A long time ago, there was a tree standing alone in the middle of the forest, bringing joy to every creature with her song. We humans couldn’t hear the song; it was just a peaceful melody for us. Only the end, that beautifully written end, was clear, saying, "Oh, we trees never leave the forest. To be heard even from the furthest.” Every year, when she finishes her song, three golden leaves appear on her highest branch.
It is said that in the following weeks, these leaves grow and develop until they’re bright enough to be seen even from the furthest villages. Then, they slowly start to fall. All the golden leaves turn into something else when they touch the ground. The first one always becomes a rose. Sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes orange, but always a rose. The second one turns into an animal. It is mostly believed that it changes into a bird, but there are also others who say it can be a cat or a fox.
Finally, and most importantly, the last one touches the ground. The first two fallen leaves excitedly wait for their sister to come down and join them. But it is known that the last leaf is different from the others. When it lands on the green grass, a small heart forms on the veins of the golden leaf. Then a pretty human being appears from that leaf. The rose and the animal admire the third leaf and how she can always make the world a better place. After the day they’re born, the three sisters promise to protect the mother tree until the next three leaves take their place. And it goes on like this for many centuries.
“Until 16 years ago.”
“Yes, until 16 years ago. Now let me continue.”
On the 200th autumn of the golden leaf tradition, the third leaf disappears. The mother tree looks for her daughter everywhere, tells the whole forest that her beautiful girl is missing, but they never find her. Over the years, the mother tree grows weaker and weaker. The rose and the animal cannot work without the last sister, so they watch their mother die. After that day, the forest loses its soul. All the plants slowly fade, and animals hide in their caves, never to come out again. Only the rose stays in the whole forest, waiting without losing hope, waiting for the third sister to come. After the death of the forest, people also started to look for the little girl, and the search has been going on for years. They say she has dark brown hair with golden touches on the ends, forest green eyes, and freckles all over her face. We already know that she’s around 16 years old.
I can’t help noticing the way she is winking at me.
“You know what, I really like this legend. But I think you lose the realism in that part. Okay, I was little, and every girl wants to be a part of a legendary story, but I’m grown up now and know that I’m not the golden leaf, Grandma.”
As always, she ignores me and starts cleaning the house.
“A little girl or not, you know that I wouldn’t lie just to make you happy.”
…
I don’t know what I’m doing in this forest or what I’m looking for. But it makes me feel peaceful. I’d like to see this forest before the death of the mother tree. I would like to see the roses or maybe one of the birds. I walked in the forest for many hours, and I lost count. When I was about to go back home, something caught my attention. A tiny white rose was standing alone in the middle of the forest, whispering a song similar to the one my grandmother talked about. It was peaceful, it had a perfect harmony, but the only difference was… I could understand the whole song.