Short Story – Mara’s Gift

As I promised a few days ago, I wrote a short story that is part of The World of Gaea’s Reach. This story is slightly different and innocent. Still, there is a sense of a great shadow that is lurking behind the scenes. It is dedicated to the old kids that we are today who forgot the magic of childhood and imagination.

Enjoy!

Mara’s Gift

Up the creek and across the stream, deep into the woods, about thirty minutes past the water pump house was a tree; Its leaves were always green, it’s orange flowers blossomed year long. Their sweet scent of honey was what brought me there; I wondered off after school. I still had half my cheese sandwich and an untouched green apple.

When I saw the tree I felt calm, almost euphoric. The branches stretched up towards the sun, embracing its warmth. The large roots dug deep into the ground, probably all the way down.

Everything around the tree was alive, vibrant, and the gentle breeze between the trees carried an enchanting melody.

The leaves called my name, and the air became warmer the closer I got to the tree. It wasn’t an uncomfortable heat, more like the warmth of the first ray of sun breaking through the clouds after a cold and rainy day, and the gray is replaced by vivid colors.

There were strange marking on the reddish bark; the markings and drawings of ancient times like cave drawings that you got to see in books. We did not have the internet back then. I remember tracing one of the markings with the tip of my finger, then touching the bark that was smooth and warm to the touch. I placed both my hands on the tree, I am not sure why, but I felt light-headed for a moment and almost fell into a swoon.

It was at that moment when I heard her voice; the voice of another child. “Hello,” she said to me. “What is your name?”

I was startled at first as I thought I was alone and looked towards the direction from where the voice came from. I will never forget that moment; my first love. I was eight at the time.

The first thing that caught my attention were two large eyes, green like the depth of the forest itself. I did not know that such green even existed until that moment. Her red long and unruly hair was dancing in the breeze. Her tanned skin was covered with thin green weblike veins, much like the bottom of a leaf.

She smiled at me and I was staring at her but said nothing. It was an awkward moment for sure.

“My name is Robert, but you can call me Rob,” I said quietly. I was shy back then.

“My name is Mara,” she replied, and her voice was like music.

We stood quietly for a while until I have made the first step, literally, and approached her. Her eyes followed mine. I reached my hand out to her; I saw my dad doing that when he met someone. She looked at my hand, then back at me. “You need to shake my hand.” I said and made sure to explain, “It is like saying hello.”

She placed her hand in mine. “I already said hello,” she said and shook my hand.

“Do you want to share an apple?” I asked.

“I don’t eat,” she replied. “I get what I need from the sun and the tree.”

“You don’t eat?” I exclaimed. “You never had fudge or Twizzlers before?”

She shook her head. “I am unsure what that is.”

“Where are you from?” I asked as I reached to my lunch box, moved it in front of me and took out my half-eaten sandwich. She looked at the bread, her eyes examining it. Her nose twitched lightly. She then looked at the tree and laid her hand on it. “I am from here.”

I looked at the tree. At the time, I thought that my new friend was a bit odd. She did not eat, not even candies! And she was from “Here” which confused me.

I halved my sandwich and offered it to her. She shook her head. I took a bite and could see the confusion in her eyes. She drew near and pushed her ear against the side of my jaw. “How do you make this weird sound?” she said, her eyes mesmerized.

“I am just chewing,” I answered, and then swallowed. I think the sound of me swallowing the bread startled her and she bounced back and away, then looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you want to be friends?” I asked her after a long moment of silence.

“What is that?” she raised her eyebrows again with confusion.

“It means we get to play together,” I answered with amusement.

“Oh!” her mouth turned into a wide smile. “I would like that!” she grabbed my hand. “Come!” she pulled me closer to the tree. “Put your hands here.” she placed my hands on the tree. “Now close your eyes.”

I did.

“Now open your eyes and look for me.” her voice was everywhere.

I opened my eyes and looked around me, but she was nowhere. “Hide and seek,” I whispered to myself and spent the next hour trying to find her. She would guide me if I got too far or too close. Her voice was in my head.

“You got me!” she said with a voice filled with joy that swiped me off my feet.

“Where?” I asked. “I don’t see you.”

Slowly, the branch of the tree turned into an arm; the twigs at its end took the form of her fingers. The bump on the trunk had eyes, then a nose, and a slit that turned into her mouth. I watched her transformation as she slowly separated herself from the tree and turned into a girl. It was, and still is, one of the most enchanting moments I have ever experienced through my life.

She took my hand and was ready to go for another round, but I had to go home. “Mara,” I said her name for the first time and pulled my hands back and her with them as she didn’t let go.

“I have to go home now,” I said although I really didn’t want to leave; it was getting late and I still had homework.

Her smile turned into a flat line. “Will you come back?” she asked, and her bright eyes became faint.

“I will see you again tomorrow. I promise.” I said with a broad smile on my face.

The spark returned to her eyes and her mouth curved into a smile. A single bud grew slowly from the side of her hair. It blossomed and turned into a beautiful purple flower. She picked it up and handed it to me.

“Friends forever,” she said and moved closer to me, kissing my forehead. It was the first kiss I ever got from a girl who was not my mother or aunt Carol, and it was pure and innocent.

“See you tomorrow Robert who I can call Rob,” she said; her voice was carried by a gentle warm breeze as she vanished into the tree.

“See you tomorrow,” I said and waved goodbye.

I examined the purple flower all the way to my house; it was delicate and smelled like honey, much like the tree. I snuck in from the back and into my room just in time to hear my mother calling me for dinner. I left the flower by my pillow and went on with the rest of my day.

I remember being very energetic the following day. I couldn’t wait for the school bell to ring. My eyes constantly wandered to the clock above the blackboard in class. I wanted to see Mara. I wanted to hear her voice again. I even packed Shoots and Ladders and stuffed it in my backpack so we could play together.

The bell finally rang. It was the moment I was waiting for. I packed my stuff an hour before and so I was the first to get up, leave the class, and run through the school’s yard before anyone else even put a notebook away. I was so excited to see her again.

I remember the wire fence at the edge of the road. It was not there the day before. A large sign saying “Road Closed” was placed on it. “Private property of Sinrostro Communications” said another sign.

I followed the fence, expecting to find an opening but the entire area was closed off. I decided to climb and go over it. To my surprise, an armed man wearing a vest, a gun in his hand, came out of nowhere. He yelled at me: “Go away! This is now a private property!”

I did not understand why the fence was there or what private property meant, but the man scared me. I ran home without looking back. I ran inside through the living room and past my mother who said hi. I didn’t answer; I was so scared and afraid that the man with the gun was after me, I went and hid under the bed for until dinner.

The next day I faked an illness that lasted until the weekend. I stayed in my room the entire time, occasionally looking out the window to see if the man was there. I was holding Mara’s flower the entire time, smelling it to remember the sweet scent of the tree. I never saw Mara again.

As the years passed by, the wired fence turned into a brick wall. Although I am confused as to why they needed the armed guards, their amount nearly tripled. “Sinrostro Communications” became “Sinrostro Corporation”; the largest communication and satellite manufacturer in the world, with many military and government contracts. Where the forest used to be, was now a black tower. The corporation’s logo, an eye, was at the top of the tower, constantly watching the town.

I heard the forest was cut down and the trees were shipped to a local lumber mill. I always wondered what happened to Mara and found myself standing outside the wall, trying to catch a brief moment of a warm breeze. Maybe I hoped to hear her voice again? I don’t know. I hope that the bad people who have done this did not hurt her.

* * *

“Dad?” a woman’s voice came from the living room. “Are you done with the bedtime story?”

“We are just tucking in,” Robert shouted.

The two kids, boy, and girl, not older than five years of age, were snuggled under the heavy winter blanket.

“What happened to Mara?” the girl asked.

“I don’t know sweetheart,” Robert replied with a smile.

“It is just a story,” he said as his smile turned into a flat line, his eyes became moist.

“Good night you two,” he said, kissed them on the forehead, and then got up from the edge of the bed and walked to the door. He looked at his grand-kids, turned off the light and closed the door behind him.

“OK Dad.” his daughter shouted from downstairs. “We are leaving and be back around midnight.”

“Take your time,” he shouted as the door closed.

He walked to his room as sat at his desk. His late wife smiled at him from a wooden framed picture. He smiled back, his finger caressing the frame, then his wife’s cheek and mouth.

He sat back in his chair, his eyes wandering from the picture to an old small wooden box, shaped like a treasure chest. He looked at it for a long moment, then reached and gently picked it up. He opened it, revealing a little purple flower. He gently picked it up, his hands twice, maybe three times larger than when he was eight.

As always, the flower reacted to his touch and opened up, spreading its petals like a fan. Robert looked at the window, then got up and walked towards it.

The town became a city since he was a kid. The original trees were replaced by parks with trees that came from greenhouses and were not native to the area. His eyes wandered past the commercial district and to the gated property at the edge of the main road. The black tower was a thorn in his eye. It polluted the skyline. The eye watching him, a constant reminder of his loss.

He opened the window, letting the cold winter breeze in. Water sprayed as raindrops hit the wooden window frame. He brought the flower to his nose and smelled it; the scent of honey brought back the memory of his first love. “Friends forever.” he whimpered the words, waiting for a sign, a warm breeze or a voice in his head, but none of it happened.

He wiped a warm tear from his cheek and closed the window.