An Apricot Grows

Submitted by E on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 01:18

*A/N* Hey everybody. This is my little way of saying goodbye to the tree of apricots that I love.

      Dear Apricotpie,    Ten years ago there was a farmer. This farmer had a big, open field of gold that sits on a hill, a blank canvas. It was so blank that the farmer wanted to plant something, something useful.             He planted an apricot tree.             He grasped a small seed in the palm of one earth-coated hand and a spade in the other and marched out into the field of gold. He dug a hole, still carrying the seed, and then set the seed in side it.             The sun beat down on his back as he carefully patted the freshly dug soil down, to protect the seed from the rain and storms.             Quickly, the seed sprouted into a small apricot tree. At first, it was small and thin with very few branches. The farmer watered it every day as it grew more.             Soon, the branches became more and more numerous, and the stretched themselves wider and wider. The trunk grew wider and stronger. A tiny apricot sprouted from the end of a branch.             In the ninth year, the tree became crowded. Brambles and vines had grown up the tree’s strong trunk, making it weaker. The top of the tree was drooping and becoming heavy with so many apricots.             So the farmer set to work, cutting off the heavy branches and saving the apricots, prying away the vines and brambles. At first the branches resisted, and the apricots did not want to fall. They were unsure of such change, for the tree had been becoming more and more like this for some time now.             But the farmer continued on.             Now the tree is in its tenth year, and the farmer has become tired. There are so many apricots now that he can hardly fit them in his bowl that he keeps in the center of his table. The tree has grown so large that his head barely touches its middle.             The farmer decides to cut the tree down, for he cannot bear to see it wither away into nothing.             The apricots do not want to stop growing. As the tree slowly falls and hits the ground, the apricots scatter all over the field.             One apricot makes a plan, a plan to help them heal.             The apricot tells the others and they wait for the wind to blow. They roll down the other side of the hill, into the next field.             They stumble and fall and rise again, but they manage to land safely. They wait for their seeds to plant.             Finally, a tree begins to grow. It is a tiny tree, with scarcely any branches.             And then, as the tree before it did, the branches begin to spread.             An apricot grows.
Author's age when written
14
Genre
Essay

Comments

Julie

Thu, 09/30/2010 - 03:43

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So beautiful. I love it so much...and I think Ben would approve too.

Formerly Kestrel

James

Fri, 10/01/2010 - 18:10

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 Though it still makes me sad to think about it.

<><~~~~~~~~~~~~><>
"The idea that we should approach science without a philosophy is itself a philosophy... and a bad one, because it is self-refuting." -- Dr. Jason Lisle

Mary

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 23:01

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I really like this.  Very well-written.  Although I'm with James: it still makes me sad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Brother: Your character should drive a motorcycle.
Me: He can't. He's in the wilderness.
Brother: Then make it a four-wheel-drive motorcycle!