Quotes by the Human Race for the Human Race

A perspective of a Tree

The crisp winter air whistled through my branches, frosting my needles and chilling my sap. A gust of wind shook some snow of my branches, as I took in my surroundings drowsily.

"Daddy! Daddy, look! That one is perfect!" a high-pitched human voice screeched from not far off.

"It's a bit big, sweetheart..." a deep mature one replied, tiredly. An enthusiastic human girl bounced into sight, tugging the man she called "daddy" by the sleeve. His dull grey eyes, the color of the overcast sky, looked me up and down. His hair was the color of my bark, and his coat I likened to the color of a blazing forest fire. I noticed in his other hand he carried a hefty ax, which I was quite familiar with, since I had seen many a tree chopped down in my time. The girl, blonde and rosy-cheeked, grinned madly up at me. The pair trudged through the snow until the stopped in front of me. 

"Aw, c'mon! Mama would've wanted it too, right?" the girl cried, and the man visibly winced.

"I suppose..." the man muttered, and the girl cheered. The man unsheathed his weapon and lined it up with my trunk. I braced myself for impact. The girl stepped away and the man swung the ax behind his head, preparing to strike before he stopped suddenly. His grey eyes were clouded with a strange emotion that no words could quite explain, only that he looked very sad.

"Hun, do you remember your mother?" he asked, and sat beneath one of my branches.

"What do I remember?" the girl repeated, and sat on her father's lap thoughtfully, "Hm... Well, I remember she used to sing me songs! Like, before I went to sleep!"

"Anything else, sweetheart?"

"Well... she smelled really nice, I still remember how she smelled. Oh! And she liked sweaters and sitting in bed! I always remember her sitting in bed," the girl paused, "How come she was always in bed?"

The man stared off into the distance for a spell, gazing at something no one else could see, "She was very sick. She was always in bed because she too sick to..." he gulped, "To stand."

"And she didn't get better, did she?" the girl asked quietly.

"You're right, she didn't," the man swallowed, and wiped his eyes.

"Did you cry? Did I cry?" the girl inquired, reaching up and tugging on one of my branches. Her fingers were so small, it tickled. 

"Yes, we both did," the man said, "Here, I'll show you how I felt."

The two stood, and the man took up his ax again. He shooed the girl back and swung the ax behind his head and brought it sharply into the side of my trunk. Searing, ripping pain and I fell heavily to the ground. I rested in the snow, numb and dizzy. 

"Wow, you felt like that? That's awful!" the girl yelped, and threw herself onto the ground beside me. She stroked on of my branches tenderly, "I felt like that too!"

"I'm sure you did, and now I feel like this," the man hoisted me onto his strong shoulders. Some of my needles showered to the ground.

"Huh?" the girl cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"I'm not the same but I've lifted myself up. I'm doing better, especially with you sweetheart," he said, and the girl grinned.

"Some day, are you gonna feel like a pretty Christmas tree with lights and ornaments?"

"I hope so, sweetheart."