What do you see when you look at a picture of a bunch of trees? Do you just see some pretty trees or do you see more? What can you read into this picture? When you look at any picture, do you only see what is right in front of your eyes? Or do you see more? Maybe you can see romance or fantasy. Or maybe you are someone who reads mystery and intrigue into everything you see.
In this picture, you see a different view of trees. You need to study it, ask “what if” questions and come up with stories that could be written based on the photograph. Allow your imagination to take flight and explore all possibilities.
Have you ever looked at a group of trees the way they are seen in this picture? The trees could be really tall, or you could be extremely short. Or you could be lying on the ground.
What if you are a midget who has escaped from the circus and you are looking for a place to hide? You are sick and tired of being treated more like a possession than a person. Could you find a hiding place amongst these trees? If you could climb up one of them, you could surely hide in the branches way at the top if the branches are strong enough to hold you.
What if you are a tiny little chipmunk? Your mate has been carried off by this huge bird who has a nest way up in one of these trees. You can hear the cries of your mate from the ground and your desire to rescue your mate is strong. But the eagle is guarding his catch. Will you be able to get him or her back?
What if you are a time traveler? You are on your way back to witness the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius, but your time machine has a glitch in it. It is supposed to take you to a place outside of Pompeii, far enough away from the volcano’s reach to be safe. When you climb out, you have no clue where you are, nor do you have a clue what year it is, but you hear gunfire and explosions. Where has your machine taken you?
What if the trees can talk? What if they can walk around? What if they have families to care for and businesses to run? What if their branches can be used just like our arms?
What if the trees have magical powers? What if their bark emits a poison that kills every insect that lands on them and paralyzes every creature who tries to climb the trunk? What if some men come in with axes to chop all the trees in your community down? Is there anything you can do?
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They come with their axes and their chainsaws. We can see them from the topmost branches. We climb higher although my head is swimming, but the climb does not seem to bother my friend Oscar. I try not to look down. I feel myself fall forward but Oscar is at my side in seconds. ‘How??’ My stomach is heaving. Oscar shushes me ‘not now!’ I am about to faint when Oscar catches me and wraps his arm around my waist. We hear a commotion in the near distance. The mob are running toward the ancient copse, shouting and pushing each other in order to be the first to capture Oscar and I. As they approach we hear a deep groan then movement. The tree we shelter in is walking! It’s wooden gnarled limbs move slowly. I panic but my brave friend takes it all in his stride (or rather the tree’s stride) it moves deliberately then on hearing the commotion below us it walks two more steps; which in human terms would be about oh I don’t know about one hundred yards? The mob stop dead their mouths wide open, their eyes saucers of terror. Our new friend moves not an inch. Our enemies can hardly believe it. One tries to be brave by using his axe on one of the younger trees. There is a bloodcurdling scream. The axe wielder is ill-prepared for this. Our tree moves another step. Now it is the axe wielder’s turn to scream. He turns post haste and makes a run for it or rather tries to. But the Old birch lowers one of its branches and lifts axe wielder from the ground. We do not laugh. Old Birch swallows him then lowers us gently to the forest floor. We are reluctant to move from his arm.
“You need not worry. They have fled”
We thank him then run home as fast we can. We have arrived in time for a late lunch. Mum asks if we have decided if we would like to live here. Our new house is close to the copse. We smile and say we would like to very much. Old Birch remains our secret. For the time being at least.