[Jiamin]

Synopsis: Me and a tree.


Never had I felt so hurt. I could only watch helplessly from my kitchen window. Watching how the smoke billowed out of the whatever instrument they were using. I felt angry, and hurt, no one understood.

My father said it's nothing, but what did he know? I watched it from my kitchen window since as young as I could remember. I loved the colour, it's beautiful. The sink was just beside the window. Everytime before I wash my face and prepare for bed, I couldn't help admiring it for a while, and though it was dark, I could still see it's outline, ever so graceful and light.

I remembered whenever I was feeling down, the only place I wanted to be was in my room. Reason not only because of my pillow which I could hug, and a zoo of stuff animals which could comfort me, but importantly, it was also the view. I could see it from the window in my bedroom too, but lesser part of it. It was blocked by the 13-storey flat.

And sometimes at night or early morning, I loved to imagine what it was like to be up there. From my view, it looked as though I could touch the moon if I sat on it's end. I wonder how it was like to sleep up there, with the cool sea breeze blowing from Keppel Harbour (or at least I think it was). Wonderful... just like a fairy tale. Of course, I knew it was impossible. Not even a bird could stand there, it was too delicate up on it's tips.

I had dreams about it a lot of times. Twice or thrice when I was up there reading or writing, I couldn't remember. And once, vividly remembering, I was twirling up there, with birds. I knew why I had this dream, because I read a fairytale book about a princess dancing just that afternoon. Embarrassed to say, yes, I was still a child inside. And I had always wanted a fairy tale with my silent friend.

But now, they were going to kill this friend of mine. Not only it, but also other shorter ones below. (It was really tall, about the same height as the flat.) The shorter ones were my friends too. I knew one had red flowers, which I had mistaken as peach fruits when I was very young. When I realized they were flowers, it was nevertheless as gorgeous.

What right did they have to kill them! I knew, the right of whichever person in charge of building houses and buildings. They wanted them dead, so buildings can be built. But little did they know they had killed a friend of a child-hearted teenager. I didn't think they would ever know. For they were blinded by all the money they could get by building things over my friend.

Sometimes I wonder if humans would one day suffocate because there wasn't enough of my friends left for oxygen replenishing.

When I told people how much I felt about killing my friend, they'll looked at me funny. No, they didn't understand. Like the businessmen never will understand why The Little Prince love a drawing of his pet sheep. They were blinded. They wanted more of what they "love". For me, I just want my friend.

Returned back to my revision, exams were coming.

Oh! What's that sound?!

My heart was shattering... it fell, they finally killed it. It fell... I was not going to see it again...

My dear quiet tree.