The Tree and I

Within an hour of work it's almost full. I head back home, glancing at the tree.

I reach home just as the sun sets. I leave the bucket outside.

The mysterious liquid tastes better warm. Not that it has much flavour to it at all.

I lay down on a pile of dead grass I laid out in the corner. Every single tiny movement is accompanied by a crunchy sound.

After a long night of thinking I make a decision I've been facing for a while. I'm going back to the city to find Charlie.

As soon as I wake up I search through a small pile of possessions and find my backpack.

I pack everything I owned, not knowing how long the trip would be. When the sun started shining I grab my bucket and start to walk.

I constantly have to take breaks and eat some sap.

I finally reach the first landmark, the old wooden house. Except it was empty, I figured the people who lived there must have left, or worse.

I keep on making my way to the town until I reach the city fence. The air was silent, where were the city noises?

I prepare myself to head up to the toll booth, I started to get nervous. I scramble through the front pocket of my bag and find a small bag of money.

I hold it out, running to the booth. It was deserted. The gate was left open, I step through.

I hear nothing but the sound of my feet on the pavement and my loud breaths. The entire city was empty.

How could this happen? Was it an evacuation? Was it the Allison disease?

I start to cry. I loved this town, it's where I grew up.

All my happy memories were made here. I don't know what I expected.

I sort of thought Charlie would just be there waiting for me, I'd take him to the tree and talk to him. I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't.

I swiftly run towards Richmond Road, my old street. The buildings had been worn down by the weather, the windows were cracked and a few buildings had caved in.

I pass by my house, it was old and dirty. It was practically falling apart, just like the rest of the houses.

I sigh and pick up my pace. I skid to a stop at the end of the street.

I cough due to the air. It was so bad in the city. I braced myself and climbed the steps to the old Wicket manor, the neighbour's house.

The door was left open. As I push it a loud creaking sound fills the air, echoing through the road.

The lights were all off, luckily light was pouring in from the windows. Slowly I walk through the house, I attempt to turn on a light but the power's down.

Everything was on the floor, messy. At the end of a long narrow hall I reach a large mahogany door.

Through the door lay something that horrifies me. Sitting their in an small bed lay my brother.

But he wasn't breathing. His eyes were open yet lifeless. Charlie was dead.

This is what the world does to people, what climate change does. It takes innocent people and kills them.

Global warming is a mean thing. Taking a young boy and turning him into a lifeless body.

No one to remember him, except for one. A boy who's been through it all, his parents death, several beatings and abandonment.

Why did I leave him? I should have taken him with me. He could still be alive if I hadn't been so selfish.

Tears rapidly streamed down my cheeks. I slowly creep up to him, grabbing his skeleton like boys.

It felt completely still, doll like. My tears stream on to his bushy blonde hair, making it damp.
I knew I had to get back, but I couldn't leave him here like this. He needed a proper goodbye.

I search through the house looking for a tablecloth. Fortunately I don't stumble upon Fred's body, he must not have been home.

I eventually find a decent sized cloth in the kitchen and some dark wall paint.

I pick up Charlie's corpse, I lay him under the kitchen table. I than cover the table with a table cloth, so his body is no longer visible.

I take the paint and stain the table cloth with the words, "Charles Hamilson. A loving innocent boy who deserved to live forever".

I felt those were the perfect words for his life. It's so upsetting how a life can just end like that.

A life, the most important miracle of all, gone in the snap of a finger.

I put back on my backpack and found my bucket. I had snatched his ring off of Charlie before I tucked him away, my dad had given it to him.

I start my journey back home. It's dark when I arrived at the tree.

I was too tired to continue. I just lay down in the shade of the branches.

The night was horrible. I wake up and immediately start to dig. I create a small crater and placed the ring inside.

I recite an old blessing and cover the ring.
Even though Charlie's actual body was far away, I feel like I'm laying his spirit here.

Once again I start to cry. I'll never know how Charlie and the rest of the people died.

I do know why, climate change, a horrid thought.

Selfish people didn't care about the environment, they just cared about themselves. Slowly their greed became a problem, then it was too late.

No one helped and now no one could. The air became unsafe and people died.

All because people didn't care, they didn't try to prevent it.

All that's left is me and the tree.