I Tree

I stand on a high knoll overlooking a peaceful valley. I have stood here for more than four thousand years. I was once man. Homosapien Humanness. How I got to be a tree is a long story. I shall endeavor to tell my tale in these few pages. For with parchment from my bark and the twigs of my lower most limbs for tools I shall attempt to set down this tale.

Eons ago my kind was born on this world. Humans call it Eden. Others have called it many other things. We were a simple grove covering the top of a small hill. This hill has become the hill overlooking the valley. Many changes in geology have occurred since our birth. We watched over our peaceful valley and were content.

Animals came to feed on our fruit and it was hoped would carry our seed far but no other seed ever sprouted. I don’t know if it was the soil of our hill or perhaps the climate had to be just so to propagate the seed.

There was an upheaval of the planet’s crust, causing our hill to rise. A rift in the land created the broad river below. The river cuts through the center of the valley, making it a wide fertile plain. The volcanic ash that rained down of the valley has long since turned to rich soil.

We, the trees, weathered the upheaval. Most of the ash and fire bombs were carried West of us and fell in the valley. We suffered a few broken branches and some damage to our root system but the river that was created in the valley promised a never ending supply of water.

For many centuries we stood proud and tall, watching over our valley.

Beings came in large ships and settled in the valley. They tilled the soil and built cities in our valley. We didn’t mind because they brought new and interesting things for us to watch. The young came and had picnics in the grove and made love under our spreading boughs. We watched and learned. These beings carried their seed within. The rituals for fertilization were many and varied.

All was peace and harmony for many centuries. The beings lived in the valley, spilling over to the hills on either side of the valley.

One day ships came. Ships unlike the ships of the beings who lived in the valley. There was a huge battle. Some of the stray shells landed among the trees and caused severe damage. The one that bore my seed survived so I have memories of the time of my predecessor’s life through that seed.

The beings in the valley died. Their beautiful spires crumbled to dust. The owners of the strange ships never returned. We, the trees, puzzled for many centuries over why the others destroyed them.

More changes occurred, uprooting some of our ancient brothers. The hill was pushed even higher and for a time the river that flowed through the valley did not flow. Other changes came and the stream flowed once again. During its absence we had learned to survive with little water by conserving moisture and not producing fruit.

A small ship came. It landed. Beings came from it and explored the valley. They climbed about in the hills. One rested under the trees. They were of a type that resembled Felines. They climbed about in the branches of the trees, searching for nests of the flying creatures. The flying creatures didn’t nest in the branches but in caves on the far side of the valley.