The sky looked glum and the forest was quiet. The breeze was gentle, untouched by the grim moods of the trees in the forest. Some were tall and some short; some thin and some stout. Despite the differences in their appearances, their mood was alike – black! They looked at the vast area in front of them, where something huge was being built. They had heard the humans refer to it as a “mall”. They had no idea what that was but they knew one thing; their peace was gone.

The trees started talking among themselves.

One of them said “I hate these people. Since the day they came here, all the peace and serenity has vanished from this forest. We have to listen to these monstrous machines roar from morning to night. My ears are going deaf!”

The other one wasn’t indifferent to the feelings of its friend. “I can’t agree more my dear friend! Even if I put up with the noise, this pollution, it is making me sick!” it said.

Hearing this, something in his neighbour snapped. His temper flared. “These ungrateful people! All our lives we have served them. But what did they do to us? They have reduced most of our forests into barren land and are building houses on it. And we, the remaining trees, we are dying due to the pollution they cause! What will they achieve by killing us? They are destroying themselves! I wonder when they will realize their mistake!” it howled.

The tallest tree was quiet for a long moment. It appeared to be lost in thoughts. It stared into the field without looking at it and started talking. “You know what, I miss my friends – the trees that “they” cut and also the animals that became homeless. I wonder where they are now, if I can ever see them again!” saying that, it became silent again.

The trees were lost in their own thoughts. Just then, they saw a man from the construction site coming towards them. They stood still, holding their breath. He walked up to the tallest tree and started examining it. He circled it, looking more carefully and then scribbled something on its trunk and repeated the same for the next tree. After doing that, he left. Both the trees sighed in relief.

“That scared me,” said one and the other nodded in affirmation. But their relief was short lived. No sooner did the man leave, he sent another. This guy came with their mortal enemy – the axe. He came straight to the tallest tree and started chopping it. The tree winced in pain with each blow. The shorter tree watched helplessly as his friend was being murdered in front of it. It cried silently for the loss of another friend. It could do nothing but stand and watch, knowing as soon as the man was done with its friend, it would be his turn.

“You will know our worth only when the last tree is cut and you will no longer be able to lead a happy and content life,” it said and waited silently for its turn.

(Image source: Brian Ironside from Creative Commons used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic license)