Young Writers Society

Your average tree, in your average forest.

Sage pranced around in the forest, looking for something to do. She gripped onto the straps of her book bag tightly, hoping her random expedition wouldn’t cause the bag to fall off. She had important things in there. Such as her phone, some snacks, her journal (which she used for sketching odd things she saw), and a few pencils and a sharpener. She wanted to find something today, something that no one had ever seen before.

For her age, it was odd for her to be an adventurous one. Usually most 13-year-old girls would rather be obsessively texting their guy friends or scrolling down dashboards and home pages of various idiotic websites. But not her, she just wanted to explore and keep her mind young and free. But she was growing up, her beautiful childhood flashing before her eyes, remembering wondrous and countless memories of her playing and frolicking about in the endless woods forever and ever. That’s how she wanted it to be. She didn’t want to worry about hormones, puberty, parents and everything in between.

It would all happen soon and quick, but for now, she had to keep her childhood with her as long as she could. But she soon snapped out of her daze of the sadness and loneliness that was to come soon, and heard the sound of creaking wood. Sage quickly darted towards a nearby bush and peaked out to the forest from the top of it (it being the bush). She scanned the area, and focused her vision on an odd-looking tree.

“What the-?” She whispered to herself.

She looked at it closely, and saw it move with the sound of creaking wood. She gasped heavily and ducked into the bush. The odd tree moved a bit more, its wooden face looking in the direction of the bush. Sage slowly crawled out from behind the bush and stood up, this tree creature towering over her. It was tall, and had the body of a human, but made out of wood, with a leafy head in place of hair, as well as many twigs and excess leaves all over it.

The tree creature made yet another creaking noise as it bent down to be face to face with the girl. Sage was frightened, yet oddly curious about it. The tree creature held up its wooden hand to Sage, and Sage slowly placed her hand on the wooden palm. The corners of her lips began to turn upward, as she now had something to sketch. She quickly took her hand away and studied the creature, then grabbed her journal from her bookbag. The creature tilted its head and watched her curiously.

After a moment of the creature watching her sketch, she finally finished her drawing and showed it to the creature. The creature slowly placed one of its fingers on the paper and stared. It looked a bit disappointed. Sage tilted her head, wondering what was wrong. She suddenly realized, that she had drawn this on paper, and paper was made from chopped up trees. She couldn’t imagine how upset he must’ve felt, that his friends, family, and entire race were chopped up and made into these stupid pieces of wood that humans used to simply draw or write on.

“I’m… so sorry.” Sage looked up to the creature and placed a hand on its wooden cheek.

Sage could see the utter sadness and disappointment in its eyes, and began to tear up, knowing this creature couldn’t cry or express its emotions either.

“If I could change it…” She began, but the creature shook its head and slowly pushed her hand off of its cheek as if to say, “The past cannot be reversed.”

It grabbed Sage by her waist, and pulled her up onto its shoulders, so she was sat high off the ground on its shoulders. She held carefully onto the branches on its head. It led her to a pond, and she looked around carefully. Once her vision focused properly, she saw many other creatures just like him. There were mushroom creatures, and various other tree creatures. She smiled and teared up, it was a beautiful sight, to see that these creatures were keeping each other safe from the axes and blades headed for them. She had no idea about this community that she used to assume could only come up in human dreams.

Sage felt joy, knowing that her childishness of believing in mythical creatures had been long gone. She didn’t feel childish for once, she felt right. She felt a void in her heart begin to come together, her many dreams of wandering into countless forests and finding the most unusual, yet beautiful, creatures. She felt pure joy at that moment, but pure sadness at the fact that it may all disappear due to the blades of human society. The humans wanting to burn it all down and manufacture it all. Turn it into a dump or wasteland of plastic and forgotten memories.

She could imagine it now, the people coming into the forest with full force, brandishing axes and chopping it all down. Sage looked to the magnificent tree, carrying her to witness this, and hugged it. The creature grabbed her by the waist again, and set her down by the pond. She watched it closely, and its color began to fade, along with the creature itself. She looked around her and witnessed the trees and mushroom creatures fade away before her eyes. But they couldn’t, she knew they were real. Could she have gone insane? She knew they existed, they had to! But she could never be sure.

Sage watched as the fading creatures walked together, wood creaking, hand in hand. They faded into magical wisps of glowing gold dust, as seemed to all have died together.

I never understood why they showed me such a thing, to let my imagination fade away, as they did? To leave me questioning theirs and my existence? I could never know, but I knew they were there, watching me. Every day, I would come back to the pond, and wait.

I would wait for them forever.

"Our imaginations will soon end up eating us alive."

-xJupiter