticed that too, saying to the younger trees, “The Winter Star is fading; that means our Season is going to end. Get your roots in deep and untangle any branches.” LT did his best, though he felt Little Bully was trying to get deeper out of spite. The forest seemed eerily quiet. Too quiet, LT didn’t like it at all.
“Ama?” No response. “Ama?!”
A sigh. “Yes, LT? What is it, dear?”
“Where is the Star going?” LT's worried little voice was met with silence. LT now called louder, panic striking his needles. “Ama? Ama, please!”
“Hm… it is okay, LT. You will be fine.” She yawned; her words were quieter than usual. “This special star only is here for the winter, heralding our Season start and finish... When the star fades, we fall into the Big Sleep. It is what always happens at the end of The Season...” She yawned again. “Older trees get sleepy first, because they wake up first; young trees fall asleep later. By the time the star is gone, everyone will be fast asleep... Keep connected to the root system, and you will be fine.” And with a yawn, she fell asleep.
He was left with Little Bully and a few others. Little Bully bombarded him with snarky remarks: “Don’t think growing will work when you are asleep. Just hope you will wake up again.” He started to yawn. “Next time I will wave at you when I am chosen, and you just stand here looking stupid.” Yet, LT hardly responded, too busy feeling the emptiness inside him. Falling asleep shut Little Bully up eventually, giving both rest and loneliness to LT.
The others fell asleep until he stood alone. No one to talk to. The root system had been quieting down, and now he hardly felt any pulses. Just a little trickle reminded him there was anyone there with him. LT kept wondering what would come next, if he would sleep, and if anyone would indeed come back after the Big Sleep.
Although he tried to stay and grow, even LT had to fall asleep. Oblivious to the seasons, he never noticed birds nesting in his branches and the weather changing from chilly to hot and back to cold. Instead he dreamt of the Measuring and being on the cart, having cats in his branches, and returning with pride.
Want to know what happens next? What is this Season? Watch for the next part!
