The Beginning

            "They're almost all dead," The woman quietly muttered as another of the shriveled, yellow leaves of the dying trees fell to the ground, "I think it's time to bring out the seeds."

            "Are you sure?" The short, plump man replied in a worried tone, "If those die too we will have nothing left!"

            "What else will we do? These trees are the last source of oxygen we have and you may not have noticed but we need oxygen to breathe!" The woman exclaimed. Her long, chocolate brown hair flowed down to the waist of her poppy red dress, which danced around as she paced through the room. She was beautiful other than the deep worry lines that masked her face.

            "No. We must keep those for a more dire time," The munchkin-like man, her husband, sighed, "It's my duty as mayor to keep this town alive and if this what it takes, we must go ahead."

            "Fine," Mumbled the woman, in a shaky tone. The sound of her slim high heels hitting the ground at a quick pace put her husband on edge.  

            Although the mayor tried to keep it a secret, the town knew that the trees were dying. Whispers filled the narrow streets as rumors of the plants leaked throughout the townspeople. The trees were the life support of the town, the only thing to keep them alive.

            Through all the hurry a young boy sat in a back alley of one of the garbage filled streets of the small town. The image of a bird in a tree slowly appeared as he drew with a metal rod in the dirt. To the children of the town, birds were just a legend; only a story taught at school from back when there were forests and rivers. The birds, along with all of the other animals, went extinct many years ago.

            "Jacob!" A squeaky voice echoed through the quiet air.  A girl with short, blonde hair came running around the corner. She quickly jumped through the piled of garbage, pulling up the pant legs of her jeans, which were already too short and had the knees worn out, "Are you drawing animals again? You know those things aren't even real."

            "Of course they are real and I'm going to find one," He replied stubbornly.

            "At least you have an imagination," She giggled, "When you're done fantasizing mom needs you to come home. It's pretty serious. I think she said something about the seeds!"

            Jacob's dark brown eyes lit up as if he had just been jerked awake from a dream. Without a reply, he jumped and ran through the deserted alley. Dark grey clouds covered the sky like a roof. The clouds never broke apart anymore and most of the town had never felt the warmth of sunlight on their skin.

            "There you are Jacob!" His mother said sternly, "We have a very important town meeting and you look like a slob. Go change your clothes and brush your hair. You cannot make your father look bad."

            "The...seeds..." He panted, "Are you...planting...them?"

            "Go change," She repeated as Jacob walked away excitedly. He had been waiting his whole life to see the seeds planted. New trees would be like new found hope. He hoped that maybe the trees would bring birds and fresh air.

            The town was gathered in the main square. There weren't many people to fit into the small area; the town consisted of only 52 people. Once everyone was gathered, the mayor stood to speak, "As you may have known, our trees are starting to die. I have examined everything and the best option for our people is to keep the seeds until a time when we need them the most."

            Murmurs rose up from the crown of people. These seeds were the only source of life left and the last of the grown trees are almost dead. Some people believed that the seeds should be kept for the most desperate of times when they are the only hope. Other believed that this is the most desperate times, including Jacob. As the voices quieted down the mayor spoke again, "I have made this decision final and will not change my mind so continue on with your everyday lives and we will all be fine."

            A rush of anger flooded through Jacob. How could his father be so ignorant? The seeds are the last hope. As discreetly as her could, Jacob ran off towards the safe. There are few advantages to being the mayor's son and having access to the safe is one of them. With the townspeople in the square, Jacob quickly snuck into the safe. Sitting in the corner was a dusty box. The cold metal of the box stung his hands as he grabbed the box and ran. The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallways as Jacob grabbed the seeds from the damp box and dropped them in his pocket.

            "Jacob! Stop!" The deep voice sent a shutter down his back. Although he was quick, he was not quick enough. Jacob ran as fast as he could through the halls and out the door. People in the square gave him confused looks as he sprinted through the crowd, "Stop that boy! He has the seeds!"

            Jacob ran for his life now, not knowing where he was going, tripping across one of the train tracks. The only was to another town was by train and he would be caught by the time he could get onto one. Although it was pointless, he ran, as fast as he could. Tears streamed down his face as he feet pounded again the hard ground. His sister's voice came from behind him, "Train!"

            The thought registered in his mind just a second too late. A tall back train came barreling down the railway track. Paralyzed with fear, he tried to jump away but the train was too fast. Screams rang through the air, "Jacob! My son!"

            The town was silent that night except for the heartbroken sobs of the mayor, his wife and their daughter. The giant grey cloud still covered the sky and the ground was still covered in dirt and grime.

            A year had gone by since Jacob stole the seeds. Everyday his sister had to walk home beside the train tracks and relive the haunting memories of the day everything changed. As she walked, a speck of green caught her eye beside the track where Jacob died. As she got closer it became clear. A plant. A real, living plant. A year ago, everything changed for the worse but today, everything changed for the good. People used to say that it was the end. They were wrong. It was only the beginning.