The Tree

A short story
by Allen Cody

The pine box was too small, so they chopped a hole an‘ me feet waggled outta one end.  Then they lowered me inta the ground near grandaddy.

Me wife Judy cried.  Me brother Norton cried.  Maw an’ paw, they cried too.  An’ then I heard ’em say . . . “GOOD BYE.”

“NO! NO! NO!  I AIN’T DEAD!  I AIN’T DEAD!  NO I AIN’T,” I hollered, but I had no voice.  But . . . it was true . . . I was dead.

Then it was quiet.  It was dark.  It was very dark an’ very quiet fer a long, long time.  They came with flowers fer a while, but I could not make ’em hear me words.  It was dark an’ quiet an’ there was a lotta memories.  Memories of Life.

I wanted to tell me baby son Jacob how important every minute of Life was.  How important every second of his sweet, sweet young Life was, but he heard me not.  Time was once so important, but now it had no meaning at all.  And I drifted through eternal darkness toward forever.

Years blowed by like whispers in the wind.  I must admit, I thought I heard music, I think.  An’ after some piece of time, I guess, I figgered out how to travel a bit.  How to visit.  I mean, how to visit the, you know, the Living.  But I could not talk or nothin’.  An’ I seen how the things that I thought was so damn important when I was alive, now they really didn’t mean a damn.  I had so much time now to think.  About all the things I should have did.  All the things I should have said.  All the time I wasted.  How much of Life I missed strugglin’ for them money dollars, as Life washed through me fingers, an’ flew past me like fast movin’ clouds above reach an’ was lost ferever.  But the darkness, the darkness, always the darkness surrounded me.  Me memories rattled like empty ol’ tin cans in the darkness.

An’ then, after what musta been a long, long time, the roots, the roots, they found me.  Suddenly the roots was moving all round me, fast and quiet in the darkness.  An’ then one wrapped round me neck.  At first I shouted:  “NO . . . NO . . . NO.” But it was no use.  An’ the roots wove through me bones, through me skeleton, found me skull an’ threaded through me eye sockets and wove their hard, dark, fingers round me ribs.

An’ one day, the sun rose an’ the eternal darkness was over.  An’ I was the Tree.  Me leaves blowed in the wind, an’ me head was in the sky.  Me roots clutched to the earth, to the dark, silent earth, from where I’d come.  Me arms moved an’ I made sweet, sweet music with th’ wind in me branches.  An’ there was Light, bright shinin’ Light.  The yellow sun it warmed me skin.  An’ I could see the blue, blue sky an’ the salty blue ocean agin.

An’ then one day I seen ’em lowerin’ sweet Jacob inta the ground.  An’ I sent out a root to find him.

Copyright © 2008 by Allen Cody