Cindy's Open House Blog: The Purple Tree

Monday 5 May 2014

The Purple Tree

A short storyline

The Purple Tree

My friend and I were out in the row boat one day, headed for an island by the name Otter Island. We had rowed to about the half-way point when it got really foggy, like we couldn't see out further then a dozen feet ahead of us. Since the waters were calm as glass it was safer to pull in the oars and just drift and wait until the fog lifted.

I could feel a warm breeze on my cheek, and shortly after the fog began to lift. We must have drifted out to sea, I told my friend Ruth, as I could not see any land anywhere around us. Ruth was poking me in the back making me rather irritated, and I nearly shouted back, “What is it?”

Ruth was frantically pointing toward the stern of the boat. There it was, one lone island in the middle of a calm sea. It appeared to glow, like the flora had an inner light of its own. It was awe-inspiring to see and both Ruth and I stood there, mouths agape, staring like we had just seen a ghost.

One exceptionally large tree stood at the summit of the islands tallest hill, a purple, glowing tree. The energy emitting from it appeared to be beaming up into some purple clouds above, like purple sunrays shining up into the clouds instead of down.

"What do you think, shall we go check it out?" I asked Ruth. Ruth looked back toward me with that worried look that gave her the appearance of a sad puppy who just got scolded. "Well Gina, I'm not sure, don't you think it's kind of weird to find an island such as this that didn't exist before until now?"

"Well maybe it was here all along, we just never came this close to it before," I said, trying to be convincing, but even with the propensity of my inquisitive nature I felt some slight apprehension, like the type that causes the small hairs on your body to move similarly to a static electrical charge.

We landed on the beach and pulled the rowboat onto the sand as far as we could and tied it to a tree as assurance of it staying in one place. We made our way up the hill through the underbrush and debris beneath our feet consisting of old logs, rocks, stumps, dips and bumps, as well as a shallow ravine which turned out to be the easiest route to the top of the hill. Judging by the gullies cut into the soil, most of the surface debris appeared to have been removed by flash floods.

We were breathless by the time we reached the top of the summit and we sat upon the ground heavily. I released my pack sack and let it drop behind me. I was drenched in sweat. Ruth, dropping her pack, just let herself fall back on the ground spread eagle, her chest heaving trying to catch her breath. I sat with my back to a pine tree wiping sweat off my brow with tissues I had in the back pack. Ruth found a place to sit a few feet away with her back leaning on a large boulder. She, too, was wiping and dabbing at the sweat on her face. I had also noted her breathing had returned to normal.

I turned to look up to the few feet left to the top of the summit and my bottom jaw dropped in wonderment at what I saw: A gigantic glowing purple tree! It appeared to reach up into the clouds above. It's branches and leaves waved as if blown by a light breeze, such was its vibrant living force.

I felt inexorably drawn to it and got up from where I had been sitting. I began, with reluctance at first, to slowly make my way to the great tree. It beckoned me on. I vaguely remember a voice behind me but I continued making my way to the tree. Nothing else mattered at that point except for me to make contact with the tree.

I felt a tug at my left arm but kept on walking towards the tree that was almost in reach now. The tugging at my arm ceased and the voice fading like a distant echo. Ruth pulled back and let me go. The energy had grown so strong, pushing her away like the like ends of two magnets. She watched as I began to wave just as the energy made the form of the tree appear to wave.

There was a flash of blinding purple light and after a few seconds Ruth regained her vision. She could not see me anywhere! Ruth discovered she could approach the tree now and she did so, walking around the giant tree in search of me but I was not to be found.

Ruth put her hand on the tree's rough bark and asked, " Where is my friend, Gina? What have you done with her? Please bring her back, we have to be back to mainland before dark. Please!" she shouted with deep concern in her voice.

Again the tree began to vibrate and wave and the energy once again repulsed her. There was another flash of bright purple light and she was again able to see me, back on the same spot from where I had vanished a short time ago. The tree stopped vibrating and all was normal once more.

I must have fainted because the next thing that I recall I was coming to on the pine needle-covered ground. A short time later I woke up to someone shaking me. Opening my eyes I blinked a few times to focus my vision and saw Ruth's eager face staring back at me. "Are you OK?" she asked anxiously.

I sat up slowly holding my head with my right hand then shaking it to clear the thoughts back into coherence. She sat cross-legged in front of me asking all kinds of questions until I held my hand up to indicate for her to cease with the questions.

I then proceeded to tell her what I still retained in memory from the experience. It was another place. Inside the tree there is another world, one that is way different from this one. There are living beings that are way different from us and they are benevolent beings, the ones I met at least. That is about all I can tell you. That is all I remember.