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Friends

by Guy F, Beaverton, Oregon, USA, Age 15

It all started one morning when Doug got planted. Just tossed into the ground like he was some kind of garbage, then covered in dirt. No idea what to do, he lay there, awaiting whatever may come next. Eventually, Doug began to grow tired, and fell into a deep sleep.

It was a fine morning, sun shining, warm weather, birds chirping. Then suddenly, Doug was awaken by a crack, a noise, a feeling. His shell began to come apart, and before he knew it he was without a cover in the warm soil. Within a few days, Doug grew stronger, and started feeling heavier. He finally rose out of the soil, and felt the warm sun shine on his body. Next, his arms started growing, many of them. His body got thicker, and his mind wiser, and his arms still branching out longer and longer every day.

The bigger trees were swaying easily in the cool breeze, their leaves making a gentle swooshing sound that would mix with the voices of small birds chirping back and forth to one another. Off in the distance of the forest you could hear foreign sounds, sounds that had never been heard by the creatures of the forest before. “Brume brume brum brum brum brum.” The trucks grumbled as saws quickly shredded bark off of tree’s and axes chopped them down. Log trucks and busy workers were trampling the untouched soft soil of the forest. There was a sense of fear and hopelessness throughout the woods.

Doug didn’t talk much, because there were only a few people he could talk to, but they were much taller and bigger then he was. But soon he met a visitor, a little bird named Patrick. Patrick was a small woodpecker, who really meant no harm. But Doug didn’t know this, so when Patrick proceeded to make a hole in his body, he got mad and asked “hey! Why you doing that?” Patrick replied, “Hi, my name is Patrick, and I was wondering if I could stay here, with you, or actually, in you.” Doug was a nice guy, and he was all for helping others, so he took Patrick in and let him build a nest in his large arms.

They lived together for a long time, helping one another out in their own little ways. Patrick would keep other birds and small animals from inhabiting Doug, while Doug kept Patrick warm, gave him shelter, and protection from the harsh elements of Mother Earth. Then one day, there came a large storm, and it did ferocious things to Doug, yet Patrick was safe inside of Doug’s trunk. The storm totaled many other trees, blowing down branches, even knocking some down completely, but Doug was no ordinary tree, obviously. He had withstood the weather, and kept Patrick safe. But many more bad things were soon to come.

Actually, one thing, people, they were far worse then any storm could be. They could take down trees in just a few minutes with their loud instruments. Doug had never really been scared, not since he met Patrick. But now these humans were taking over, and one by one, tree’s started falling. Doug was still growing too, although he was far taller then any human; they were taking down trees much bigger then even him. Patrick was awaken out of his sleep, and asked, “What is going on!” All Doug could do is tell him to leave, because danger was coming, and fast. Although Patrick didn’t understand, he knew Doug was right, and did not want to leave him alone. Patrick had just finished his nest and wanted to start a family, with kids of his own. Leaving Doug would ruin all that, and Doug would be all alone, with nothing to protect himself against the sharp tools used by men to cut others like him down.

Then, Patrick made a bold and risky decision, he was going to stay, and try to fend off these humans, for his, and for Doug’s sake. The men became aware of this crafty little woodpecker after a couple hours of him flying low over their heads, and knocking off their hard hats. They got frustrated, and started losing focus. Patrick’s plan was succeeding; he was slowly driving these men insane. After a while, they were mad enough at this bird, they brought out a nail gun. Patrick had never seen anything quite like it before, and figured he should probably seek shelter after one of the nails whizzed past his beak.

He heard yelling coming from the site, then after a while, the yelling stopped, and then the noise stopped, and he heard trucks driving away. All he knew is that he had saved the day, and that Doug was still… wait, he wasn’t, all the time when Patrick was trying so hard to get the others to go away, they had stripped Doug of his beautiful long arms, and gave him a large wound in his side. Even though he had made the men go away, they had taken their tale on Doug, and he was slowly perishing in the warm sun. “I’m sorry I’m sorry!” said the little bird, but all Doug could do was sit there, and slowly lean over more and more. He knew the bird had tried, and had succeeded to a point; he had kept his nest, and had a chance to grow up and have a family. And he had also driven off the workers, a rare feat for such a small creature to do. In the end Doug ended up passing away, and tipping over onto another tree, where he rested forever with Patrick and his newborn babies cozy inside their nest.

As the warm sun slowly disappeared behind the hills, the night came and the temperature cooled, the birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing, and everything was silent. The sense of fear had been demolished along with many trees, but all would return back to normal. In a few short hours the sun would be back, birds would chirp, and nobody would remember Doug for what he had done, nobody except little Patrick.