The Last Tree

• Laura Webb, Grade 7, Matthew Flinders College
• Short Story
• 2017

Finalist in the 'Write Here Write Now 2017' competition

All trees are different, but all of the trees live and die. A young tree may flourish, but an old tree may wither away to nothing but a ghost. A particular tree may live from a time where it was worshipped, to the time humans left planet Earth. A particular tree may die alone, as the last of it’s kind. This particular tree may be happy, because of all the joy it made in it’s younger lifetime.
Or perhaps this particular tree was sad, because it had not made anyone smile for years. The last tree felt like it had witnessed Earth’s life, and Earth’s death.
The tree knew it was withering away, but it tried to stand tall through it’s misery and grief. It’s life was ending, a slow, painful death.
After years of the pain, something changed. The ancient tree had been thinking about how happy humans could be, and the next day, they could be filled with rage and anger. Then, hours later, they could be asleep, peaceful and still.
The old tree had began to grow a new branch, but something was different. After a while, the tree noticed why he felt puzzled by the branch. The tree had fruit on it’s new branch. When the fruit had grown into plump golden apples, birds of all shapes and sizes flew into the tree’s lonely valley, and ate the fruit.
The tree, now pumped with of energy and enthusiasm, began to grow many more branches of fruit, thinking of what this meant for it. What this meant for planet Earth and the creatures on it.
Earth was a planet full of despair, with grey, smoky air from the human’s old factories, with no trees or greenery in sight but the ancient tree. Clouds always filled the sky, casting a grey and dull view of everything. That was before the old tree began to grow new branches.
Now the tree enlightened the valley it lived in, with colourful birds flying to grab a juicy and fresh fruit. Other animals came as well, which delighted the tree because had never seen some of the species that came to it. The tree knew that these animals were most likely the last on Earth, and treasured all of the creatures.
From the apples, new trees grew, making the valley of the last tree no more. Now it was the valley of the trees. Soon there were tens of young trees, making the valley even more bursting with life and happiness.
Over time, the trees would grow all over the planet, and I will be the one who caused it, the tree thought with joy. The creatures may not remember, but recognition did not matter to a well over senior and waning tree. The tree thought that it was going to be the last tree on Earth, but it was the first tree of a new time, a new era.