Anthem: Hope

Chapter 2

By the time the group arrived at their destination, it was already late in the afternoon. Since the sun was going down, It was decided that everyone would start first thing in the morning. Everyone, but Lily was pleased with that announcement.

As people started to unpack and talk, Lily started to walk around.

'This place.' Lily thought as she neared a stump.

It had a unique design to it. Running her had over it, a memory trickled by.

A little girl by the age of 10 ran around the forest looking for a place to hide. Finding one, the child quickly hid behind it. After she was hidden a man in his late 50's walked into the area.

"Mmmmm. That's strange. I could of sworn I heard footsteps here." Shrugging he turned around and walked out. As he was out of sight, the girl came out giggling to herself.

Before she could do anything, she was lifted up and was being tickled. "I found you."

The child continued to laugh as the man tickled her.

"Sto... Hahaha. Stop! Haha." The man stopped as he waited for the girl to catch her breath.

"That's not fair! How did you even find me!" The man chuckled as he saw the girl pout.

"That's a secret." He pulled the child up as he stood up.

"This is a pretty stump you found." The girl looked confused as she stared at the stump she hid behind.

"It is?" The man chuckled and patted her head.

"It is. You see this leaf? Feel it." The girl did as he asked.

"Well?"

"It's rubbery." The girl stated as she continued to touch the leaf. The girl furrowed her eyebrows together as she tried to figure out what the man was trying to tell her.

"Very good. Do you know what we can benefit from them?"

"Food? Nutrition? A plate to hold our foods?" The girl looked at the man with expectation.

The man chuckled at her adorable expression and questions.

"Although this is nutritious to some animals, it is not for us humans. But... Mmm... It's possible to use as a plate but that's not what I was getting at." The man grabbed a hold of a leaf and broke it.

"You see how big this leaf is?" The girl nodded as she stared at it.

"Well, these rubber leaves actually help us by acting as an air filter." The girl marvelled at it before she spoke.

"How so?" Curiosity shined brightly in the girl's eyes as she regarded the leaf in the man's hand.

"The larger and more thicker it is, the more easier it is for the plant to absorb airborne chemicals and break it down." The man then looked at the girl.

"You remember what I told you about carbon dioxide?" The girl nodded her head as she stared at the man.

"And you remember what I said about oxygen?"

The girl nodded her head and spoke,"Carbon is something that is created by human activities and the along with the environments activities... Like... The decomposition!" The man smiled and urged her to continue.

"Because of that, the planet had to balance it out by putting trees! Trees which changed carbon dioxide to fresh oxygen for us to breath!" The girl smiled brightly before frowning.