The Story That Made Her Love Me

There once was a girl who had an apple tree. Every day, she would visit the tree. She’d climb his limbs, swing from his arms, and nestle in his trunk to sleep in the sun.

For 10 summers, she continued the ritual. She’d return every summer to see him—her tree. Until one year…

That summer, she found that he had been cut down. After so many years, she’d come to need him. He was a part of her. And now he was gone.

With tears brimming, she sat herself down with a thud in the spot where he once stood. She tussled with the grass as though it was his hair as she remembered the days of yore. Tears traced small lanes down her face as they fell to the rough soil.

In her misery, her moment of weakness, she made a promise. She vowed never to return again. For years and years, she never returned. She grew, loved, lost: lived.

It wasn’t until she was all but gone from this world when she finally decided to return. And when she did, she found him: the most beautiful tree had grown from his seeds and her tears, and he had grown taller and healthier than his father.

Carefully, she lowered herself down to nestle by the trunk as she used to do. His rough bark felt good against her skin. She sighed and smiled as she fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

And they were together again.