Ubertines 07: The Oak Tree (461 hits)
Category: RomanceRating: 1.8 on 11 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by drogoroch (View user info) at 2007-01-29 05:44:13 EST
Resting her against the trunk of the old oak she felt cold so I removed my jacket and wrapped it around her. I stretched my back and tried to catch my breath. Such a small journey from the car to the tree but the exertion had still taken its toll on my old body. I looked down on the face of the woman I had loved for over 60 years and could see the face of the young girl I had swept off her feet back when the world was black and white. Time had taken its toll on both of us; but when she was asleep and relaxed the lines softened and the beautiful girl she had been returned.
I stood up and placed my hand on the tree that had been a constant through my life. Since before I was born the Oak had stood on this hill; proud and dominant. It had stood through storm and wars; a constant in a world gone mad. I had climbed it when I was young and sat beneath it thinking when I was too old to reach up to the branches and pull myself up. It stood trapped in time whilst the world aged around it.
I began circling the trunk keeping my hand in touch with the bark and my eyes closed. When I had returned from the war I had walked up here. In front of friends and family I had been strong and held my head high as a returning hero. In the quite company of the oak I had sat down and allowed my tears to flow. It had stood behind me and remained silent as I allowed the grief for lost friends and memories of acts committed pour from my tortured soul.
She had found me there and had sat and waited for me to realise she was there. When I saw her I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes and stand. She walked up to me and held me. She then whispered into my ear
"If you remember them then they will never truly die. Never forget but don't let their loss rule your life. You have to live so that what they gave has meaning."
My tears flowed and I held her too me and vowed never to let her go.
The following week we returned here for a picnic. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. As we sat on the blanket, sipping a glass of beer and sharing cucumber sandwiches, I looked at her and squinted at the sun shining through her golden locks. She turned her face to one side and chided me for staring at her and making her uncomfortable. By the smile and the colour on her cheeks I could tell that, secretly, she liked the attention. I stood and placed my hand on the trunk of the tree, as I was doing now. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on drawing energy and courage from the old warrior.
I could feel the beat of my heart quicken. Thoughts of how easy it had been to pull a trigger on another human when life demanded it flowed into my mind. I stood on a hill with a woman I wanted and needed; yet I was struggling asking her to be mine. As I reached the blanket again I opened my eyes and looked at her.
I went down on bended knee and ask Jenny to become my wife. A life time passed in a heartbeat as I waited for her response. When I heard her say yes my heart leapt and I reached forward to feel her lips on mine.
Every year since then I have returned here on that day. I have laid my hands on the strong bark and felt the strength fill me.
When Jenny lost our first child during the birth we both came here and sat beneath its canopy holding each other. When Michael was born I brought him here on his first day in the world and placed his small hand on the tree. When Caroline struggled into the world early I came here and asked a silent prayer for her to pull through. A month later I introduced her to the Old Oak before I took her down the hill and watched as she was placed into the ground.
Michael played under and in the tree. I would stand looking from the window of our cottage at the small forms of boys playing war with sticks under the watchful presence of the oak.
When Michael fell in the Falklands I sat under the tree crying to myself. Jenny found me there on my knees; as she had all those years before. We sat on the ground holding each other and allowing our grief to flow until the sun crept into the sky for a new day.
Jenny never returned to the Oak from that day to this. It was never spoken of but I could tell that the tree had changed in her eyes. Where once it had been a place of happy times and new beginnings; it had now become a place of dark memories and children taken from the world before their time. I still came; believing that the Oak still had some power to give me strength and comfort.
As I reached the other side of the tree I felt paper run under my fingers. I opened my eyes and read the notice that had been attached to the bark off the timeless monument to nature. New tears escaped my eyes as I read the death warrant attached to my oak. After years of service on its hill it was to be cut down as it was deemed to be dangerous. I tore down the notice and put both hands on the bark.
"You and me both my old friend."
I sat down next to Jenny and lifted her into my arms. I kissed her cold brow and whispered my love to her. I talked to her about memories of our times and Michaels times under the tree.
I looked down at the face of the woman I loved and kissed her for the last time as I felt a shudder run through my body. Holding her as close to me as I could; I felt my eyes start to close, she had left me last night and I needed to catch up with her.
Leaning back into the tree I allowed myself to slip away to join my love in our eternal sleep.
User Reviews
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-01-31 05:50:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This was wonderful. Very touching.
Submitted by sweetcheebs (user info) at 2007-01-30 01:55:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
that was beautiful man
Submitted by swimmingbirdblue (user info) at 2007-01-30 01:16:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Haven't read this all the way through yet, but I will later this evening.
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-01-29 13:21:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
it makes me wanna cry
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2007-01-29 10:27:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
good stuff
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2007-01-29 09:49:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LittleMonster (user info) at 2007-01-29 09:13:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by homer42 (user info) at 2007-01-29 08:57:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Good writing still for sure but this is not my favorite of yours.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2007-01-29 06:56:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes.
Submitted by orph (user info) at 2007-01-29 06:33:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like your stuff
Submitted by DrogoRoch (user info) at 2007-01-29 05:45:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
http://www.ubersite.com/m/97970
Ahh the sweet smell of cooked cheese in the morning.