[Gift] The Oak Tree

There is a giant oak tree at the center of the Botanical Gardens.
A golden butterfly floats upwards into its branches. It soars until it finds the perfect place to perch upon– the nose of a napping bao. His name is Acorn. Although he is fast asleep, he can still hear the comforting sound of lighthearted laughter and the tiny pitter-patter of footsteps below. The backdrop noise eventually fades away, and whoever had passed by is now long gone. 

 After some time, the soft flicker of wings and the tickle of insect legs cause him to let out a comical sneeze! His iconic acorn-shaped hat bounces off his head in the process, and tumbles into the grassy lawn below. It lands with a soft thump.

“Aw, sucks…” The earth-colored bao rubs a paw over where the missing hat once rested. He tries to peek over the ledge of the branch, but the passing butterfly crosses his line of sight. It guides him towards an opening in the branches, where he can see the view ahead.

  Below him lay a sea of happy sunflowers, the ones he had personally planted seedlings for. They painted the fields with vibrant strokes of bumble bee and honey yellow. Their heads inclined slightly towards the west- undoubtedly reaching towards the remaining rays of sunlight. The sky blazed hues of orange, a perfect backdrop for the flowers now dancing in the breeze. Acorn's eyes lit up at the sight of such a picturesque view. He had to show the others!

The outdoorsy bao slid down the tree’s trunk, and gracefully plucked his hat back up on the way. The sunflowers looked even more impressive up close! They were tall and hovered above Acorn's head. Among all of the giants, was one droopy little sunflower. It leaned over, almost as if waiting for him at the edge of the field. Acorn wrapped his paws around its stem and gave it a good tug. Heave ho! With a bit of luck, he managed to pull that one out, roots and all. Perfect, Time to go find everybao! 

Acorn first runs into Fisherbao, who is carefully cutting the stems of a few lavenders– his flowers had also grown! Acorn proudly holds up his sunflower towards the sea-themed bao. He, in turn, lets out a low whistle of amazement. “It’s mighty impressive!” He compliments. Acorn quickly returns the kind words about his lavenders. Fisherbao says he plans on making a dried lavender wreath for his boat, maybe even some sachets and soap. There is a little vase of hydrangeas, too. Acorn notices they were placed beside a packed-up bag and a fishing pole.   

 “Where are you going?” Acorn asks, even though he can already predict the answer.
“I’m headed back out on the water,” the sailor replies, “being on land is nice and all, but the sea calls to me.”

  Fisherbao describes in great detail his ambition of traveling across the Abaolone Archipelago. The objective is to discover the rare Seabao Charm and Seabao Pearl treasures. He insists that Merbaos are real but Acorn knows– there is no such thing. (Right…?) They parted ways with a ‘See you later!’ and off he went. It was time for him to set sail, once again.

No worries at all– Acorn could still find his trusty friend Flo! They’d known each other forever and spent a lot of time together. Actually, she’s the one who had piqued his interest in gardening. He already had a hobby of harvesting nuts from the forests, but he had taken a great liking to working in the garden dirt with her, as well. She was always so kind, hardworking and dependable– he admired her greatly! Certainly, admiration was one thing he felt… amongst other things. Well, feelings are feelings! After all, one could hypothetically, or most definitely, say: Acorn has feelings for Flo. 

But that was all up in the air! They were just baobears, enjoying all of the things a baobear life has to offer. So, yes, she would surely agree to flower viewing with him if he asked. (Why did his paws feel sweaty all of a sudden?).

 There was a secret shortcut in the garden, by sneaking through a cluster of bushes. Acorn pops out on the other side, with a big goofy smile on his face. In the distance, he spots Flo with an armful of peonies– surely, she would use them to make her reknown tea bags. He lifts a paw up to wave, but it hangs there aimlessly when he realizes that she already has company. It was somebao that they had encountered before, but Acorn thought they would’ve returned home by now. They were saying something to Flo. Acorn could not make out what, but it seemed funny. It must’ve been since Flo laughed– she looked happy. Acorn's gaze fell downward to the yellow sunflower in his other paw. His smile did not falter but he did not feel quite as confident as he did before. He needed more time to hype himself again. Maybe he would show her the sunflowers, later…

 Everybao began to head home, accompanied by friends or loved ones. Acorn had only one place he wanted to go, and so off he went.

There is a giant oak tree at the center of the Botanical Gardens.
It stands sturdy and peaceful among the blossoming flowers. It is Acorn's favorite place. He makes his way up the ladder of branches, right back to his previous napping spot. The field of happy sunflowers can be seen once more, though the sun has now set. Acorn places his lone sunflower on the branch beside him, before gazing out at the many. What was he going to do with all of these? 

After a bit of thought, he came to a decision: he would eventually harvest them and then use the seeds for replanting. Next year, and every year after that, he would do it all over again. He would make sure that this view that he loved oh so very much, could be shared with those he cared for. In this he would succeed.

fin.