It was my first overnight trip without my parents, and I had so much fun. I made many new friends and met my role model. It all felt like a dream come true. It was the morning of the last day of the school trip and I was out for a morning walk in the meadows inside the premises of the resort when I remembered a myth that if you hug a tree and try to connect your soul with it, you can hear what the tree and the surrounding fauna is saying or feeling and if the connection is strong enough, you can converse with the tree.
In my childish excitement, I hugged the tree close to me and tried to form a connection with it. I had no idea what to do. So, I did the obvious thing—I thought about a green string connecting with a red one. After some time when I started to feel stupid, I heard a faint whisper. I strained my ears and tried to understand what it meant but it seemed to be in an ancient language. Then, I heard a whisper; the voice seemed so airy and reminded me of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.
Thrilled, I hugged the tree tighter and suddenly I could understand what the whispering voices were saying. After five minutes, I realised they were having a very intense conversation and it went like this:
“And even though they realise that what they are doing is wrong they show no signs of stopping.”
“In a way, isn’t it good?”
“How so, dear friend?”
“Think about it, if humans become extinct, which they will, Mother Earth will be able to give life to many more organisms and strengthen the numbers of the ones that already exist.”
“No, they are also an integral part of the ecosystem. If they were extinct, many of our flora and fauna may also cease to exist.”
“Unfortunately, m’dear, that seems true. Well, I wish for their sake I hope.”
“Margie!!!” I heard my friend call me, “Come on! Where are you? We must go back!!”
Snapping out of my trance I replied, “Coming!” before stepping back and hugging the tree once again.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur and the only thing I could think of was how I could reduce my carbon footprint and raise awareness for those around me.
