David versus the Tree

David Sullivan had made it halfway up the giant pecan tree.  Looking down, he realized that he was a good ways up, higher than he had ever been before.  The ground below swirled just enough that it forced him to close his eyes until the dizziness subsided.  He glanced up and was amazed at how much further the tree seemed to extend, as if the top branches were actually touching the sky.

He relaxed for the moment, his scrawny eight-year-old body safely wedged between two sturdy branches, his frail hands grasping smaller branches just above him.  He imagined himself as an eagle, diving from the tree and then soaring up over the house-speckled expanse of green.  Just drifting without concern.  And then his dream deteriorated into images of himself frantically flapping his arms, his body like a bag of rocks hurtling rapidly towards the ground. 

Just like what happened to Jason. 

David’s body shuddered and he clenched the tree more tightly.  Jason had fallen from a tree a few days ago and had shown up at school with his arm in a cast and a gigantic brace on his leg.  Some of his classmates told him that Jason had lost part of his leg, that the brace was where the fake leg connected to what was left of his real leg.  David did not really believe that to be true, but he had seen Jason hobbling around the school.

With first his left and then his right sleeve, he wiped the sweat from his face.  Unlike the thick, sturdy branches he was resting on now, the ones above seemed thin and frail and possibly dangerous.  He considered turning back, already worrying that this could be an even worse failure than youth league football had been.  The most recent football practice had been two days ago.

Shake it off, Sullivan.  Don’t let ‘em push you around like that….  Come on, Sullivan!  Get in there and hit someone!

Coach, I think David’s hurt again…. 

A worried frown creased his narrow face and he looked down, his eyes taking in the yellow-brown earth through the web of branches.  Already at an unsafe height, a fall could do more than just injure him.  He turned his attention away, looking instead at his left foot and then his right.  The sight of his favorite climbing shoes, a tattered pair of Converse tennis shoes, each with a bright red shoestring, restored his confidence.  He decided to climb a little ways further. 

The branches became smaller and more pliant.  Some of them bowed severely when he touched them, causing his heart to pound faster.  As he stood on his toes to reach the next branch, a gust of wind shook the tree, rocking him backwards in a slight but terrifying stretch.  David wrapped both arms anxiously around the center limb. 

The weather grew harsher still, with the winds increasing from a mild intensity to roaring gusts that attacked with a vengeful ferocity.  With a hysterical grip, David tried to squeeze the tree into submission.  He closed his eyes and shielded his face as best he could, but the wind continued to savage his exposed arms and body.  Small branches and leaves showered down upon him until he thought the tree itself was being blown into pieces.  Tears began to roll from David's eyes.  "I don't want to fall," he said, his words swallowed in the gusting winds.  He thought to scream out for help but could not bring himself to do so.  I just want down, he thought miserably, still clutching desperately to the tree’s center.

Several minutes later,  the winds abated and the tree steadied itself to a modest swaying.  David's arms had fallen numb and he clung wearily to the main limb as he took in the sudden calm.  It's over, he thought with fearful relief.  I can climb down. 

He looked below him to memorize how high he had climbed.  Even stopping at this height was an accomplishment.  It was much higher than he had ever been before, and probably higher than his classmates could have climbed. 

Probably. 

David looked up and realized that he was actually closer to the top than he was the bottom.  For a moment, the top seemed attainable.  The sky was getting dark though and if night was approaching then he needed to start down – there would be other days to make it to the top.  But then he looked a second time and reconsidered.  It’s just the clouds, he realized.  Just the clouds.

Intermixed with the whistling of the winds, he heard a faint but distinct sound of his classmates laughing.  At this height and in the middle of this isolated field, that seemed unlikely; but he looked around to be sure.  In this case it was just his imagination but he needed to be careful; the ridiculing laughter of his classmates had a way of finding him.  Not just Billy and Steven either – a whole group of them had been laughing when he had missed the kickball and fell down at recess.  Screaming and laughing actually.  Football was even worse.

David checked the ground a second time but still did not see anyone.  He told himself again that it was just his mind playing tricks on him.  But if there was someone down there…

David cringed, though he quickly formed a plan for dealing with this.  All he had to do was climb down from where he was and tell whoever was watching that he had made it to the top.  The other kids weren’t there when he started so they wouldn’t know.  He could tell them whatever he wanted.

Of course, lying was wrong – he realized that.  But then so was teasing.  He decided that he would tell them he had made it almost to the top – that was mostly true.  Yeah, that was a good compromise.

As he started his descent, the winds returned, thrashing him and the giant tree.  The branches he had balanced himself on rocked in chilling ellipses and again David clung to the tree, defying it to let him fall.  The rain came next, needlelike drops jabbing through the leaves, pelting his clothes and body.  The rain made the tree more slippery as well, but his grip was strong.  He turned his head to shield his eyes. 

Clusters of leaves were torn from the higher branches and circled into a whirlwind of leaves and rain.  "Stop!" David pleaded, but to no avail.  His eyes were again closed and each time the branches swayed, he could feel the tree’s center growing weaker, that at any moment the tree would snap and send him crashing to the ground.  As he considered this, he felt his grip loosen momentarily.  His eyes popped wide and he clutched the tree with renewed fervor, the bark scraping harshly against his arms.  With his right heel, he kicked the tree’s center as if to punish it for making him afraid.  "Please stop!" he pleaded. 

The storm raged strong for another fifteen minutes before slowing considerably and then stopping all together.  The winds became no more than a breeze and the sun emerged with renewed prominence as if trying to conceal that there had been a storm.  How? David wondered, still clutching and cringing long after the crisis had passed.  His clothes were drenched and his arms sore from his efforts, but otherwise he was fine.  David looked through the leaves and felt the smallest bit of warmth from the sun.  Drops from the overhead branches fell on his already rain-soaked head.  He took a free hand and brushed the water from his hair.  For the first time, a smile shone on his face.

A bird which had also survived the brief storm flew onto the branch of a neighboring tree and began chirping.  To David, the bird was a good omen, a sign that the storm had really ended.  “Chirp, chirp!” he called out, throwing his voice in the bird’s direction.  He laughed as he did this, giddy that he had survived.       

The bird made a chirping sound as well (possibly in reply) and David took that as a gesture of solidarity.  The darker clouds had drifted past and the sky above him was clear.  He realized that it was safe to climb down. 

That was the sensible thing to do, but strangely David wanted to continue.  The ordeal with the storm had somehow rejuvenated him to the point where he felt almost invincible.  Maybe Jason had felt that way too and maybe that’s why he had fallen and why he now hobbled around the school.  David gave this just a fleeting thought.  He grabbed the branch above him and proceeded to climb with a near delirious enthusiasm.  He threw himself upward, moving quickly but still maintaining a solid foothold and one secure handgrip at all times.  The sky brightened with each step closer.   

Eventually, he reached just below the topmost branches of the tree and looked around.  It was the same view that a bird would have had.  He looked for the bird he had communicated with earlier but could not find it.  What he did see was his family’s house (which seemed insignificant and small), and other houses, and even the lake that was a couple of miles away.  He could feel himself smiling, his lips spread wide to the point of hurting.  His lungs burned from the cool air that he inhaled in excited gasps. The sensation of height thrilled him and he felt a sense of power that he had never experienced before. 

Amazing. 

The moment was fleeting though.  His smile soon faded and was replaced by an insistent dread.  Would this small cluster of thin bending branches continue to hold him?  Maybe he had climbed too high already.  He tried to think of something besides losing his grip, besides slipping and falling from the tree.  Falling and falling and then the smacking impact of the ground.  David shuddered, looking frantically for the best foothold below him.  But then he stopped. 

An idea came to him, one final act before he began his descent.  With terrified caution he slowly let go with his right hand, being careful to not shift his weight, and in excruciating increments removed the red shoestring from his left shoe.  He then reached up as high as he could, again careful not to jeopardize his balance, and tied the shoestring to the highest branch he could reach.  He tied it in a double knot and once it was secured, he conceded that the tree had been beaten.  David took a few seconds to collect himself and then with a deep breath, he started his descent.

The trip down had been anxious but manageable.  The lack of a shoestring had added to the difficulty but he had moved deliberately and had not been in danger of his shoe falling off.

The wet ground felt foreign to him as he jumped from the lowest branch.  He walked several yards away and then looked back up, entranced by the size of the fearsome tree he had conquered.  For a few minutes his eyes focused on the top of the tree, looking for the red shoestring.  He stepped back even further and then circled the tree in a wide arc.  At last, he saw it and again his slight body filled with pride. 

He thought then of his coach and classmates and wondered if he would tell them about the day’s adventure.  It would be fun to tell them.  But in a way, he thought it might be better to keep this to himself – that it would be like having a secret identity.  David smiled as he considered this.  One day somebody would spot the red shoestring and would start asking how it could have gotten there.  When that happened, maybe David would tell them.