Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The End of a Long Life

I know I've fallen and the end is near but I hear them talking about me as if I'm already gone. They are saying that my rings count is over four thousand, that is old, very old, even for a tree like me but as I look back, my life has gone by like the blink of an eye. It's not that I'm not ready for I am, I am very tired and sore and so brittle that a wind I would have called a breeze in my youth has uprooted me and tossed me to the ground.

I've seen so many things both wondrous and horrific along with many secrets I wish I could pass on before I depart. I have watched the human species rise up above the other fauna to become the keepers of the land. I can see that mankind has the power to make our world a paradise and because he fails to live up to this challenge it shows a flaw in his makeup that could be fatal to us all. Instead of turning deserts into Edens he turns lush green fields into feral wastelands as he soils life giving waters into caustic poisons.

When I was younger I had a desire to stick around to see how our young world would turn out but now after what I've seen for so many years I have lost most of my optimism and I don't think I have the stomach to see the finish. As my end nears I look out across at these young trees all wanting to be as old and wise as I am and I wonder which one has not only the right mix of genes and fertilizer to grow old but the heart to look at all the disappointment in this world and not give up. Come on my young bucks it is your time now, step to the forefront, and show your mettle to the world.

If I were to be granted one last wish, I would like to be proven wrong about the humans. I hope for them to realize their potential as saviors of the world before it's too late. I truly do believe it is never too late to start doing what is right and all that it takes is someone to make the first move so others may see and follow. How about you, will you step up?

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