They Fell from the Trees

Mesi looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. She received a call earlier from her youngest sister’s childhood friend, Kondwani. The call came at an interesting time and she wondered whether he might have heard from her family doctor who was close with his father. She remembered clearly the day he left their neighbourhood. It was a day after the incident. His parents were so ashamed by his actions of the previous day- and potentially worried about the consequences he might face- that they sent him away, never to return. Yet, here he was, returning to the town where he intended for his first visit to be her sister, Alile. Lost in thought about what all of this would mean for Alile’s health, Mesi didn’t hear the doorbell ring.

“Mesi, open up!”

Mesi snapped out of her trance and ran to the door.

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

“How loudly were you thinking that you couldn’t hear a doorbell?” Kwayera winked.

“Ha, always the comedian.”

Mesi boiled the kettle and poured some tea. They sat in silence for some time.

“How is Alile?” Kwayera asked.

“The same as usual.”

Mesi avoided eye contact.

“What did the doctor say?” Kwayera asked in a low whisper as if fearful that she would overhear them.

Tears swam in Mesi’s eyes. She had been dreading having this conversation all morning.

“She says there’s not much else we can do for her. She can tell her health is deteriorating because now she has been refusing to eat and drink. We’re not qualified, Kwayera. We’ve tried and I know if mother was still here, she would know what to do. But I think the doctor is right, we must send her to where she can be cared for properly.”

“But you know what those places are like! How will she be cared for in a place like that? Those nurses won’t know what to do with her, it’s so easy to get fed up and give up on her because she needs that extra care. How can you even think like this?”

Mesi could feel her blood rising through her body. She was angry.

“You talk as if you are the one looking after her! I have been doing this for five years! I can’t do this any longer, it’s hard. While you are out travelling the world and doing amazing things, I am stuck at home caring for our sister who, for the last ten years has been so unwell. I wish mother was still here to do this but she’s not and I’m not her. I want my life back.”

Kwayera began to cry.

“I can’t do this anymore, Kwayera. I’ve tried my best and the doctor is right. She needs professional care now. Please accept this because I won’t change my mind on this matter.”

xxx

Ten years earlier

Kondwani was running through the streets eager to find Alile. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and he had just finished doing his chores. Now, he was ready to take full advantage of the new growth of mangoes on the trees in the field beyond her house.

He arrived at her front door in record time and announced himself. He could hear her running down the stairs towards him.

“Mama, I’m going out to play. I’ll be back before dinner.”

“Okay, be careful.”

Alile pulled back the door dramatically to reveal a bright sunshine yellow dress.

“Wow! Nice dress.”

“Thank you, it’s new. Mama got it from the city.”

They headed for the field. Kondwani chose the biggest mango tree he could find.

“This one! Let’s climb this one!” he shouted, excitedly.

They began to climb the tree until they reached a considerable height. They sat on opposite branches and began to pluck the mangoes.

“I got a sweet one!” Alile exclaimed, happily.

“Me too!”

They sat for some time, saying very little whilst enjoying the sound of the birds and the taste of their sweet mangoes. Once they were done, they dropped their seeds onto the ground and sought out more. They continued to do this until they were full.

“I don’t think I will be able to eat dinner.” Kondwani said.

“Me neither.”

“Do you want to see a trick?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Kondwani leaned back as far as he could and dropped down, hanging like a bat from the tree. Alile clapped.

“Why don’t you try it?”

“No, I don’t think I can.”

“Come on, it’s easy.”

They went back and forth for some time until Alile, realising she wouldn’t win this battle, relented.

“Okay,” she said, exasperated. “Show me.”

He once again leaned back as far as he could and dropped down. This time dropping his arms too.

Alile mimicked his actions. She managed to remove one arm holding the branch but became fearful.

“I don’t like this, Kondwani. I want to get up now.”

“It’s okay. Just put your hand back on the tree and pull yourself up.”

“I can’t, I’m scared.”

Kondwani could hear the fear in her voice. He wouldn’t be able to get to her in time to help. He looked down and saw just how high up they were.

“Kondwani, I’m slipping!” she cried.

Before Kondwani could think of a plan, he heard a loud thud. He looked across from him and Alile was no longer there. He looked down. He could see a pool of blood underneath her head.

“Alile! Alile!”

She didn’t answer. Panic stricken, he climbed down the tree and stood still, looking at Alile’s motionless body. Overcome with fear and panic of what might happen if he were to retell the story to his parents and hers, he decided the best thing to do was pretend he hadn’t seen anything. Gently, he dragged her body to a nearby bush and laid leaves underneath her head, careful not to get blood on himself.

“I’m sorry.”

Kondwani began to run. He ran all the way home. Heart beating, he walked into the house.

“Aren’t you going to eat with us?”

“No, mama, I’m not hungry.”

“Did you eat too many mangoes again?”

Kondwani was quiet. He left the room.

A short while afterwards he heard a knock on the front door and some voices.

“Hi Margaret, is Alile here? She didn’t come home from playing with Kondwani.”

“That’s odd. Kondwani! Come down here, please.”

Kondwani walked down the stairs solemnly.

“Where is Alile? Did you not walk home together?

Kondwani began to cry.

xxx

Alile watched the mangoes as they fell from the trees. ‘What a weird dream this is,’ she thought to herself. She couldn’t quite remember how she ended up sleeping near a bush when she had fallen directly below the mango tree. As she got up, she noticed the mangoes that had fallen began to sprout large trees at an alarming speed. Confused, she stood and watched as right before her eyes, a forest formed.

She could no longer see her house from where she stood. The trees continued to grow until they blocked out the sun and it began to get dark. She stood still for a while to find her bearings and allow her eyes to adjust. She began to walk through the forest. Something felt familiar about where she was, as if she had visited this place in a past life. She continued to walk for some time until she came across a Magic Man who sat cross legged on a small patch of moss.

“Excuse me, what is this place?” she asked quietly.

“This, my child, is a Crossroads. You can choose to stay or you can choose to go,” he said, with his eyes closed.

“How do I leave this place?”

“You are choosing to leave?”

“Well, yes. I promised my mother that I would be home for dinner.”

“No, you do not understand. You can choose to stay here or choose to cross over to the other side.”

Alile paused. She could feel dread washing over her.

“Am I dead?” she asked softly.

“Not yet.”

“What do I do?”

“You can choose to stay here or cross over to the other side.”

“If I stay here, will I be alive in the living world?”

“Yes, you will be alive but, you will not be present.”

xxx

Alile’s parents ran towards the field screaming her name. Under the direction of Kondwani they found her near a bush. Her mother dropped to her knees and wept.

“She’s still breathing! We need to take her to the hospital immediately,” her father said.

Hers and Kondwani’s family stayed in the hospital waiting room. Alile’s sisters and mother sat quietly in the corner, hypnotised by grief. Alile’s father paced the room as Kondwani and his family apologised profusely.

“I am so sorry, Mr Banda. I am really so sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” Kondwani said, guiltily.

Alile’s father couldn’t bring himself to respond. He feared he would shout at the young boy who abandoned his daughter. The doctor came out with a grim expression on her face. The families braced themselves for the worst.

“Hello everyone. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. We managed to get her bleeding under control and stabilise her. She will survive. However, she will not gain full function of her brain. How well she recovers outside of that is entirely up to her and her will to survive. We will keep her here for a few weeks and then you can take her home. We will do our best.”

The group gave a collective sigh of relief. If there was any hope in her even gaining a fraction of her functioning back, they would take it. They would do anything to make her life comfortable from here onward. No matter the cost, they still had their child.

A few weeks later, Alile was brought home.

xxx

Alile sat across the Magic Man. He opened up his eyes, revealing a most brilliant purple colour. She was taken aback.

“So, what do I do now?” Alile asked, excitedly.

The Magic Man conjured up a bright blue fire. He stared intensely at Alile, reading her.

“You exist here now. You can do whatever you like.”

“Well, there’s not much here except a bunch of trees. Where will I sleep? What things can I do here?

The Magic Man reached into the flames and pulled out an emerald green crystal.

“Here. Hold on to this and whatever you wish for will materialise. However, it cannot send you back to the land of the living nor produce living creatures. You can stay here and explore this forest for as long as you like, until you are ready.”

“Until I am ready for what?”

“Until you are ready to cross over.”

“So, I will have to go eventually?”

“This is a place where you can stay to give your family time to let you go. Once you feel enough time has passed, you may cross over. It is up to you when that time is.”

Alile thought carefully.

“How will I know enough time has passed?”

“That, you will have to uncover by yourself.”

Alile left. She felt a deep sorrow in her chest. She wondered how her parents and her sisters were coping with her new condition and how they were coping without the old her. She thought about what she was like, now that she was no longer present in the living world. She thought of Kondwani and how guilty he must be feeling. She didn’t blame him much, but her heart hurt every time she thought of him leaving her by the bushes. What would I have done if I was him? She would have been frightened too if she felt that she was the cause of her best friend’s death. She walked around aimlessly for what seemed like forever. She decided for now, she would conjure up a house for herself and fill it with a few of her favourite things.

In no time at all, she had fashioned herself a sweet little cottage, with a porch out front and a little sunflower garden in the back, shaded by a large mango tree. She created a room specifically for all her favourite books and made sure her little cottage was covered in photographs of all her friends and family. She stood back and admired her handywork. I think it’s time for me to explore this place, she thought to herself.

She walked on the path the Magic Man fashioned for her. Now that she had all her questions answered and a safe place to stay, she was able to appreciate the forest in all its beauty. It was vividly green with flecks of orange and yellow on the leaves. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of bugs because she found all sorts there. The Magic Man had been vague about what she might find here, but he seemed confident enough that she would be able to safely walk through it.

She hadn’t noticed until then, but she had been followed by a beautiful melody sung by a small bird that seemed to have taken an interest in her. She listened carefully to the song and whistled it back. They continued like this for some time until the bird flew down and perched itself on her shoulder.

“You’re the youngest human we’ve had here for some time,” it chirped.

Surprised that the bird had just spoken, she responded.

“You can talk?”

The bird laughed.

“Yes, all creatures here can talk. It is the magic within this forest that allows for us to communicate with the humans who pass by here. How did you come by this place?”

“My friend challenged me to do a trick in a tree and I fell and hit my head. I’m not dead though.”

“I didn’t say you were. How long do you intend to stay here?”

“I’m not sure yet. Until the time is right, I guess.”

“How will you know when that is?”

“I haven’t figured that part out yet. Will you stay and keep me company?”

“For as long as you like.”

Alile felt some comfort. She found a friend whom she could speak to whenever she wanted. She had a little house, and a vast forest to explore. She continued on her journey. As her and the bird continued to speak, they came across a sleeping tree.

“This is the Grand Oak tree,” said the bird. “He is the source of the magic here in this forest.”

“What about the Magic Man?”

“He is a human, just like you, who has chosen to stay here and offer safe passage for the rest of the humans who pass by here.”

“How did the Grand Oak come to be?”

“There are many versions of the tale of the Grand Oak. He once appeared many centuries ago as a guardian to guide the dead home. He became weary of the sadness that overcame those who were not ready to leave the ones they loved behind and decided to create this forest as a temporary home for those who wanted to give their family some time to let go.”

xxx

Mesi and Kwayera sat together, nervously watching the clock. Kondwani was due to arrive at any moment.

“Do you think it’s a good idea, allowing Kondwani to see her?” Kwayera asked, bitterly.

“I think this is something she would want. He was her best friend, and I don’t want her thoughts of him to be that of abandonment. Imagine the guilt he has lived with all these years. He was just a young boy back then, he acted accordingly. We can’t hold it against him forever.”

“He never even said goodbye.”

“How could he? With the hate our family felt towards him? Did he not apologise enough that day at the hospital? Besides, his family sent him away, it wasn’t as if he went of his own accord.”

The doorbell rang. There was a sharp inhale from both of them.

“Kondwani, how are you?” Mesi asked, kindly.

“I am well, thank you. Thank you very much for allowing me to come here today. I wasn’t sure if you would let me visit.”

“I wasn’t sure either.”

Kwayera made some tea. They sat, looking at each other. Kondwani started and paused again. He was trying to find the right words.

“I am truly, so sorry-”

“Please, don’t apologise. If that’s what you came here to do today, we don’t want to hear it,” Kwayera said, coldly.

“It has been hard for us. Our father passed shortly after Alile came back from the hospital. Our mother dedicated the rest of her life to looking after her, but also after only a few years she too passed away. The stress was just too much for them. I have been looking after Alile since then, but I am at my limit. I can no longer care for her the way she deserves. We know you are sorry, but sorry hasn’t been enough,” Mesi said, gently.

Kondwani was silent.

“She is upstairs, if you want to see her now,” Kwayera said.

“May I have a moment to prepare myself?”

“Are you sure you can face what you have done to her?”

“Kwayera, that’s enough.”

The room fell silent. Kondwani pulled himself out of his self-pity and stood up. He waited for one of the sisters to get up and show him the way but neither of them did.

“It’s the second door on the left,” spat Kwayera.

He held his breath as he walked towards the room. He walked in and his heart stopped. He stared at his childhood friend as pain shot through his heart. It had been ten years but she was almost exactly the same as he left her, except of course, older and a lot thinner. The colour from her skin had drained and her cheeks were sunken in. He could feel the tears running down his face.

She wore a bright yellow dress, similar to the one she wore that very same day and he wondered whether it was Kwayera’s doing to remind him of what he had done as if seeing her wasn’t reminder enough. As he walked towards her bed, her eyes followed him.

“Hi, Alile. It’s been a while.”

He sat down by her bedside and pulled out a mango. He cut it up and prepared to feed her. He wasn’t sure if she would eat it after what her sisters had told him but he tried anyway. To his surprise, she began to chew. He began to cry.

“I’m so sorry, Alile. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I was a coward. If I had just had the courage to face what I had done, maybe you would not have suffered the way you have. In any case, I never should have forced you to do that trick in the first place.”

He slid his hand underneath hers and for a split second he felt her gently squeeze it. He took it as confirmation that she forgave him. Feeling a little stronger, he pulled out her favourite childhood book and began to read to her. After a few hours, Mesi came into the room.

“The doctor will be here early tomorrow morning to collect her. She needs to sleep now.

Kondwani got up and took one last look at his childhood friend. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you,” he said to her.

xxx

It had been some years that Alile had been in the forest. She had created a beautiful life for herself. Every day she would visit the Magic Man and learn more about the forest and the magic within it. She would sit under the Grand Oak and read stories aloud for the creatures around her. Every morning she would go to her mango tree and pluck them for her breakfast. She sat on her porch most evenings with the bird, whistling melodies and listening to its stories of the different people it had met in the forest over the years. As much as she missed

out on living out her life in the living world, she felt that she had done a pretty good job of being fulfilled in the forest.

One beautiful summer’s day she walked out of her cottage and to her surprise, saw a ray of sunshine for the first time in a long time. She felt a warmth in her hand that she couldn’t quite explain but it made her feel the lightest and happiest she had felt since she arrived in the forest. On this particular day, she found the Magic Man and the Grand Oak in conversation with each other.

“Am I interrupting?” she asked, suddenly.

“Not at all,” they said in unison.

The Magic Man sat down, crossed legged and examined her closely as the Grand Oak smiled knowingly at her.

“I think it’s time for me to go.”

“Perfect timing,” said the Grand Oak, as the Magic Man smiled.