THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE: By Jennifer Jackson
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011There is a maple tree at the edge of the forest. The only one the eye can see along the careless line of evergreens. Its massive trunk shoots skyward, taller than most other trees. The branches are like coffee cans, large and round. Leaves hang like vibrant umbrellas and, when the wind blows, it shakes its green garb joyfully. It is the most beautiful tree along the careless line of evergreens.
*
The maple tree of summer awakes after winter sleep. Trunk once proud, is slightly bent as though winter forced it to kneel and its branches are not as thick or high up. The bark looks chipped and worn down.
A spigot is attached to the tree, Frankenstein’s bellybutton, jutting out. A plastic bucket sits underneath hungrily collecting sap. Dripping can be heard over birds in nearby trees. No birds make their home here now.
**
Buckets on the spigot alternate colors by sets of hands. Long, thin branches whip in little breeze. Roots become tangled, dry. The leaves aren’t sprouting very fast and the trunk now bears a strange tattoo crudely cut into a heart with initials. Initials the tree knows nothing of, initials it must carry. Hands switching the colored pails also created its newest scar.
***
A truck is crashed into the tree yesterday, instantly killing the driver and passenger. The man and woman were going home from their daily sap-collecting trip when their tire blew unexpectedly, forcing them off the road.
On closer inspection, the police found a maple syrup spigot wedged in the tire’s rubber. They are still baffled.
****
There is a maple tree at the edge of the forest. It has a massive trunk, large branches, and glossy, black leaves. There is a slight ding in the bark that almost looks like a heart but otherwise, it is perfect. It is happy. It is the most beautiful tree among the careless line of evergreens.
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©2011 Jennifer Jackson
Jennifer Jackson lives in Wisconsin with her once-southern husband and has been writing for fifteen years across many genres. When she isn’t writing, she does beadwork and plays video games.
