Rue argued, and said that the acorn was indeed miraculous. “It will grow into an oak in just a few years, and you will see,” she said
As she watched her little one climb the stairs leading towards the kitchen, she could not help but remember another sunny afternoon from seven years ago.
•••
Rue had just turned two then. Yet the young child had had the same level of energy and curiosity that she enjoyed now. Her love for nature, even then, had been evident to her mother.
The little girl had just returned home with her father; the two of them had been to a pond. She had led the way, holding her father’s fishing rod while he followed her, a bucketful of fish in his hands.
The euphoria reflected on her face had seemed contagious to her mother then. Any soul who saw the little girl would have beamed, she thought.
Now, all these years later, Rue seemed the same to her mother.
Of course, things had changed a lot. She had come to experience pain over these years. More than once, she had even experienced anguish.
But somehow this brave child
to conceal it all. “Hey Ma, look at it. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Her boisterous voice woke her mother, bringing her back to reality. “Ahh, yes. It is beautiful sweetheart. Where did you get it from?” she asked upon seeing the lustrous yellow acorn.
Rue giggled, as she explained how she’d gone to visit the pond where she used to fish with her father. “I found it under a giant oak tree.”
She continued, “Ma, ever since daddy left us, I have never had enough courage to go there, but something told me to visit the place today.
“Oh, mum…the peace I felt there… and the calm. It was as if daddy himself were there.” Her mother had to try very hard to fight back the tears she knew would gush out any moment, as Rue went on, “It was so hot that I went to sit under the giant oak tree; the same one under which daddy and I would rest after fishing. And as I was taking my nap, an acorn fell on my head.
“It’s more lustrous, and a bit bigger than normal acorns, Ma,” she continued. Her mother took the acorn from her, and began examining it.
It was certainly different from any other acorn she’d seen before, so she asked, “What do you want to do with it, sweetheart?”
“Why don’t we plant it in our backyard?”
“Alright,” replied her mother. Acorns take years to grow into big trees, she thought, but couldn’t get herself to say that out loud and break her daughter’s heart.
•••
When her sister returned home that evening, she was surprised to find Rue looking at the ground, at a pile of soil that had been recently dug. When she enquired, and Rue told her all about the special acorn, she burst out laughing. “So you believe it’s a miraculous acorn?” she asked. “There’s nothing like that, silly.”
Rue argued, and said that the acorn was indeed miraculous. “It will grow into an oak in just a few years, and you will see,” she said, and angrily walked away.
That night, her sister lay awake for hours. For some reason, Rue’s newly planted acorn reminded her of her father, and she cried. She shed tears for the first time since her father had left her.
All these years, she had fought back her tears, and appeared tough. She had finished college and even found a job to provide for her family. She had replaced her dad, and had taken up the role of the family’s bread winner.
Rue was life to her.
Once the tears started flowing, it was impossible for her to make them stop. These were tears of struggle, of anguish, love, and loneliness.
Aware that something was stirring in her room, she pretended to be asleep. “You crying?” a voice asked.
She couldn’t fool her little sister, who loved her as much as she did. “You know, I miss daddy very much as well. It’s alright. You don’t have to hide your tears from me,” Rue told her.
The two sisters hugged each other, and cried together for a long time.
Days went by and autumn gave way to winter. Rue would check her acorn everyday after returning home from school, but it showed no signs of life.
One night, her sister dreamt of their father for the first time since he had passed away. He told her to water the acorn with the water from the pond.
Early the next morning, she did as she was told. When she returned home that evening, Rue’s beaming face greeted her at the gate. “The acorn has germinated, and it’s beautiful! You should see it.” She started pulling at her sister.
“Wow! It’s beautiful, Rue,” she exclaimed as tears of joy ran down her face. The next moment, they were laughing and hugging each other, and dancing around the house shouting, “We’re gonna have a giant oak tree in our garden!”
Their mom couldn’t help but join them, and they spent many happy hours together that way.
•••
From that day on, the three of them tended to the acorn shoot, and watched it grow bigger and bigger, day after day.
Two years later, on a summer day that was as bright as the day she had found the acorn, Rue came home, walking in the slowest pace her mother had ever seen her moving in.
She searched her face, hoping to understand why, when her daughter came to her and hugged her.
For the first time in years, Rue’s mother saw her little angel cry. She couldn’t help but shed a few tears herself; she couldn’t understand why her cheerful little girl was crying.
“Ma, I think I am dying,” she said.
“You can’t die so soon, my dear. What’s wrong?” said her mother.
“I feel dizzy very often, and faint a lot,” she said. “I don’t know what’s wrong, Ma, I am very afraid.”
That night, her sister and mum didn’t leave her alone for even a second. For 14 days, after that day, the two women stayed with her, and took care of her.
Early on the fifteenth day, Rue spoke to them, “Ma, sister, I don’t think I am going to make it,” She wouldn’t let her sister, or her mother, speak.
“I know both of you love me a lot, and so do I. But my time has come. Don’t worry. I’ll be safe with daddy. He came to take me last night,” she continued. “I didn’t go with him then because I really wanted to see the two of you one last time. I love you both.”
Her mother and sister told her they loved her too. No sooner had they uttered those words, that Rue closed her eyes.
She would never open them again.
•••
By that time Rue’s acorn had turned into an oak tree. It was not a giant, as Rue would have wanted it to be, but it was big enough for one to rest under its shade.
So, Rue’s mother and sister buried the dear little girl under the oak tree.
They placed her father’s ash, which they had kept with her all these years, beside her.
Our little angel, our Rue, and her father, shall rest under the ‘Giant’ oak tree forever; just like they used to all those summers ago.
- Kabita Baral
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