Scarred Barks

CHAPTER 2

        

           The family consisted of Bode, the father, Aurora the mother and Gabriel the twelve year old boy, survival had forced them to assign themselves equal daily roles. the father had a slab in the local market selling firewood, the son would therefore be the gatherer of the wood , getting up early by dawn, when the smell of the night chilled soil and the leaves called out the best, It hurt him so much to chop down the thin trees with the huge axe his father's friend, Mark the handsman had smithed but he knew it was an important, and the only income his father depended on. Aurora, according to Bode and Gabriel, had a much easier task, she did all for the care of the tree, which she had actually been responsible for, she planted the seed alongside her mother forty years from then. She was to wake up at daybreak and water the roots, as rainfall was almost impossible, she would chip off the excess dying leaves and branches and lastly, she would hug it for about ten minutes , this she executed everyday because she was told by her mother, a plant is one of us, everything in nature is connected, and it feels really good and energizing after the contact, both for her and the tree. She had inscribed her initials A.A on the bark right next to the hollow where their dependent water flows from.

           Day after day, year after year the regime was simple and similar, until this day. Bode had gone to work in the market and Aurora was still fast asleep, the only active soul in their abode was Gabriel, who was approaching the tree with a moulded pot, but what was he doing? he knew pretty well that their first rule was never to store the water coming out of the tree but to directly drink from it, or use it directly under it , when they needed to wash their clothes or utensils. Gabriel opened the "fake" bark and leaned his pot towards the hollow, and the pure water began flowing in, hitting the bottom of the clay pot with a sound Gabriel had never experienced before, for him, it was somewhat a beautiful musical melody. Things were not beautiful for long, Gabriel had forgotten that at that time in the morning, the tree was well visible to the more curious passebyes. At that instant, there were two, more older teenagers who were walking down the path. They noticed the water flowing out from the tree, as they almost instantly stood at a halt, doubting what their eyes are feasting on. The older one out of the pair tapped his friend on the back persuading him to follow as they quickly ran towards the tree, passing the marked woodline which demarcated private properties.

        The boy saw them enter and quickly dropped the pot breaking it into pieces, but it was too late. The boys were standing right infront of him with curious faces, one asked " H-How is this possible boy?", Gabriel could not answer as his breathing increased significantly. The boy asked again " Boy? C-Could we have some?". Gabriel nodded and faced his palm towards the hollow, telling them they may come. The boys rushed spontaniously and opened their mouths, with their palms under their jaws for support but moment after moment, no water spilled out, not even a split drop. They looked above to Gabriel, with disappointed eyes amidst their dirt filled faces and scars. Gabriel insisted " I have no idea why it isn't working, but please, please! no one must hear of what you saw!". The boys, furious yet confused said no word as they rose up from their kneeling position from under the tree, and ran out of the yard into the distant, towards the town center. Gabriel had known, that he had just made the worst, most destructive mistake of his life.