Wishtree

by Katherine Applegate

But sometimes things happen that aren’t so good. When they occur, I’ve learned that there’s not much you can do except stand tall and reach deep.

"Stand tall and reach deep."

To stay alive, I need a vast network of roots. And roots can be surprisingly strong.

I paused. “In fact, I could be a book.” I paused again. “Because, you know … paper is made of trees.”

I was worried about me, too. I didn’t want to leave the world I loved so much. I wanted to meet next spring’s owl nestlings. I wanted to praise the new maple sapling across the street when it blushed red as sunset. I wanted my roots to journey farther, my branches to reach higher. But that is how it is when you love life. And I could accept that if my time had come, it had come. After a life as fine as mine, who was I to complain?

I wondered, too, if I’d done enough for the world I loved.

But impending death has a way of focusing your attention.

Sure, I’d provided plenty of shade. Made oceans of oxygen for people to breathe. Been a home to an endless parade of animals and insects. I’d done m...

And yet. Two hundred and sixteen rings. Eight hundred and sixty-four seasons. And still something was missing. My life had been so … safe.

When you’re a red oak, there’s no point in feeling fidgety.

It frustrated me to see my residents, the ones who’d miraculously been getting along so well, turn on one another when faced with a problem.

She had love to give, and no one to give it to.