Skitty and the Cherry Tree

Chapter 1- The Cherry Tree Myth

Skitty always loved cherries from when she was a little kid. The redder they were, the more delicious she enjoyed them. The only other cherry she knew was purple. Her grandfather told a story about a cherry tree to her back when she was five. His wondrous voice made anyone believe every word he said, and Skitty never doubted the story was fake.

Here was how the story went when Skitty's grandpa told it to her.

'"Once upon a time, a young girl lived with his dad, a farmer. The girl's name was Cherry. She was named after what her dad grew in his farm the most. They had 100s of different cherry trees, and they created the ripest, most amazing cherries you could ever taste. Everyone from around the world bought from the farmer, who was nicknamed the Cherry King.

One day, Cherry, who was 6 years old at the time, decided to experiment. She picked a cherry that looked like a heart from one of the trees (she didn't know the name of it), and then she buried it a foot underground near the window of her room. Everyday, she went to it and watered it with cherry tree sap. She had no idea what she was intending to do. But she continued on with her experiment, and a couple days later, she saw a sprout poking out of the ground.

She called out, 'Dad! I'm growing a cherry tree!' It was then her father knew about what she was doing.

'Cherry, you do not water seeds with tree saps." He examined the sprout. "But it seems to be working. Normal cherry trees sprout in several weeks, and how long was it since you planted this seed? 4 days ago?  Wow.'

Several weeks later, the sprout turned into a sapling. But it was no ordinary one. The branches were smooth and silky, and the tree seemed to faintly glow at night, joining the stars. Cherry looked out her window at it, wondering when leaves would appear. And a couple days later, they did.

Soon the tree towered over her and the farmer. And suddenly, one day when Cherry woke up, she opened her window to find a huge, golden cherry at the end of a faraway branch, just waiting to be picked. She didn't wait to call her father to help her. She reached out and just when she was about to grab it, the ground trembled. She tumbled out of her room.

Cherry slept on the second story of her house. The tree slowed her fall, but gave her scratches and cuts before she hit the shaking ground. The house collapsed. Scared, she ran as fast as she could to town. But the town was destroyed too.

Cherry panicked. She didn't know what to do, so she ran as far as she could away from the destruction.

Few people had survived the dangerous earthquake. They glanced around, and the only thing that wasn't affected was the golden cherry tree. It stood high, proud, and bright.

Then the dust and smoke smothered the air, and the said citizens died. There were no witnesses to see what happened next.

The golden cherry tree sparkled, and glowed brighter and brighter. Then, the light swept away, and the tree was gone. Nothing was left behind.

"This story is a myth, of course. Nobody had found the tree. Golden cherries have never existed, and will probably never exist. But it's fascinating, don't you think, Skitty? Imagine it. Do you think golden cherries are possible?"

"Yes, grandpa." Skitty replied. "My dream is to find the golden cherry tree!"

He laughed. "Well, one day, you will be the first to find it. Just don't give up!"'

And I kept my hopes up, even to this day, when I turned 17. Even when grandpa passed away. Even when my parents discouraged me. I believed I would find the golden cherry tree, a myth, no more.