84 years. That’s how many rings rest within my bark. 84 years of standing tall in the middle of this forest, untouched by the creatures with the tools and long arms and loud voices. They approach, work on me for hours until with a crackle, I am severed from the ground I once called mother.
The journey to the tall building was long, hours of being hauled across long winding expanses of concrete and dirt. When we arrive at the factory, my brethren and I are hauled off into different areas to be used for different purposes. I am washed, shaved, stripped, and cut to size. Finally, my journey comes to an end. My once proud and tall form reduced to a single sheet of paper.
Years have passed now. I lay forgotten underneath a stack of my other pieces. Light breaks, and I am lifted from my holding place. I feel myself move as I am fed through a strange machine, covered in markings and shiny letters.
A day later. I am in a loud place. People clap and cheer as a young human girl approaches me. She beams with a proud smile as she takes the stage, taking my rolled-up self into her hand and shaking with another. She wears a cap and a gown, her eyes lit with joy. I am taken home and put on display.
After years of watching, I grow accustomed to the sights of the family passing through the home. Whenever I see the human girl, she smiles proudly as she gazes up at me. I wonder what could possibly have been written upon my surface to make her smile so.
Forgotten. That is what I am. First in the forest, then in the stack, and now, under the bed. The human girl took me with her, spoke of a new job and a new home. But I watched as her smile faded day by day. One day, she came home with tears streaming down her face as she approached me. I was clutched tightly to her chest, an embrace I had not felt since I had been planted in the earth.
And so here I lay, forgotten. I am no longer a tall, proud tree. I am no longer a relic of one’s accomplishments. I am reduced to a symbol of shame and a future failed to be accomplished. Completely, fully utterly forgotten.
