Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a very old tree. Its knobby roots were very big and they grew deep down under the rich umber soil of the earth. The roots spanned as far as, if not farther than, the broad out-stretched branches of the very old tree. When it rained, it rained a lot. So, the earth and the tree received plenty of water and they had enough to quench their thirst all the way through the long dry periods.
One beautiful day in spring, a young boy came walking along, and his bright eyes beheld the grand old tree. "Never in my life have I seen such a magnificently magical tree." He thought to himself as he stood in awe gazing up at the tree and admired the out-stretched branches, which seemed to span to forever.
As he stood there, awestruck, something strange started to happen. As if by magic, he sensed the tree drawing him nearer to sit amongst its knobby roots. So, he did. The boy sat down under the tree and it was nice. In fact, it was good.
There he sat. He sat there the whole day through. The old tree grew in a place where you could see for miles in every direction. The view was spectacular. He could see the vast lands. It was as if he could see the whole world. The day turned into night and he didn't have to leave.
He slept and all night long and he had the most wonderful dreams. He dreamt about a ship on an ocean. He sailed to faraway lands. In the morning, he awoke refreshed and happy.
It was good, so he sat there another day, and another night, until the days and nights turned into a week, and the weeks turned into a month, and the months turned into seasons, and the seasons turned into years. There he stayed. He was so content. He needed nothing.
The tree loved him. That was all he needed; the tree, and...love.
The boy had sat there for so long, that he started to grow older. He stayed there day after day, night after night, week after week, month after month, season after season, year after year. As time passed, he grew into a handsome young man.
In the day, he sat under the tree resting his back against the tree trunk, completely absorbed by his beautiful surroundings. At night, he slept soundly and dreamed glorious dreams.
His body grew bigger and his hair grew longer. His mustache and his beard grew. The hair on his arms and legs grew longer and darker. The young man sat and he sat. He stayed there until he grew to be a mature man. By this time his hair had grown past his shoulders and the hair covering his face was also getting noticeably longer.
His beautiful dark brown locks of hair curled around his face, neck and shoulders, and, as the branches gently swayed in the wind, his hair waved in the wind with the leaves and of the tree.
He sat and he sat. He sat until he grew to be an old man. His hair had turned white and so had his long beard and mustache. His beautiful snowy locks curled all around the big knobby roots of the tree. The old man just sat, feeling the lovely warmth of the old tree behind his back. This feeling was enough to sustain him. He had needed no food or water through this whole time. For the tree gave him everything he needed and he just sat.
The man had sat there for over one hundred years! Until one day, he and the tree knew it was time. The magic tree seemed to sigh as the sun was setting. And, as the sun set over the horizon, in a magnificent blaze of orange, red, pink and purple hues, the old man's beautiful young heart stopped beating and the old man died.
Many more years passed. The leaves of autumns fell and covered up the old man and his body went back to the earth. The sun rose and set thousands of times. The moon shone through its phases night after night. The seasons came and went and the magic tree stood.
One day, a very beautiful young girl came walking by the tree. She too was struck by the magic tree and its immensity of presence and beauty. She was also called to sit beneath the tree. So, she did.
She sat for the whole day, until it turned to night. She too decided to sleep at the foot of the tree. She too had beautiful dreams of sailing on the sea to exotic faraway lands. The next day came and the girl stayed. She stayed for the whole of that day and the next. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, season after season; the girl sat.
Eventually, the beautiful young girl who had first arrived at the tree, had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her golden hair grew into gorgeous long wavy locks which curled around her tan colored arms and legs. Her hands were also beautiful. She would wave them in the wind as the branches of the tree waved. She would smile as the wind blew them gently to and fro, to and fro.
There, under the magic tree, she stayed until she grew into a mature woman. By this time, there was definitely a deep wisdom about her. This occurrence could only be attributed to the powerful, and subtle energy (called love) that the old magic tree had freely given to her for all these years.
The man and the woman were magically sustained for their whole lives by one thing; one thing that nothing and nobody can do without. That one thing is love. Love is all anybody really needs. It is the love that gives us life. The thing we search for; the thing we long for; the one thing that is inherent in all of us; undoubtedly is: love...Love...LOVE.
The woman stayed under the tree. Her hair turned silver and gray. And, when the wind blew, her hair gently waved in the wind with the leaves of the tree, as if she were part of the tree and the majestic interlude between heaven and earth. Her limbs seemed to move as if she was hearing a symphony. Her presence radiated with an iridescence light, as if she was symbiotically connected with the tree and with everything that came before her.
Usually, the most one could see of her was her beautiful face smiling in the sunshine. As the wind died down, her silvery locks rested amongst the roots of the old magic tree.
The beautiful old woman sat and she sat. Until one morning, as the sun rose up over the horizon in a majestic orchestra of crimson and indigo hues, the old woman's heart beat its last beat and she died.
Seasons passed and the leaves and the earth covered her up, until there were no remnants found of her ever being there.
Much time passed and the magic tree seemed to change its color to a lighter shade of green. It also seemed to be decreasing in size somewhat. Something was happening. You could feel the magic tree longing for the company of the man and the woman.
Several years passed. And as spring arrived, beautiful flowers covered the ground where the man and the woman once lay. These flowers grew in a particularly unusual formation. It appeared as though, in the flowers at the base of old magic tree, the man and the woman were embracing. And, as the wind blew, it was almost as though they were living again.
One year passed, and the tree was happy. One might say that it even looked happy. Then... one crisp spring morning, something wonderful happened.... A little sapling could be seen growing a few feet from the grand old magic tree.... The branches of the grand old magic tree seemed to be reaching over and around the new baby tree.... just like a mother protecting it's newborn baby..... It was truly a breathtaking sight to behold!
As the small tree grew bigger and stronger, the old tree seemed to lose some of its life and it began to wither slowly. The baby tree was beautiful and strong and magic, too. And, it, too, would live for many, many years.
One afternoon as the sun set over the horizon and the sky was a blaze of crimson, persimmon and lemon hues, the old tree died. The new magic tree was strong. It would live a very, very long time. So, the story of the magic tree would go on, and on, and on.
Janice Meyer Kirkpatrick 2009 ©
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