It was a bright but cool afternoon. The kind of afternoon where the warmth of the sun rays were diverted by the soft breeze caressing your cheeks. It was unfortunate that everybody else was too busy talking or playing with friends; their laughter reverberating. All of them sharing a piece of themselves’ like a Hershey’s chocolate bar. Savoring each passing moment like the chocolate slowly melting in their hearts. Or was I the unfortunate one for noticing such things?
It was one of those moments where I had already made my memories. I had already shared every piece of myself that I possibly could. It was one of those moments where we spent time putting the jigsaw puzzle pieces back together; revising, adding, taking or reshaping the pieces to fit the overall picture. I suppose that that’s why I noticed such things; why a grey, leafless tree caught my attention.
Just as the weather had gone unnoticed, so was this tree. The rest of the trees around it were a darker shade of brown and they actually had dark, green leaves. Some of them were even producing small flowers; a sign of fruit. It was no wonder this tree stood out. It’s branches were barren like that of the old, condemned fig tree. They were slanted as if reaching for the outer world. It’s trunk was thin (it hadn’t received a great amount of water). You could see the outlining of the bark embedded deep within the tree. As if it too were attempting to adjust it’s reflection. The bark was also splintered, unraveling like a rag doll at the seams. It’s roots were small and weak. They hadn’t been rooted deep into the ground for stability and support. Just about anything could decide the fate of this tree.
As I delved into the lines that defined its bark, I found myself diving into a deep ocean. A storm of memories collided inside me like an old, broken and tattered film strip that no one was watching. At that moment, I realized that if I didn’t drown inside this retrograded hourglass, I’d be able to disregard the soft, whispering wind along with mother nature itself and find my place with my own kind; I would live.
I purged myself out of the storm and walked away from that tree. As I moved forward, I could see it’s shadow. It no longer had naked branches but instead, the tree had a full grown lion’s mane.

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