The Staple Tree

A short story loss and acceptance.

The Staple Tree

There once was a man who wanted to live in the past. He had given up on his future because he did not want to leave the past; the past that took his daughter away from him. When she died, a part of him died as well. He lived without meaning after her death, carrying on his daily labors as if nothing had changed. He was a caretaker of trees in a renowned local park and he took to his work with the utmost diligence. Even though it was an extremely low paying job that barely allowed him to support himself, he continued to work at the park because his little girl loved the trees. The man remembered that on her fifth birthday, he had bought her a silky teal hair ribbon that glistened in the sunlight. The man had told the girl that the ribbon used to belong to Mommy, and he needed her to protect it; so he made the child pinky promise that she would take care of it forever. The young child took great pride in this gift and promised to wear it every day.
He used to take her to work often and she would frolic in the woods along the barren gravel paths. In the fall, she collected the most beautiful leaves that fell onto the ground. Over the span of her five year life, she had stored over one hundred leaves that consisted of glamorous reds, magnificent greens, and gilded yellows. She even had sympathy for the ugly, crumpled browns that nobody cared for. The man loved her so dearly for her caring personality it almost hurt, and of course, nothing pained him more than the sorrowful loss of his beloved daughter.
The fall following the girl’s death, he couldn’t stand the sight of the leaves on the harsh ground. He knew she would never have left them to sit there alone to wither away, so he accumulated a bundle of various leaves and carried them to the foot of a small oak tree. He removed a stapler from his right pocket and began to staple the leaves back to the trees’ branches. One by one, he continued to replace the fallen leaves to their original positions. The man knew that his little girl would have liked what he was doing. He had lost all hope in his future, so he resided in the past in spite of it all. He wanted to keep things how they once were when she was in his life. Every day, he tended to the wondrous trees which were so dear to him. Throughout the winter, however, it became increasingly harder to keep the leaves from falling to the ground considering the harsh weather was menacing to both the trees and the man. The slushy, cold snow covered the tree tops up to the peak which dripped sloppily when the sun shone upon it. The water soaked leaves hung drearily to the thin branches that bent down in awkward positions due to the weight.
One day, after working from dusk to dawn, the man became weary. He broke into a tremendous sweat that drenched his entire body. His knees began to tremble and slowly collapsed on themselves into the snowy pavement below. He lay face down on the frostbitten ground as his fever continued to rise. He began to lose consciousness as his vision flickered on and off sending him into a solemn darkness. Before entering the eternal black wonderland, he heard a voice.
“Please don’t give up! You have so much more to live for.” The voice was soothing and sweet that seemed somewhat nostalgic to the man. Gradually opening his heavy eyelids, he felt the warmth of the sun on his face. No longer numb, he spoke softly in return.
“Who are you?” he said, the words catching in his throat. “Why did you awaken me?” He stood and wandered aimlessly around the grove of trees which he had been tending to earlier. A shift in the brush behind him caught his eye. A little girl stood smiling on the path, looking up with curiosity in her eyes.
“Why did I wake you? Well that’s a funny question, Daddy,” the girl remarked. The man couldn’t believe it. His baby daughter was standing right in front of him, looking the exact same as he had remembered. She had the same yellow cotton dress she had worn on her birthday which sparkled in the sunlight. Her deep emerald green eyes and beautiful dark hair strongly resembled her mother. Tears streaked his chiseled face as the girl embraced him. Stroking her hair, he held the little girl in his arms and whispered
“Why did you leave me? Why couldn’t you have stayed?”
The girl looked up into his grey eyes and spoke apologetically.
“It was just the way of life. Everything happens in this world for a reason. And even though I would have loved to stay with you, Daddy, it just wasn’t my place to.”
“It was my job to protect you! If only I could have been a better father.” a few moments of silence passed by. “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry,” the man mumbled. The girl looked down at her father who had returned to his knees in front of her. She smiled again as if to wipe all his worries away.
“Don’t worry, Daddy, God is protecting me in Heaven. He says he has a spot up there too just for you! I can’t wait for you to be with me again, Daddy! You should see all the pretty trees up there. It’s amazing!” The little girl’s eyes were gleaming blissfully with anticipation. “But you have to promise me something, okay?”
“Anything, sweetheart,” the man said painfully. He looked up with a half-smile to prove that he was paying attention. The girl kissed him on the forehead and took a step backwards.
“You have to protect these trees down here. They may not be important to you, but they are important to me. So please watch over them for me. Then we can finally be together and start a new collection of leaves!” The girl tilted her head awaiting her father’s response.
“I promise to watch over these trees. Then we can be together once again.”
“Pinky promise?” the girl inquired, holding out her pinky finger. The man extended his hand to his child and locked fingers. Entwining pinkies, the two smiled and laughed.
“Pinky promise,” The man replied. And with that, the man’s daughter faded away in the glistening sunlight. The only clue that proved the child had once stood there was a single, teal hair ribbon that lay on a pile crumpled leaves. The man stood slowly and smiled for the first time since the girl’s death. He walked over to the ribbon and gently lifted it into his fingertips, and carried his daughter’s memory home. For the rest of the man’s life, he lived with meaning, knowing that he would one day meet with his little girl again.

Author's Note

A story I wrote a while ago, hope it is inspiring.

Reviews

[Rafy T.Nym]

This story is beautiful and heart-warming. It perfectly shows a father's undying affection towards his daughter. No wonder, this emotion is the best of all.

I personally like the theme 'staple tree', this theme actually gave a gorgeous look to this story. Overall, a nicely constructed story.

[Hyacinth]

Bittersweet and filled with real, raw emotion. This is so... real and tragic that it leaves the reader wanting more. You truly are a extremely talented writer. And is this inspiring? Yes. Fortunately, I've never had to deal with the loss of losing someone close to me (though I came very near to it) and I think that the way in which you describe how the man feels is just how he would in true life. Keep writing:)