Enchanted Forests (11 page)

leaves receive me sun's speech, and through her the stars' song;

our trunks translate the celestial to the subterranean; and through

our atmosphere swim the blooded creatures."

A vision of me slow wheeling progression of galaxies dark and

light, and simultaneously the scent of pine and hot summer after-

noon chaparral, and moist spring eucalyptus, and crisp dry falL

"Our way is to wait. though mere is risk. When a species

leaves, it seeks to develop itself alone without consideration for

one farspread web of life, and damage is done, but the rips can

be repaired since the movement takes millennia, and in the full-

ness of time the race returns for reintegration. But we are aston-

ished and dismayed at the speed with which mankind has

reached the brink of self-destruction. You are something new.

The universe has moved slowly until now, billions of slow

coalescing years, interstellar dust into the rotation of galaxies,

the stately evolution of life. Even the dinosaurs drifted sedately

to their death. There was no danger. But now your demise threat-

ens us all, and your death will come through our destruction, our

link will be broken, and we will all die."

"I want to help, but I'm just a little boy. When I grow up, I

want to be a forest ranger and help save the trees."

"There is no longer time. Soon our extent will be too small

and our soul will fade like the sounds in this grove. The world

has changed, and slow must incorporate the quick before the

quick destroys the slow. We have waited a million years along-

side you, but if we continue apart, we will vanish because of

you. We cannot stay ourself and survive. And if we vanish, you,

too, will vanish without our air, our rain, our shade and wind,

our animals and our shelter. None of us can live alone."

"That's what I tell my sister, but she laughs at me."

"There is no longer time to talk and convince. We must both

change."

"I'll do it."

"Beware. The transformation we propose is profound. We are

the oldest race and slow to change, but everything must change.

We must accept the new quickness in me world, and your quick

intelligence must blunt its cutting individuality as you lose your-

self in ancient communion."

FIAT SILVA                 75

Into his back emanated a blurred vision of darkness lifting, a

hazy sight of early dawn.

"Okay, I'll do it." Proud and scared and responsible.

"You will no longer be yourself."

"I tell my classmates I would die if it would save the earth."

"You will not die, but you won't be yourself."

"Okay."

"Then take this, and be fruitful and multiply." A whisper in

the air above whistled and with a crackle a cone bounced at his

feet "The seeds in this cone contain the germ of a new forest.

Your breath will fertilize them. Shake out the seeds, breathe upon

them, and cast them. As the new forest grows, the particularity

of your essence and ours will diminish, will combine, and a new

creation will begin."

A sensation of love and urging passed through Adam, A sense

of excitement gathered in the airy grove, as if the tall trees

leaned forward. He turned the cone in his hands, shook it, and

two small brown spheres rolled out. He held them in his palm

and breathed softly on them.

Dizziness, a flowing outward from himself; the trunk behind

him sighed and its force diminished minutely.

At first he saw nothing but a concentration of green light; then

two tender shoots like spring green stalks of grass, which grew an

inch, two inches, a foot, thickened and^rew thicker like his finger,

browned, passed eye level, sprouted branches and green needles-

"So fast!"

"Your quickness intensified by our breadth.'*

Two trees shot up, one sequoia and one sugar pine. *Two

kinds from one cone?"

"The seeds will develop best suited to the conditions where

they fall."

"Life!" cried the trees with the wonder of youth in a tone in-

timately his own, as if he were in the trees, as if he had painted

a picture of himself and stepped back to look, yet more than the

mute reflection in a voiceless mirror—these trees were part of

himself yet not himself, an extension, a bond, a family tie, a

union.

"Yes," he breathed, "Yes," sighed the grove. "Yes, ess, ess,"

twittered the bird.

Adam arose and took a picture of the trees. 1 wonder if the

blue glow will show up. He left the grove in a dream, walked

past the silent sugar pines, and found his way through the chap-

arral- This is a good place for a tree, he thought. He shook the

76                      Jack OaUey

cone until he had a handful of seeds, blew upon them, and scat-

tered them with a sweep of his arm.

Again a dizzy green haze clouded his vision and he weakened

as his forces flowed outward- He sat down to rest and watched

a dozen spears rise and writhe into the twisted torsos of a young

manzanita grove. "Life!" they sang and his stomach sang coun-

terpoint. It was several moments before he came to himself.

Good-bye, trees. Good-bye Adam. He found the lake and re-

turned to the campsite.

"I don't want to go home," he said. "This was our best vaca-

tion ever."

"It was, wasn't it?" said his father.

"But school starts the day after tomorrow," said Evelyn. "I've

had enough of this, anyway. I can't wait to see my friends

again."

"I'm going to stay here forever."

"I wish we could," said his father. "But we have our lives to

live, you know."

"Part of me will always live here."

"Yes," said his mother. "Part of all of us will."

"Can Evelyn and I walk around the lake one last time?"

"I don't want to."

"Come with me, Evie. I'll show you some neat trees you

haven't seen before."

"I've seen enough trees."

"If you come, I'll take your picture."

"Big deal."

"Why don't you go with Adam?" said their mother.

"Oh, okay. C'mon squirt. Why are you bringing that stupid

pine cone?"

"It's magic."

"Oh, sure."

When they reached the spot where Adam had left the trail, he

said, "This way, Evie, the trees are over here."

"It's getting too dark. I don't want to go there."

"I planted them this afternoon."

"Why do you say such stupid things?"

"Please just come."

"Oh, okay."

As they approached the grove he felt like he was returning

home. He was bringing his sister to his tree siblings. "Aren't

they nice trees?"

FIAT SILVA                 77

"They're just trees."

"Can't you hear them talk? Feel them? Just sit quiet for a min-

ute."

"Oh, okay." After a minute she said, "You're right, Adam.

There's something very friendly here, and it's funny, but it feels

like you somehow."

"Yes, that's what I wanted to show you. Now we can go back.

I'll tell you why," and he told her about his afternoon.

"Oh sure, Adam. Someday you've got to grow up."

The next morning they rolled up the sleeping bags, folded the

tents, and tidied the campsite. "Everybody in the van," said their

father. "Let's go."

"Adam, leave that pine cone here."

"It's a souvenir. Mom. Can't I bring it, Dad?"

"You know we're not supposed to take anything from a na-

tional park."

"I do know, but this is special,"

"It's his magic pine cone, Dad," Evelyn said sarcastically.

"Glen, why don't you let him take it?"

"All right. I hope it doesn't just end up gathering dust under

your dresser."

"It won't, I promise."

Adam and Evelyn sat in back facing the rear as they drove

down the mountainside. "I'll miss the forest."

"Me, too, but I'm not sorry to be going home."

"Part of me is here."

"Oh, Adam, you're so sappy."

"Really, Evie. The trees are talking to me."

"Okay. Prove it. Show me how that pine cone of yours works."

"I will, but wait till we stop somewhere."

"You're just procrastinating because you made it up and you

don't want me to find out."

"Wait till we get somewhere there aren't any trees. Down in

the valley."

The day warmed up as the sun rose higher and they descended

into farmland. "Is this good enough?" Evelyn asked.

"Yeah. Now we have to get Mom and Dad to stop."

"I'm hot," said Evelyn loudly.

"I'm thirsty," said Adam.

"Okay," said their mother. "We'll stop at the next town for so-

das." They left the freeway and pulled into a shopping center's

78                      Jack OaUey

broad asphalt parking lot. Their father opened the back door.

"Come in and pick out your drinks."

"I'll stay here," said Adam, "Just get me an orange soda."

"Me, too," said Evelyn.

"You sure you want to sit out here in the hot sun?*'

"That's okay."

"Me, too."

As their parents walked toward the store, they heard their

mother say, "I can't understand these kids. They want to stop,

but then they don't want to get out."

Adam laughed.

"Show me," commanded Evelyn.

"Okay. Watch." He tapped the cone and gathered the seeds.

"Now you breathe your spirit into them."

"Come off it."

"Watch." He breathed over his palm and felt faint again, as a

small part of himself flowed out. "It feels funny." He closed his

eyes and concentrated on establishing a new balance with the

warm life vibrating in his hand. "Okay." He tossed them out the

door.

Evelyn watched the brown spheres bounce and with a sudden

small green flash adhere to the asphalt. "Mmph!" said Adam. Her

eyes widened as six green stems shot upward and the pavement

rippled in all directions. The spreading roots tilted the van forward

and supple green trunks broadened and browned. In a few minutes

they sat in the peaceful shade of small stand of live oak.

"Cool," she agreed. "Can I do it?"

"There isn't enough room for more."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. We have to go somewhere else now. You can do it

when we get back on the freeway."

Their mother and father returned with a grocery bag. "Where

did these trees come from?"

"What trees?" asked Evelyn.

"There weren't any trees here when we parked."

"Oh, Daddy, you never pay attention."

"There weren't, were there, Marie?"

"I didn't notice."

"I swear, when I opened the door, I was standing in the blaz-

ing sun."

"Are you okay, Glen? Do you want me to drive?"

"No, I'm fine." He closed the back door. "Still," he muttered,

"it's weird." They bumped out of the parking lot to the freeway.

FIAT SILVA

79

Good-bye trees. Good-bye Adam.

"Okay, my turn now, please, Adam."

"I don't know ... Are you sure? It does something to you."

"Yes, yes, please, please."

"How can we do it now? We're on the freeway."

"We can open the window. Please, Adam."

Without turning her head their mother called back, "Adam,

just let her do it, whatever it is."

"Okay, open the window. Here." He gave her the cone and she

shook a few seeds into her hand. "Now breathe."

"I feel dizzy."

"I know. Do you feel yourself moving into the seeds?"

"It's like they're part of me now. Here you go, seeds." She

dropped them one by one out the window. "Ooh, it almost hurts."

'They're sprouting."

The van sped rapidly along but they could see a green haze

appear far behind. Soon there were no cars following. "I think

we blocked the road."

They laughed happily. "Cool!"

"Let's do it again!"

By the time they reached the city at dusk, they were vegetat-

ing in a peaceful stupor, a vast part of themselves strewn along

a finger of forest for hundreds of miles through the valley to the

park. They leaned against each other drained. Their parents

opened the door and helped them out.

"Leave that pine cone in the garage, Adam."

"No, it's a souvenir of our best vacation ever."

"Yes, Mom, it's our magic pine cone."

"You, too, Evelyn? Okay, bring it in."

Their father supported them up the steps to the house while their

mother unloaded the van. "These kids are as heavy as logs."

'Time to get up," called their mother. "First day of school!"

The words came from far away, dimly penetrated the dream of

an immense continental forest. Rising from slumber was like up-

rooting a small tree. Adam and Evelyn pulled themselves out of

bed and went to the kitchen for breakfast. The morning newspa-

per reported the bizarre growth of a mixed deciduous and ever-

green forest centered on the southbound lane of Interstate 5.

Trees were spreading east and west despite attempts by road

crews with chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the highway.

"That's terrible!" said Adam.

"That's strange," said their father. "I didn't see any trees."

80 JacL Oakley

"It must have happened just after we passed by."

Adam and Evelyn smiled at each other.

"You kids are going to be late. You'd better make like trees