Tonight is my editorial night.
I usually sit down and write something thoughtful, something prepared.
But tonight, my thoughts are resting under a walnut tree.
I have a walnut tree friend in the community. We’ve been knowing each other for a while, and we’ve been through a lot together. I’ve heard about the property owners’ plan to modify the landscape, which could affect my dear tree.
Tonight, I was standing quietly under the tree, slowly touching the familiar warm bark. My thoughts and words didn’t come out smoothly; I kept saying, “I love you”, and “I am sorry”.
I remember crying here, eight months ago, after losing my loyal friend, Gustavo, the cat. These branches covered my tear soaked face from the sun and listened to something I could not tell to others. Then a small piece of green matter from the tree landed in front of my feet. I raised my head and looked up. The familiar squirrel’s dark eyes were watching me straight from above the tree. I smiled and said, “Hi, thank you for the gift”.
Today, everything has changed. I heard the conversation that the sap from the tree damages the pain on the cars, and the facility will change the landscape. The fate of the tree is uncertain. I do not know if we can be together for much longer. That walnut tree is my steadfast friend, my rock, and my soulmate. I do not know how to reconcile the reality in my mind.
I don’t know what will happen.
I don’t know if the tree will still be here.
But tonight, it is.
And tonight, I am still able to stand beside it,
touch its bark,
and say what I can while I can.