Emily Carothers - Short Story - Fayette County
Item
Title
Emily Carothers - Short Story - Fayette County
Description
tree story
Abstract
It started slowly. Day by day, I grew. Out of the ground, above it, and beyond. I watched the world around me swirl as it hustled from place to place. Everything was so new, so exciting! One thing always was the same, though. A little human, running to greet me every day. I really enjoyed seeing her every day, she was so dedicated to come rolling over the grass, screeching with delight every time she saw me. I mean, I couldn’t really move. Roots don’t work like that. She would always bring fun presents, like pointy sticks and colorful rocks. She was the highlight of my warm, hot days in July.
As I grew, I was above her presents. I liked being able to grow, and looked forward to being as tall as some of the other trees around me. I watched people coming and going, travelling fast around the terrain. The air became chilly, and instead of her strappy tank tops, my girl instead wore vibrant, long-sleeved sweaters. She came with people young and old, her friends and family. I wish I had something that special, that happy and unique.
She got older, and I continued to grow. I got more limbs and leaves, and she got taller. She looked more like some of the bigger humans now, instead of being one of the smallest. The girl had a dog now, a huge one, big as a bench. She came out of her building with it, and I watched it go bounding with its endless energy. The girl had an exciting life and tons of happy moments, and I watched as she grew.
The girl had lots of people in her house. I was surrounded by my kind too, but none of us have anything meaningful. Most of them are years older than me, and everyone is surrounded by their own community. The girl’s family however, spends lots of time together. They walked around among us in the forest and went from place to place, almost always together. As I grew, I found myself searching more and more for this connection with the birds in my branches and the rodents at my roots.
One day, a haze appeared over the sky. The sky turned dark and splashes of color appeared over the mountains, rushing down towards the cabin. It spread quickly, nearly touching everything in sight. Large trucks and flying machines came and went, attempting to put out the great blaze. The girl and her family rushed into their vehicle without much, and sped away. I hope they were going to be safe, but I had to worry about me. The heat of the flames was all around me, consuming everything in sight. The cabin was now filled with the flames, destroying the roof and insides. The trees all around me were burnt and dying, and I wondered how far it would spread. I felt my leaves singe and branches turn black.
After many days, the fire was gone. Several people had gone from this land, and nothing was left for their return. The girl and her family had not come back yet. The entire house had fallen, and nothing was left for them. I was barely standing. Near everything had died in the land, including tons of trees. I was one of the lucky ones, as the cabin’s fence shielded me from some of the destruction. A few leaves were on my branches, but most had burnt. I saw trees all around, none who hadn’t been touched by the fire. Many, many animals had also perished in this fire. The woods were no longer filled with animal noise, they were nearly soundless. The forest had suffered greatly. For many months, I did not grow. I healed with the rest of the forest. Small spouts came up from the ground when my leaves started to grow back in full force. Animals ventured in my branches once again, and young birds called in my limbs. A few brave humans came back, and resettled in the ravaged forest but none were the girl and her family. I grieved for them, but understood their struggle to return. While I recovered, I watched the new trees grow. I told them stories of the fire, the people, and the animals who travelled between us. That deer has a scar from surviving a fight with a bear, I would say, and they’d all admire the deer. I watched them grow and thrive, discover the world as I did in my youth. Animals cycled through the woods, people travelled, and we trees grew to touch the sky. Hundreds of birds reached for my limbs every day, squirrels travelled up my trunk, and animals slept under my canopy. Many generations filled up around me, and the forest regrew. If you saw it now, you’d never realize what had once happened. The little sprouts grew up, and were now mighty and strong. The forest was filled with chatter and call from all around, and I got to watch it all from my height.
One day, something special happened. In front of the old corpse of the cabin, a car pulled up. We all were curious, as we occasionally saw a hiker, but never a car. A few people came out, one old couple and two children. They walked around, near me, searching around the bottom of a few of my neighbors. Once they looked under me, the woman seemed to find what she was looking for: old stones that were once colorful, but now faded.
“Ah, hello tree. I never thought you survived that nasty fire. I am glad I was wrong, though. Look, how you all have rebuilt. Look kids, at how they’ve grown. Nothing like those pictures I showed you, right?”
My girl was old now, but she was the same. With her little children, she has rebuilt her life, too.
As I grew, I was above her presents. I liked being able to grow, and looked forward to being as tall as some of the other trees around me. I watched people coming and going, travelling fast around the terrain. The air became chilly, and instead of her strappy tank tops, my girl instead wore vibrant, long-sleeved sweaters. She came with people young and old, her friends and family. I wish I had something that special, that happy and unique.
She got older, and I continued to grow. I got more limbs and leaves, and she got taller. She looked more like some of the bigger humans now, instead of being one of the smallest. The girl had a dog now, a huge one, big as a bench. She came out of her building with it, and I watched it go bounding with its endless energy. The girl had an exciting life and tons of happy moments, and I watched as she grew.
The girl had lots of people in her house. I was surrounded by my kind too, but none of us have anything meaningful. Most of them are years older than me, and everyone is surrounded by their own community. The girl’s family however, spends lots of time together. They walked around among us in the forest and went from place to place, almost always together. As I grew, I found myself searching more and more for this connection with the birds in my branches and the rodents at my roots.
One day, a haze appeared over the sky. The sky turned dark and splashes of color appeared over the mountains, rushing down towards the cabin. It spread quickly, nearly touching everything in sight. Large trucks and flying machines came and went, attempting to put out the great blaze. The girl and her family rushed into their vehicle without much, and sped away. I hope they were going to be safe, but I had to worry about me. The heat of the flames was all around me, consuming everything in sight. The cabin was now filled with the flames, destroying the roof and insides. The trees all around me were burnt and dying, and I wondered how far it would spread. I felt my leaves singe and branches turn black.
After many days, the fire was gone. Several people had gone from this land, and nothing was left for their return. The girl and her family had not come back yet. The entire house had fallen, and nothing was left for them. I was barely standing. Near everything had died in the land, including tons of trees. I was one of the lucky ones, as the cabin’s fence shielded me from some of the destruction. A few leaves were on my branches, but most had burnt. I saw trees all around, none who hadn’t been touched by the fire. Many, many animals had also perished in this fire. The woods were no longer filled with animal noise, they were nearly soundless. The forest had suffered greatly. For many months, I did not grow. I healed with the rest of the forest. Small spouts came up from the ground when my leaves started to grow back in full force. Animals ventured in my branches once again, and young birds called in my limbs. A few brave humans came back, and resettled in the ravaged forest but none were the girl and her family. I grieved for them, but understood their struggle to return. While I recovered, I watched the new trees grow. I told them stories of the fire, the people, and the animals who travelled between us. That deer has a scar from surviving a fight with a bear, I would say, and they’d all admire the deer. I watched them grow and thrive, discover the world as I did in my youth. Animals cycled through the woods, people travelled, and we trees grew to touch the sky. Hundreds of birds reached for my limbs every day, squirrels travelled up my trunk, and animals slept under my canopy. Many generations filled up around me, and the forest regrew. If you saw it now, you’d never realize what had once happened. The little sprouts grew up, and were now mighty and strong. The forest was filled with chatter and call from all around, and I got to watch it all from my height.
One day, something special happened. In front of the old corpse of the cabin, a car pulled up. We all were curious, as we occasionally saw a hiker, but never a car. A few people came out, one old couple and two children. They walked around, near me, searching around the bottom of a few of my neighbors. Once they looked under me, the woman seemed to find what she was looking for: old stones that were once colorful, but now faded.
“Ah, hello tree. I never thought you survived that nasty fire. I am glad I was wrong, though. Look, how you all have rebuilt. Look kids, at how they’ve grown. Nothing like those pictures I showed you, right?”
My girl was old now, but she was the same. With her little children, she has rebuilt her life, too.
Youth(s) First Name and Initial of Last Name
Emily Carothers
Age Division
15
Category
Short Story
County
Fayette
