Azaria Guernon Mrs.

Gardner English 0 2 Sept 2013

Dont You Forget About Me It was 2073. The war against ourselves was at its peak. Everyone was fighting. It was anarchy. To stay safe I spent most of my time up in my tree. That tree had been standing ever since I could remember. The mighty Moan Tree. I sit in that tree every day and watch the chaos. My partner and I used to spend what felt like days in that tree. It feels incomplete with him gone now. I knew him since I was 15. Wed sit in our tree and stare out. Thinking about human nature and the future. The tree protected us and it still does. I looked down and blew a kiss at the unmarked grave he requested. I miss him so much. As I sat in the tree I began to think of us when we were young. Days spent doing nothing never seemed so priceless. Slowly finding the normality in being different. The simple age of 15. A 15 year-old can seem so simple at first, but she is actually infinite. So many ways to grow with every decision, every victory, and every defeat molding you. I concentrated hard. My memory fading everyday made it hard to remember what she was like. I closed my eyes to a noisy world with a burning sky and opened them to a soft breeze and a setting sun. I was in what seemed to be another place. I looked down, I was still in our tree. It was different though. It was still the same tree at its core but it looked younger and more alive. The scars of living were all gone. She was new.

I sat on her branches and caressed her bark. I heard a sound. It was a girl crying two branches below me. I knew right away who she was. Her sobs were all too familiar. "You ain't gonna solve the problem by sitting up in this tree." she jumped and looked up at me with swollen cheeks and red eyes. "Jeez! I didn't see you there. I guess you're right but I don't think I can fix this one. As you can probably tell I'm not too good at an little thing called confrontation." she said chuckling to herself and pointing to the limbs around her. "Come sit up next to me we can talk through it." "Why would I do that?" she looked me straight in my eyes with an angry look. "I can help. Azaria I've been through this I can help, trust me." "How do you know my name." She looked like she was trying to stay calm in a time of panic. "I'm you 70 years from now." I spoke quickly and smoothly so she wouldn't run away. "Prove it." She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow. "We were born December third 1997. On the wall next to your desk are three movies about misunderstood men and women. The Ousiders, The Breakfast Club, and Forrest Gump. You prefer dead flowers over living ones. You think while they're living they're lying. And you met him when you were fourteen and 'dying by his side would be such a heavenly way to die'." "Touch. What is it like in the future." "Great. So much better than it is now." I couldn't tell her the truth how helpful would be telling the girl with no hope that there is no hope. I found myself getting dizzy and sick. I knew I'd be leaving soon. "Listen I've got to be going so I'm gonna help you. Give me the knife he

gave you." Her young smooth hands gave it over to my old hands withered with experience. "Trees are like people. They have infinite ways to grow. Every wind and rain shapes them like how every decision and experience shapes us. Now this knife it like lightning," I stabbed the tree, "sometimes things scar us," I yanked the knife out and pointed to the wound in the bark, "but does it look any less beautiful. Is it no longer a tree? Who ever looked at a tree and thought it was ugly. The tree's bark will be stronger. It won't hide it's scars it will embraces them for it is unchanged by its scar. It's the same tree at its core. I'm gonna carve something into this tree that when you feel scared or feel like the world is falling down around you'll read it and feel better." At this point I could barely see what I was writing, my head was hurting and I knew by old bones would give out. When I was done I handed the knife over and looked at her. So young, so raw. She had so much to experience. Little did she know that life had many tests for her in the near future. Ignorance is bliss. I knew she would soon experience the SCUM Manifesto and Catch22. This will give here temporary peace but I hoped my message would do better. "Good bye Azaria. It was nice getting to know you again." She sensed my sadness and reached for a hug. At the same moment pain jolted up my spine. I screamed out and fell out of our tree. I woke up with a thud on the ground. I looked up and found myself on the ground on his grave. I ran my fingers over his name. "I'm glad she has you to hang on to. It's not easy having a good time is it darling. Even smiling makes my face ache."

I know look back on that day with happiness. I know I wrote the right thing. So simple and true.

Screws fall out all the time, the world's an imperfect place.