The Tree of Heaven- Vmin

One day--

Kim Taehyung merely finds himself wandering after school with a book tucked under his arm in hopes for a quiet place to read, away from the main part of the park with its screaming children and occasional giggling couple. He'd had enough of screaming. And the annoying snickering wasn't particularly great background noise either.

The early fall weather is as perfect as the tree he comes across in its small meadow through the forest line, standing pretty, yet all alone. So Taehyung plops down and rests his back against its trunk, sighing with ease as the tree provides him with just a bit of shade, for its leaves have not fallen like its brothers around it. He's reading peacefully, nearly finding himself dozing off after a few hours, so he decides to head home for the day with the tree in mind for tomorrow.

One day--

Taehyung has come back to the tree yet again, just as he had each day that week. It's tranquil, entirely soundless save for the occasional tweet of a bird and breeze shaking the leaves on the trees. He's busy with his nose stuck in the same book required for school reading when a rumble of thunder jolts him from his peace. He looks up at the sky, wondering where all the rain clouds had come from after the previously sunny morning. He returns to his reading with a sigh and a thumping heart when a small voice calls to him.

"I think it's going to rain."

He glances up quickly, turns his head in all directions, expecting to find its source in front of him or even behind him. Only to find the same empty field and tree line, its grass swaying in the wind from the incoming storm.

He furrows his brows and studies the field a few moments for movement. And he returns to his reading with a huff, though not for long. His eyes grow wide at the sight of the rain beginning to turn his page translucent.

So he decides to head home for the day, backpack shielding his head from the rain as he runs through the field and past the tree line.

One day--

Taehyung is back, reading again, even in this crisp weather and despite the main park being rather desolate enough for him to sit on a proper bench in silence. Yet still, he finds himself sitting in front of the tree yet again. Something about it calms him, eases him to where he could drift off into sleep at any moment if he's still enough. But he's come here to actually get some reading in and he's much further behind on his book than he'd like to be, for he finds himself re-reading pages once he tames his wandering thoughts or drowsy mind.

And after a long day, he picks himself up, about to head home for the day, when a root from the very tree he nearly slept under catches his foot and he tumbles to the ground face-first.

"Ow...damn it..." he curses under his breath.

"I'm so sorry," a soft voice apologizes, muffled and hollow yet ironically airy and light in its tone.

"Wha- you." Taehyung jumps up, searching the field for the stranger he'd heard before.

"I didn't think you'd fall. I just... didn't want you to go quite yet," The voice speaks again hesitantly.

Taehyung's frozen in shock, mouth hung open, eyes wide and glazed over. He furrows his brows and studies the tree, then behind him, then behind the tree.

"Who..." Taehyung begins, but the voice is quick to interrupt.

"You're not crazy. It's really me," the voice says once more as if to make Taehyung feel better for his sanity.

Taehyung swallows, promptly collects his fallen book, and scurries away as if he heard nothing at all.

"Wait...sorry..."

One day--

Taehyung returns after many days apart, strangely missing the comfort of the tree and reading by its side, merely dismissing that it wasn't what he thought and that all would be quiet and peaceful and normal.

How could it not? This was real life. Trees don't fucking talk. He's more likely to be sleep-deprived, dehydrated, or even have acquired a form of psychosis, he reasons.

He hesitantly lays down a blanket, for the ground was wet from the one day of snow last week, sits down, and opens his book again. He's unable to focus, of course, folded leg swinging in his unease and anxiousness, the thing in the back of his mind still making him wary of the whole situation.

After about half an hour of silence, the hollow, sweet voice speaks again. "Didn't think you'd be back."

Taehyung's breath stills and he doesn't move a muscle.

And the voice does not speak.

And nor does Taehyung.

"Sorry to startle you," the voice tries again and guilt immediately washes over Taehyung, despite the situation and the origin of the strange voice.

"You-you're the tree...aren't you...?" Taehyung stumbles out almost disappointedly before deciding to slowly lift his back away from its bark, as if it's a stranger's shoulder he was not meant to be resting on.

The tree giggles. "Yes. Well... not exactly. But I suppose that's reasonable."

Taehyung scoots away, moving the blanket with him, and slowly turns around to face the tree in both wonder and horror.

"Hi," the tree greets him in such a lovely and cheerful voice that Taehyung can almost picture it smiling at Taehyung's petrified expression.

"H-hi..."

"What's your name?"

"Taehyung...?" he forms as a question, merely because the action of talking itself was such a questionable thing right now. Taehyung was always one to be the social butterfly whether they liked him or not. But talking to a tree. This was...a new low for him.

"Taehyung...that's a nice name. Mine's Jimin."

"Jimin..." Taehyung breathes out in wonder. "Do all trees have names?"

Jimin giggles brightly. "I wouldn't know. I can't talk to them."

Taehyung's only more confused, but Jimin merely brushes the topic away.

"Why did you decide to come here every day?"

Taehyung feels almost shy speaking to the tree, yet he isn't particularly scared of it, merely unknown as to what and if a tree had standards it would judge. Taehyung wasn't familiar with their social standards, you know.

"Uh, I... need a place to get away. it's quiet here."

"Is your home not quiet?"

Taehyung hangs his head. "No..."

"That's not good."

Taehyung shrugs. "It is what it is."

"Mm...How old are you, Taehyung?"

Taehyung's eyes grow round. "Woah... why are you asking so many questions?" It wasn't often someone was so curious about him. In fact, Taehyung can't recall it ever happening. That made it only the more stranger.

The tree's branches shook lightly. "You sat under these leaves every day for what seems like months. I wanted so badly to speak to you." The tree's voice grows softer. "But I didn't want to scare you off... I'm sorry...I'm just excited, is all. I'll slow down..."

Taehyung sinks with guilt. He opens his mouth to speak, yet he can't help but notice that the sun looks a bit lower than it normally does at this hour. He quickly flips open his phone and checks the time, eyes widening.

"I'm-I have to go now," he stands up and reaches for the blanket before studying the tree over. "Wasn't supposed to be here today anyway."

He waits for the tree to respond, only to be met with silence. He shuffles his feet and decides to answer the tree's question. "I'm 16 by the way."

He begins to walk away when he hears the tree call softly, "Will you...be back tomorrow?"

He nods his head hesitantly and replies with a "sure," in case the tree couldn't see it. And then, he heads home for the day.

One day--

Taehyung does come back, though his book is packed tightly in his backpack instead of its usual place under his arm.

"Hi, Taehyung."

"Hi..."

"You come here after school, right?"

Taehyung nods.

"Don't you have a lot of friends?"

Taehyung shrugs. He finds himself shrugging a lot in front of the tree. "Acquaintances, I guess."

"Ah, I see." The tree sounds disappointed.

Though Taehyung isn't quite sure if it's in him or his answer. Perhaps the tree would've liked someone more confident, someone with more friends to introduce to it.

"Do you um... talk to a lot of people?" Taehyung decides to ask him in return.

"You're the first."

"Really? Huh... that's why you're so curious."

Jimin giggles. "Yeah. It gets quite boring, you can imagine.

Taehyung can't help the small smile that forms at the tree's giggle and flickers his eyes around the meadow. "Then...then I should come back often? So you don't get lonely?"

Jimin hums a pleasant, hollow, noise of thankfulness. "I would like that. That's kind of you. But I know you have your own life too."

The tree's own kindness seems to invite Taehyung into a sense of comfort all too easily--his shyness beginning to fade with each word shared. He's almost alarmingly inclined to tell the tree everything. Spill every last secret--every one he's ever kept-- if the tree would listen. Perhaps because it wasn't a human face staring back at him, preparing to judge.

Instead, he hopes the tree would merely accept him as someone to talk to. Taehyung clears his throat. "I haven't um...told anyone this before but uh... people don't exactly... get me. They think I'm weird."

"Isn't that normal for your age? What--high school, is it?"

Taehyung nods. "I dunno. Feels deeper than that."

"How so?"

Taehyung starts to fidget with his fingers. "I'm not trying to sound like emo or anything ah--if you even know what that is...but, they just don't get me. I'm just happy, silly, eccentric, weird, Taehyung. And when I'm alone I'm...none of those things."

" Maybe I'm weird," Taehyung adds, "but not always happy and full of energy and carefree like they think..."

The tree hums as if understanding. "I think I understand. You wear a sort of...mask, correct?"

Taehyung's eyes grow wide.

The tree continues. "You feel as though you have to pretend just to fit in even an ounce?"

Taehyung lets out a breathy snicker in surprise. "Wha...You get me!"

"It's just life for some people. That's all."

Taehyung shakes his head. "You're awfully insightful for someone who's stood in one place their whole life..."

The tree chuckles. "I've gotten around a bit once."

And Taehyung finds himself smiling genuinely by the end of his conversation with the tree that lasts until the sun is a bit too low and it's time for him to leave.

"Goodnight, uh-Jimin..." he says, standing up from the grass hesitantly.

"Bye, Taehyung."

The boy begins to walk away when the tree calls out to him once more. "You see that flower over there? The white one?"

Taehyung gazes at the meadow ground and spins on his heel, finding small clusters of them everywhere--from the forest line all the way to the talking tree himself. "Uh, which one?"

"The furthest one."

Taehyung spots the few on the edge of the meadow towards the tree line in the direction he walks back home each day. "Okay...What about them?"

"That marks the beginning of the judge-free zone that is this meadow."

Taehyung can't help but shake his head and chuckle. "Are you really a tree?"

"Nearly."

"That wasn't yes or no..."

"Alright now. Keep on steppin'," The tree tells him. "You've gotta get home, don't you?"

And Taehyung nods eventually and heads home for the day.