The Journey to the Land of Trees

– I saw you recently, you were passing by here.. I’m Paul, a local beekeeper, I’m always glad to have guests, try honey, it’s fresh. By the way, thanks for the groceries – the beekeeper smiled, he was so happy with the guest that he forgot to ask about the reason for Patrick’s arrival, he also forgot about his interview, his memory failed him, he was over fifty years old, but he still didn’t feel sad, didn’t lose heart.

– I came to you from a neighboring village, there is something that scares me.. Forest, you gave an interview, I read it, I also heard noise from there.. I wanted to ask about the forest. Tell me, Paul, what do you know or have heard? I understand you gave interviews, but I came in the hope that you will remember something else. I.. – The expression of the beekeeper’s face changed, unexpectedly for Patrick, the beekeeper put food on the table, turned away and opened the door of a small house, he was going to go into the house.. – My daughter, she miraculously returned from that forest, sheonly 13 years old, please tell me everything you know,” Patrick said in a trembling voice, sat down at a small table that stood in the yard, in the hope that Paul would change his mind and talk to him..

The beekeeper turned to Patrick, Paul’s only daughter, who died ten years ago in a car accident, he understood Patrick’s feelings and condition.

“Come in, guest, don’t forget to take off your shoes, I’m sorry that I’m like this with you.. It’s just that the neighbors think I’m a crazy old man, that’s why I reacted like that, don’t be offended, I’m leaving quickly, and indeed, in fact, I’m cheerful, kind, – the beekeeper smiled, going into the kitchen, the kitchen was spacious, for a house of this size, the house was renovated, the late daughter insisted on repairs, although Paul was against it, she paid for the repair, Paul pointed to the photo with his finger.. – This my Cynthia, my girl, she was only 24 years old – a tear ran down the cheek of a man, a red-haired girl, short in stature, in a blue dress, in the university courtyard, she studied to be a surgeon, she was the pride of her father, after the death of her mother, she was the meaning of Paul’s life.

– Paul, I sympathize with you, accept my condolences, believe me, I know what it’s like.. My wife died, I was left alone with the children, I have another son, his name is Charlie, so back to the forest, I heard strange sounds, they came from the forest… – Paul interrupted Patrick, he thought and looked at Patrick. of course I heard about the ban, about the oddities associated with them, but I decided to look in and see if I should not, an old fool to climb there.. I saw a strange tree, I was wearing glasses, and I see well in them, although in an interview, I said that I was without glasses and did not see anything. It looked at me, I felt uneasy, I immediately jumped out of the forest, got into the car and drove away, Anna saw me, she had a long tongue, and she called the reporters. And then she laughed at me, calling me crazy, – Paul blushed and lowered his head, but in a moment he was already the same, cheerful beekeeper, with a smile on his face and full of positive, forgetting about everything bad..

– Paul, thank you very much for your frankness, I’m sorry if I offended you with something, said or did something wrong.. I am very grateful to you and I believe you, Ino matter what others think of you. You’re a good man, all the best.. – Patrick shook hands with the beekeeper and left the house, Paul’s story might seem incredible, but Patrick really believed him. All this was not in the interview, but the reason for the silence of the beekeeper was also understandable, he did not want to be laughed at even more. Patrick got into the car and headed home, the children came home from school, from the expression on their father’s face, they realized that something was wrong with him. And Patrick understood that he couldn’t hide anything from the children, the last thing he would like was for Jessica and Charlie to be afraid.. He went into the house and sat down at the table, the children also sat down and Jessica was the first to break the silence, she looked carefully at Patrick..

“Dad, what happened, you are pale, are you all right?” Jessica was really worried about her father, she took his hand, it seemed to her that Patrick’s hand was trembling, but in fact, his hand was trembling then, she hugged him.. – Jessie, I just went to see a man from a neighboring village today, – Patrick asked Charlie to bring his laptop, he opened it and showed the beekeeper’s interview.. – he gave this interview, but he didn’t tell everything, in an interview he said that while driving past the forest, he decided to go there, but when he heard a strange noise, he got scared and ran out of the forest that he didn’t see anything, because he forgot his glasses in the car. But today, he told me what really happened. He entered the forest, he wore glasses with him, he saw a tree, that is, not quite a tree. He saw a tree who had hands, eyes and a mouth, like those of people, a tree-man, frightened of him, he fled from there. This beekeeper is a kind and honest person, I believe him. His name is Paul, a cheerful man, Jesse, Charlie, please be careful and avoid this forest. No way, don’t go there, Jessie, especially you, I was also curious at your age, but it was the cause of many of my mistakes. And now, I have to work on a laptop, and you do your homework.. – after giving the children a task, Patrick went into the office and began to look in the books. He had many books about different creatures, it was not only literature.. He searched for a long time, but he did not succeed in finding anything about this strange tree. He had to update the articles, but nothing new has appeared in them yet. He took a deep breath and lay down on the small couch. Jessie sat and thought about what Patrick said. She wanted to know what kind of creature it was, where it came from. Curiosity again tried to get the better offear and inhibition. She climbed out the window and slowly climbed down a nearby tree. She ran along the houses, she and Charlie ran here.. She ran, passing the yards, she wanted to see again the tree that she had seen before.. Having reached the forest, she took a deep breath, her hands trembling, fear and excitement intertwined in Jessica. She took a few more steps and ended up in the forest, there was that very tree, it was far enough away, the girl immediately recognized it. Suddenly, she felt a hand, this someone pulled her out of the forest. She turned around and it was Patrick. Jessica blushed as she remembered her father’s prohibition.

“I asked today to stay away from the forest, we don’t know what lives there and it’s better for us not to know. You can’t be so careless and irresponsible, it’s time to grow up. Moreover, I don’t want to punish you, just don’t go into this forest and that’s it!” He shook his head, got into the car and opened the door.. “I just wanted to find out what was happening there, to see that tree or a person, I don’t know, what is there. But I’m almost fourteen, and I’m curious, but I just want to find out for myself. You don’t trust me, you think I’m a stupid child… – Patrick closed the door without saying anything and left, he was hurt by his daughter’s words, although on the other hand he understood that she was no longer eleven. He was just afraid of losing his daughter. Arriving home, Patrick went into the office, lay down on the sofa and fell asleep. Jessica came home in a terrible mood, she knew that hurt Patrick and offended him. After all, he is her father and worries about her. At the knock on the door, Patrick did not answer, Jessica realized that he had fallen asleep. She went to the kitchensat down at the table, poured juice, taking a couple of sips, she decided to talk to her father. She went towards the office, but met Patrick at the door. Knowing her daughter, Patrick sat down, Jessica ran up to her father and hugged him tightly, – I’m sorry, I was wrong, I’m not an adult, I’m still the same little Jessie, dad, I love you very much, you did so much for Charlie and me, you are very dear to me.. – the girl’s tears dripped onto Patrick’s shoulder, he tried his best to calm his upset daughter. So a week passed, no one remembered what happened. In the morning, an acquaintance called Patrick and said that neighbors were coming from the city who went to work. In the afternoon there will be a celebration in honor of their arrival. The whole family was invited, Patrick told the children about the invitation. Charlie immediately went into the room to get some clothes.Charlie preferred shirts to T-shirts, as did Patrick, and Jessie wore her favorite pink dress. Having decided on clothes, they began to think about what to give them, Robert and Ted. There were not so many options, the choice was on the clock. The mechanical watch that Patrick bought for himself the day before he arrived in the village. In addition, Patrick worked remotely, he had work experience, so he could always find a job, most of the money he earned went to clothes, school, food, etc. happening. It was time for the party, Patrick was worried, he hadn’t been to the holidays for a long time, the last time he went was for Alice’s birthday. Taking the gifts, Patrick, Charlie and Jessica went to the party. There were many people, even from neighboring villages, where Robert had acquaintances and friends. The beekeeper Paul also came, Patrick greeted him and introduced him to the children.. -Here, this is Uncle Paul, I told you about him, he is a very kind and cheerful person.. -said Patrick, shaking hands with Paul. Jessica ran to Alice, seeing a classmate, Charlie waved her hand. The boy’s eyes shone, sometimes Jessica teased her brother, hinting that he liked Alice, who finally realized that she should not run after not serious beautiful boys, but be friends with smart and serious boys. Therefore, she now prefers to spend more time in the company of Charlie and Jessica. Embracing her friend, saying hello to Charlie, Alice asked about the forest. Jessica and Charlie did not expect to hear a question about this topic. They were both at a loss, not knowing what to answer. After a short pause, Jessica decided to answer the question. – Ali, the thing is, Charlie and I don’t want to know, what is going on in the forest, I promised my dad that I would not go there and forget about the forest and everything connected with it.. Sorry.. – Alice did not want to spoil the mood for herself or her friends. And the holiday continued, the children wanted to see the heroes of the occasion, finally a white car arrived. Two men got out of it. Tall, blond, brown-eyed, tanned and brunette, short, blue-eyed and with a wide smile on his face. They went to meet those who had gathered to meet them, the villagers, and behind, from the car, three men carried large packages, these were food and gifts, Robert and Ted obviously did not come empty-handed. There were a lot of gifts, several more cars drove up, from which they began to take out packages. There were large tables on the street, dishes were already laid out on them, Alice didn’t want to spoil the mood for herself or her friends. And the holiday continued, the children wanted to see the heroes of the occasion, finally a white car arrived. Two men got out of it. Tall, blond, brown-eyed, tanned and brunette, short, blue-eyed and with a wide smile on his face. They went to meet those who had gathered to meet them, the villagers, and behind, from the car, three men carried large packages, these were food and gifts, Robert and Ted obviously did not come empty-handed. There were a lot of gifts, several more cars drove up, from which they began to take out packages. There were large tables on the street, dishes were already laid out on them, Alice didn’t want to spoil the mood for herself or her friends. And the holiday continued, the children wanted to see the heroes of the occasion, finally a white car arrived. Two men got out of it. Tall, blond, brown-eyed, tanned and brunette, short, blue-eyed and with a wide smile on his face. They went to meet those who had gathered to meet them, the villagers, and behind, from the car, three men carried large packages, these were food and gifts, Robert and Ted obviously did not come empty-handed. There were a lot of gifts, several more cars drove up, from which they began to take out packages. There were large tables on the street, dishes were already laid out on them, tanned and dark-haired, short, blue-eyed and with a wide smile on his face. They went to meet those who had gathered to meet them, the villagers, and behind, from the car, three men carried large packages, these were food and gifts, Robert and Ted obviously did not come empty-handed. There were a lot of gifts, several more cars drove up, from which they began to take out packages. There were large tables on the street, dishes were already laid out on them, tanned and dark-haired, short, blue-eyed and with a wide smile on his face. They went to meet those who had gathered to meet them, the villagers, and behind, from the car, three men carried large packages, these were food and gifts, Robert and Ted obviously did not come empty-handed. There were a lot of gifts, several more cars drove up, from which they began to take out packages. There were large tables on the street, dishes were already laid out on them, Everyone took turns taking the microphone and congratulated Robert and Ted on the arrival. Alice looked towards the forest, seeing this, Jessica also looked hesitantly.. But noticing Patrick’s gaze on herself, she turned away in the other direction. Everyone was having fun, music was playing, some sang and some danced. The dance of Charlie and Alice surprised Patrick and Jessica, they knew that Alice danced well, but they did not suspect that Charlie danced well. It felt like Charlie and Alice had been rehearsing this dance for days. But the surprises did not end there, Patrick continued to surprise everyone. He started doing magic tricks, in Patrick’s office, there were several books about magic tricks in the closet, sometimes he read one of the books and he was not bad at it. Jessica and Charlie looked at the magic tricks with surprise. He tried and he had a desire. He believed that this was the most important thing. Jessica was next, she sang a song, the song was about parents, about their care and love. There was silence, finishing the song, Jessica ran up to Patrick and hugged him, Patrick understood that the girl misses her mother. The children missed her, it was clear even without words. And the rest applauded the girl, the parents of many of them were not alive, some of them cried.. After the endholiday, Patrick got into the car, there were many thoughts in the man’s head. He thought about his daughter, her song, about her experiences. They were driving home, no one on the road said a word. Everyone was thinking about their own.. Arriving home, first of all, Patrick decided that it was necessary to talk with Jessica and Charlie.