There once was a tree by the far end of a park. It had scraggly branches which held drying leaves and fruits that both looked unripe and overripe because of their unhealthy color. I'll give you a hint: It was an apple tree.
The tree was very sad. It had no one to love and care for it, for the man who'd planted it on that ground had already fallen asleep under the blanket of soil on the tree's roots. It missed the warmth of human skin on its rough trunk, unlike the scorching sunrays that were drying up its leaves on this summer day.
For many years, no human had taken care of the tree that it had bent over itself and looked almost dead all year round. Occasionally, it would sprout more leaves than last year, but even before springtime was halfway done, it had already started losing its leaves. And because of this unwavering state of malnourishment, it had no sense of season.
No human had wanted to go near the tree. Not until one day, when a boy climbed up its trunk, followed by three more.
The tree was delighted to see kids under her, until it realized that the boy was being chased by the other kids.
The three kids tried to do everything they could to get the boy to climb down, but it wasn't until they started throwing stones at the boy that the tree raised its branches and smashed itself down on the three kids. And, just like that, they had fallen asleep too, oozing red liquid that was once the color of the tree's fruits.
The boy and the tree blanketed the three kids with soil on its roots. Afterwards, as an act of gratefulness, the boy promised to take care of the tree and to visit it every day until school starts. The tree agreed, not knowing what school is. When the sun set, the boy hugged the tree and kissed it goodbye.
Every day, just as he had promised, the boy visited and cared for the tree - watering it, trimming the grass around it, and hugging it by the end of the day. As the days went by, the tree grew more leaves and fruits, if not lush and juicy. And for the first time in a long time, it felt fruitful. It went on for a month or so, and for all those days, no leaf or fruit had fallen from it.
Until one day, the boy stopped coming.
From that moment, it seemed like the sun didn't shine as brightly as before. The tree became sad and started to bend over itself again. Finally, when the tree had enough, it felt very angry for what the boy did and went into a rage. Its leaves started changing to red and orange and they started falling again, as well as its once-red fruits.
And, for the first time, the tree knew how it really felt like to die.
