The sun scorched the only grass on the edge of the jungle. It was early morning and the 2 suns had just come up; they were bright pink with lavender skies. The grass was now brown and would need rainfall soon.

Jackson a local boy came bounding through the forest, this started a cacophony of sounds from the birds and animals, they rustled in their hidey holes and moved about in the jungle floor’s foliage looking for somewhere to hide from the noise.

He was running from the most enormous four-legged oak tree he’d ever seen, and this thing had it in for him. He hadn’t harmed it and couldn’t understand why it wanted to hurt him.

The tree was getting closer, its leaves were shedding as it powered through the jungle towards him, he tried dodging and weaving but it didn’t help, the tree was doing the literal bull in the China shop routine, and in its bark it’s face was screwed up in rage.

Jackson slowed up as he came nearer to the beach, the suns were up high and the rays picked out parts of the jungle he hadn’t noticed before, he had forgotten how beautiful it could look, then it came, in the distance the tree was racing towards him, it was upsetting the undergrowth and dispersing the animals in various directions, the nearby birds flew towards Jackson away from the commotion, their feathers glistened in the sunshine, and as they swooped past him one left him a parting gift of a blue single feather, he pocketed it, that would go into his collection later. His distraction was short-lived as the tree was getting ever closer, he racked his brains trying to remember what he might have done to anger it, then it occurred to him, his older brother might have done something, as he remembered that they hunt by smell and he would smell the same as his brother, hoping to the universe he was right he stood his ground and centered himself in the soft green sand and waited in defiance for the inevitable.

The tree stopped at the edge of the jungle not wanting to leave the sanctuary of shade and getting bogged down in the sand. Jackson backed off to the edge of the blue sea, which reminded him of an elaborate costume with white ruffles of waves. With trepidation, he stood up, adjusted his posture, and started talking.

‘Hi, I’m Jackson, and I’m sorry someone in my family has clearly wronged you, but it wasn’t me’, he said defiantly.

‘I am not wrong young one, it was you’.

‘OK, but what did I do, I’ don’t remember doing anything to you?’

‘You cracked my bark’, said the tree, looking imploringly and forlorn, it’s face looked disheartened.

‘It wasn’t me, my brother has a habit of deifying nature, not me, I make friends with it’.

‘I have initials carved into my trunk’,

The tree showed Jackson the letters carved into its bark; it said L V ‘HEARTS’ O E.

Jackson had pity for the tree, he knew his brother could be a pain sometimes, but how to put it right.

‘I know who O.E. is her name is Olive Eton, and she’s actually good for him, believe it or not’?

‘I didn’t do this my initials are different mine would be J. V.’ ‘Jackson Viner’.

‘Can I put this right for him, only if I have to ask him, you might be waiting a while’.

‘I can’t undo what he did but maybe I can do something else?’

‘I can now see it wasn’t you, recompense for your brother is a noble thing, why not plant another tree and name it after me’.

‘I can do that, what’s your name?’

‘It’s Greyfriar’

‘Consider it done’.

Jackson walked home via the beach just to be on the safe side, he didn’t fancy a repeat performance. Once home he had words with his delinquent brother who in fairness was sorry in his own way, just not enough to go back to the forest to apologize in person.

Then two moons after he had planted the tree, Greyfriar Junior had shot into the world and Jackson went back to the forest to tell the elder one and he smiled. They talked some more, and a friendship was built, this started a chain reaction amongst the tree community, and eventually, more trees began communicating with the people, the start of a blooming relationship had formed.