Tree's Melody

It was right at that time, she thought that she mustn’t give up.

Her hands were sweaty with all the grabbing and trying to save her life through her nightmare. Myra Dunne, the only daughter of the family wanted to become the most famous singer in her neighbourhood, Berrylands. Since the plague of the last year, 1987, she was left alone at home by herself to make a living. Even though her other peers of the neighbourhood got married sooner, or either started working at the factories or ended up baking new bread, she challenged herself to reach her dream job. That was becoming a famous singer.

It was never easier, becoming a singer during her late 20’s was unrealistic and dramatic according to the village intelligible folks. Yet, she never gave up.

One day, she reached her limit and faced a mental breakdown after facing harsh reality.

“Young lady, this is unacceptable, horrible, and full of common words! Can’t you be more considerate and write the lyrics well and improve your sinking voice? You sound like a crying crow! This is so annoying!” screamed the writer of the play and threw the script over her head which was later picked up by Myra. But the script was dampened like one bizarre artisan's masterpiece.

Without a single word she ran to the woods, her long hair dripped with soaked tears while she hurried over. She stopped to catch her breath and slowly sat down near a tree. She wept till she could not open her eyes, and her breath was soon out of control. While panting she paused, “I have nothing to see no more, I indeed need to disappear from this world forever!”. Myra started getting up on her feet but a sudden blow of wind made her feet tangle in her dress and she ended up sitting back.

“No, don’t go!”

There was a tingling sensation, but no speaker was seen.

“I will help, do not DIE!”

She heard the voice again. Myra froze and only moved her itchy eyeballs around to see who's there.

“It’s me Oscar, the tree, you can pause your breathing now Myra, said the voice with a gentle hiss.

Myra finally spoke,

“This is no time for jokes!!!!!!!! Or am I already dead????”

She fainted but she was caught by a branch of the tree, after a decade of silence, Myra started believing her eyes.

The huge tree kept moving and talking to her.

“Okay, so how you will help me? What if you are doing a scam???”, she alarmed.

“I am no liar child.. I will give a perfect song with beautiful lyrics and a melody, and a new voice to you which costs more than just a melody. Then you can be famous. But you can only choose one thing to be gifted, or else, I...”

“Okay, I agree, give me all, everything, I want to be a famous singer!”, Myra screamed in joy.

“Well, it's your choice, but there are consequences, you will have to..”

Myra suddenly cut his speech short and interrupted, “Whatever, I will do whatever you want me to do, just make me famous! I beg you! I can even give you my life!”

“As you wish Myra,” said Oscar.

Myra went on back to meet her producer and sang her new song with a fresh melody with her sweetened mellow voice. The bewildered crowd kept on looking at Myra as if they were enchanted.

Myra was happy, not simply happy but overjoyed from all the project invites, commercial opportunities, and musical roles she got. She was soon the ‘super diva’ of the neighbourhood and her popularity skyrocketed thanks to village-grapevine. But only she knew her secret source of energy; Oscar the tree.

After 5 years----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myra kept on pestering Oscar for more melodies and Oscar could not take it anymore. Oscar made Myra listen to the bitter truth; “Myra, listen, I cannot continue to excessively support you. Either I or you will die at this rate!”

“How dare you talk to a world star like this? Death? Me? Ha… You are not a star, and I think you can go ahead and die! Give me the melodies I just need to be popular! Or else I am going to burn you off, you wood piece!”

Oscar was speechless, he helped her, yet she did not even listen to the rules of receiving this power.

“ ‘Okay then I will vanish instead, and I will give my last remaining power…’ did you think Oscar will say that?”, a voice said.

Myra was surprised to see a tall, pony-tailed girl with a black oversized T-shirt who wore a pair of black shorts.

“You sly girl, I won’t let you kill him!” said the girl.

“Who the hell are you??????? How disrespectful you are to a super sta…” Myra was halted upon.

“I am Foxy, a human just like you! Oscar helped me with melodies too!” stated Foxy with zero flares.

“Great, we both need his power, let’s cut him off and get more popular” emphasized Myra.

“Power? Popularity? Yes! I need it to be a great rapper, but I do need to step over others to reach my dream like some insane inhuman humans!” exclaimed Foxy.

“YOU Foxy Girl!!!!!! Lying would not do any better for you, just.. go away” hissed Myra.

“Make me.” Foxy came forward with her gleaming eyes.

“STOP!” screamed Oscar. “I do not have any energy left anyway, so I will happily disappear”

“Nice try Oscar, but that does not solve any problem. You needn't sacrifice yourself for selfish people, as they try their best to drown the man who taught them how to swim’’, stated Foxy hastily.

Foxy charged towards her with her fists clenched, Oscar intervened with the tree's arms, trying to stop Foxy. Then suddenly, Myra fell near the cliff, and Oscar's arms hit Foxy on her stomach accidentally. Next second, Myra rolled over and fell over the cliff. She managed to grab a branch, but it was too dangerous to hold onto. Oscar could not reach out to Myra, so he tried to wake up Foxy, who was unconscious of the previous hit from Oscar.

“I will curse you all, or else save me you idiots!! What are you waiting for?? Someone please??!!” screamed Myra in pain, trying to grab the soil around, yet she failed to climb up. Oscar tried to reach her with his longest branch, he tried so hard, that his arm almost torn apart into tiny branches, but he did not give up.

“It’s time, thank you tree, I…”, the volume of her voice faded, and everything became deathly quiet.