The Magical Tree and the Thief (A short Story)

The Magical Tree and the Thief

A criticism on development measures

The most important thing to live is breath, the breath requires pure oxygen, and pure oxygen comes from tree.

The magical tree has fallen from the lot that’s being carried by the bullock-cart to somewhere, he fallen on the mid of a busy main road, from where every 5 minutes( approximately) a carriage would pass, unknowingly he was made to wait for his possible death until a poor kid from the nearby hut found it and playfully planted it on the
 road-side, the kid's heart was innocent and selfless and when his pure & unselfish hand poured water and soil on the plant - nature made the tree "magical".

For some time when the plant was very fragile and delicate it was very well taken care by the kid like his younger brother, the kid’s eyes were filled with love and despair for the young plant when they were replaced in the name of development and made to leave the town, however the plant was not so strong and needed care, he survived, nature protected it, he grew bigger and stronger, his branch’s spread as if wanted to touch sky.

Time changed and in the name of development four-lane roads were made in front of it and shopping malls in the plot from where the kid’s family was replaced, however the importance of tree being there only grew, the fully AC shopping mall has never being able to cool them enough, people only found calm and solace under the tree’s shades, the tree make them take a nap while waiting for bus/taxi /auto and then when the time came, he gently wake them up with a splash of wind.

On the day the magical tree completed 20 years of his life, on a dry summer day when the sun was high enough to burn skin, a thief while passing from there choose to stop being attracted by the cool surrounding around tree. In his mind he was planning to break someone’s house in the night, someone known to him, someone who went far for few days, then with the money he wished to buy an attractive Smartphone, the tree got to know his intention and he prepared very cool breeze to blow through him, plan worked and he slept, he went to deep sleep, while he was sleeping, all his bad intentions, negativity, failure, frustration and depression which made him thief started coming out as CO2 through his nostrils, the tree soaked them all through its branch’s, he then asked his leaves to supply him pure oxygen and mix it with honesty, hope for a new life, enthusiasm and pride, they did the same, the man slept for 12hours and the process continued.

When he open his eyes, it was morning and he saw the sun smiling through the green leaves of the tree, for him it was a new sun, as if he is watching it for the first time, he smiled back, he was a changed man, he looked around and got an idea of restarting his life afresh, being self-employed with the money he saved, he started selling lemonade under the shades of the tree, the man realized that the tree is indeed magical, he never left the place for coming few years, he started earning a lot, he got famous for his tasty lemonade, those who have it once will definitely have it twice and then every time they would pass, all bus’s , cars, auto filled with passenger’s, shared taxi would stop by it, they found the site very fascinating and they all loved lemonade.

The place and lemonade was liked by people of all class, the man very humbly take appreciation from all of them and he start’s believing more and more on the magical tree,  the students would say it’s delicious, the old retired govt. employee would say coming here is most peaceful experience, he sit there for hours as if allowing the tree to convert his years of accumulated frustration into peace of heart, the intelligent one’s  while manifesting the ambience say, it’s magical, the spiritual one sit for hours in meditation under the tree says it’s close to ecstasy, the housewife  says it’s the best lemonade I ever tasted, the working one’s say coming here is like rejuvenation, the labor class who walks on foot to reach there say it evaporate all our tiredness and weariness to somewhere as if they never existed and they choose to take a jolly nap, the tree will just smile on it and feel proud of its existence.

Everything was fine until that one gloomy day when there were dark clouds in the sky and darkness hid the sun when in the name of development they ordered to cut the tree, and nobody came to save it, except the man who himself was weak, powerless and helpless, they all came out of house on road to watch the fall of a giant and splendid existence and they say nothing, the unselfish deity who gave so much to the world at least deserved a natural death but he was killed in public like a criminal given for mass-slaughter, after uprooting he was left there for days and he slowly saw his death coming, his leaves started drying they were all weeping but he could have done nothing to help them, he has only taught them to convert negative into positive, bad into good, CO2 into oxygen, they were fighter’s of different kind.

An author from the nearby apartment who derive inspiration by watching the tree from his window felt deeply hurt and depressed with this incident and informed journalist’s and media, the media came and they had to be convinced on making an emotional video on the death of tree, those who once enjoyed the shades of tree now joyfully climb on his dead body as if they got victory on nature, a group of people found enthusiastically cutting it’s branch’s with kulhari , women’s as if came to attend a fair, happily collecting leaves and  woods , few modern one’s found capturing pictures, it all resembled a group of wolf’s surrounding the dying animal, keep biting and eating it while it’s still struggling for life and alive.

The magical tree had a very painful death, painful because it received just opposite to what it has given, however it never learned to expect from others, it at least wished for a natural death, he was indeed magical but he never learned to harm, he slowly embraced the death with the blessings for the mankind to whom it unconditionally, unselfishly and kindly served.

But nature watch it all, and it got angry with the unnatural killing of its dearest magical tree, a noble soul  with so much of love yet to be given and it cursed the town, the dark clouds started getting darker, the speed of wind started raising soil’s into sky and took form of a deadly storm, and it hit those standing on the chest of magical tree with kulhari, clouds started thundering with anger and bolt’s of lightning fallen on few on them, then only they all left it and get inside home for saving their life, and it started raining heavily, it didn’t stop for next 12 hours, it make the river’s flow on four lane roads, and drowning those who placed order to cut it and those enjoying his death, there dead bodies were made to float on dirty drains and they were never found by their family, somewhere in the dark tunnel they keep rotting were rats eat them, and snakes crawl on them, and the entire town was made to suffer, and they start weeping and sobbing and lamenting - how can God be so cruel?

 (Note: Think about it, written with good intentions)