(As I was writing the part where the girl was talking about how the tree is supposed to make you feel special, I realized that the Lord does this too in a way when you pray. You come to him with things that you may think are not as important, but he still listens to them. You can come to the Lord with anything, even if you might not think of it as “important”❤️)

The tree was tall and narrow. I’ve heard stories about it my whole life. I’d imagined a thick tree that had branches that reached miles long, and choking with leaves. I’d imagined soft, pink and purple flowers running across the leaves, falling in piles on the ground. This sight, this tall spindly tree; one with normal limbs, few leaves, and soft yellow flowers. I wasn’t expecting this sight. The girl next to me however, looked at the tree like it was the greatest beauty she had ever seen. She always has a thing for fall, especially the trees. Maybe that’s how she saw overwhelming beauty. Or maybe she had an appreciation for the tree, one that ran deeper than it’s appearance, one I didn’t have.

The girl ran her fingers over the bark, soaking up the tree.

I looked around at the scene around me. If it weren’t for the ring of stones that encircled the tree, then broke off onto a path, I would have assumed we weren’t at the right spot.

“I’m glad we came today.” She breathed, still looking at the tree.

I sighed, “Don’t you think it’s a little…underwhelming?” I questioned.

“No,” she smiled, “not at all.”

“I don’t think it’s supposed to be overwhelming,” she continued, “I think the purpose of it is to be a quiet beauty. A soft moment that changes everything. When you make your wish, you’re supposed to feel special and important. You’re not supposed to think about all the other wished that are surely more important than yours. You’re supposed to think about how yours is just as special, just as important to the tree.”

I considered this for a moment, she was probably right. She always is. She has a way of seeing things beyond there crust. She sees through them, analyzing and uncovering things that you wouldn’t usually see. She seems to peer through reality and sees everything with a hidden, romantic meaning that one must simply uncover to understand. What a beautiful way to see the world.

She peered down, her eyes finally straying from the tree. Kneeling, she read the plaque at the foot of the tree.

Walking towards her, I kneeled and did the same:

_No matter what you wish_

_The wish the tree with cherish_

_No matter what you confess_

_The words the tree will caress_

_Pour out your hopes and feelings_

_The tree will understand_

_Say what you wish for deeply_

_The tree will take you by the hand_

I smiled, she was right.

By now, she had turned towards me, and smiled.

“I want to make a wish.” I whispered to her.

She smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

We stood up, placed our hands next to eachother on the tree, and wished. We wished for the small and the large. We wished for a good afternoon and a good life. We wished for the short term and the long term. I think the most important thing that day, wasn’t what we wished for. It was that we wished and the tree heard us. He felt us, and he remembered us. The tree always would. Every time we came back to it, it would always listen. It would always hear our wishes.