Trees Without Leaves Sometimes Scare Young Children

BEWARE THE TREES WITHOUT LEAVES

Becca hunched lower into her overcoat, trying to block out the sight of the trees. Feeling a slight shiver run up her spine, she looked back, searching the path behind her. Becca used to love walking the tree-covered path from the bus stop to her house.

Then the change had happened. It was gradual. In the spring she had stared in amazement at the hundreds of branches that made a canopy over her head. There were so many branches they almost blocked the sun. Then in the fall, the leaves had changed colors. She had loved to skip through the piles of leaves. But finally it had gotten cold; and there weren’t any pretty red, gold, and orange leaves anymore. In fact, there weren’t any leaves at all. The trees were barren, reaching for her, each time she passed them. She couldn’t help feeling watched every time she crept down the path.

Each day, she hurried a little faster. Becca realized this seemed silly, but she couldn’t help it.
As she crested the hill and saw home, she ran as fast as she could. Her grandmother, standing at the door, looked at her bright pink cheeks and listened to her rasping breath.

Her grandma sighed, “Running from the trees again?”

“Mmhmm,” Becca mumbled, feeling her cheeks getting a little redder.

“Oi, my little one, you can’t go running from things that scare you,” Grandma replied. Her grandmother paused a moment, waiting for an answer.

“I know.”

Sighing softly, she looked intently at her granddaughter, trying to think of the best way she could help the girl. “Come here”, her grandma said, patting the ground softly as she moved outside to sit on the ground. “I want to tell you a story.”
Kneeling, Becca smiled. She loved stories, especially the ones her grandmother told.