200 days FreeWriteHouseParty Contest (Day 4): Tree of hope

Me and a TREE

Life just wasn't worth living...she sat by the porch in the cool of the evening watching the setting sun go down. Why was she so unhappy? Why did she feel this way? She was married to a husband who loved her. He worked hard, earned more than enough as a merchant banker so that she didn't have to work. He wanted her to pursue her passions and dreams, most of all he wanted her to be happy. They were both well liked in the elite social circles and she had friends. They travelled frequently to exotic destinations for holidays because Jerry himself loved travelling. He also felt that new adventures and experiences would shake her out of her current state of mind. He could see that she was unhappy and communicating with her was difficult. He wanted to change that, to see her smile reach her eyes once again.

Lorraine still felt empty, she felt unaccomplished. She didn't have a purpose to live for and she felt defeated all the time. Years of trying to conceive a child had drained her emotionally and even now, the thought of adopting one exhausted her to the core. She didn't see anything to look forward to in life at all. She stared at the stump of a tree in front of the garden and she felt exactly like how it looked. All dry and shrivelled up....brown and dead with no life.

She walked up to the stump and bent down letting her mind drift as she counted the tree circles on the stump. Thoughts of her childhood floated into her mind, she closed her eyes...oh how this tree had provided her with shelter and joy. Her carefree laughter as Papa pushed her hard on the swing feeling the wind whip through her hair. Climbing up and down their makeshift tree house with her sisters and her Mama worried that they were going to grow up all rough on the edges and no man would want to marry them. Tall and lovely with brown wavy hair and porcelain skin, Mama really didn't have anything to worry about, all the running and climbing gave them a physique that made men look twice.

Her only passion, which was cooking gave her some measure of satisfaction and even that was starting to fade. Still counting the tree circles she suddenly noticed a tiny green shoot with 4 tiny leaves growing on the other side of the stump. She stared at the shoot marvelling that something so dead could still produce life. Fragile but alive! The shoot swayed gently in the evening breeze confirming that was alive as if it knew that she needed the affirmation. Tears rolled down her eyes, as whispers of love and comfort told her that she would be alright. The many nights of anguished prayers on her knees seemed to have seeped into her soul and maybe in time, she would once again sit under the shade of this tree and be happy again.

Day 4 of the competition? Us Chinese don't like the number 4. It means death! So I aptly thought that today's freewrite would be more sombre. Couldn't think of a way to incorporate the previous days' prompt! Argh! 😖Practically ran out of ideas. Oh no...am I going to last??
Check out @marrianewest and @freewritehouse to know more about freewrite! For more interesting reads about today's prompt, climb a TREE is good exercise

The different community GIF is courtesy of @elizacheng! Thank you!