I was sitting in my favourite rocking chair, when I suddenly heard the squealing of my excited granddaughter, Lucy. She burst into the room, carrying a small pot with a seed propped on top of some dirt.

‘Granny! Granny! Look! Teacher give me seed. It grow to big tree with yummy, big, yummy apple!’ she said, delighted by the prospect.

‘This reminds me when I had a tree,’ I responded.

‘Granny grow tree?’

‘It was a long time ago but yes. Want to listen?’

‘Story! Story!’ she exclaimed, sitting down and listening attentively.

‘Haha, alright then. It started when I was a young girl. Our city once used to be a small village. Our family used to be farmers on the very ground we live in now. We didn’t own the land at the time since we were too poor, so we had to pay rent to the landlord.’

‘Landlord good guy?’

‘I wouldn’t say so, Lucy. He was a greedy man that always put pressure on my parents. The plot of land we grew our crops on wasn’t good either. Back then we didn’t even have trees. The soil was too poor for one. It was amazing how the landlord could charge us so much. We were lucky to survive the winters and not be evicted in the summers. I even had to help with the chores, carrying water from the local well and watering the crops.’

‘Tree need water, or they die,’ Lucy said, showing off the knowledge she learnt at school.

‘That’s correct. Well done,’ I continued, patting her head affectionately. ‘But going back to the story, I was collecting water from the well one starry night, when suddenly I saw a shooting star. It had the most magnificent blue glow. I was mesmerised. It shone brighter than any star in the sky and, as it fell, I couldn’t help but chase it.

The more I ran, the more I realised how close the shooting star was. It crashed into one of the ditches, which were used to collect rainwater. We didn’t have streetlamps back then like you do now, Lucy. I had to be guided by the light of the moon and the stars. The strange shooting star continued to glow bright blue too, so it was easy to find. To my surprise, it wasn’t a shooting star but rather –’

‘It’s a seed!’ Lucy interrupted.

‘What a clever granddaughter I have! Yes, it was a seed. However, I didn’t believe it at first. Like I said, it glowed blue but its shape was also weird. It looked more like a peanut and had holes in a few places. I found it pretty, though, so I put it in a makeshift pocket I sewed on my favourite lilac dress. Although when I did, it stopped glowing for some reason.

When I got home, my parents were furious. I had completely forgotten about the water I was about to bring. In an attempt to show them that I wasn’t being lazy, I showed them the peanut-shaped seed. It only made them angrier, and they took the seed from my hands and threw it out of the house.’

‘Mummy get mad when it not my fault too,’ Lucy said, a little upset at the way my parents acted.

‘Now, now, dear. Your mother is my daughter. I’ve acted like that with her on quite a few occasions as well. All parents have those moments.’

‘Granny get mad too?’

‘Not with you. You’re too adorable to get mad at!’

Lucy seemed content with my answer. She placed her pot beside her and went off to get some food, bringing back a few biscuits. She sat down and nibbled on one of them, her eyes giving me her full attention.

‘ready?’ I asked.

‘mm,’ she mumbled, still munching on the biscuit.

‘Ok. Now, where was I? Ah, right! My father threw the seed out of the house,’ I said, pausing for a moment, wondering whether I should tell the child that my father punished me with several strikes of his cane. In the end, I decided against it, and bent the truth slightly, ‘My parents sent me to bed early as punishment too.

The next day, I went back to doing my chores. As I didn’t collect water the night before, I set out early. It was still dark, so I didn’t notice it at first but, as the sun rose on my way back, I saw a small plant sprouting out of the ground outside my house. I was sure that this was where my seed landed when my father threw it out.

I didn’t tell my parents this time. I didn’t want them to destroy it. I kept it a secret hobby, watering it regularly, sheltering it from insects and all the usual stuff you need to do with plants. All my efforts seemed to be working too as it grew. It grew fast. Faster than any crop or plant I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It wasn’t long before my parents found out about it.’

‘They des-dest- they kill it?’ Lucy queried.

‘No. In fact, they did the opposite. They never saw such a thing in their lives either. They helped me in my little project, giving me advice, creating a pen around the plant etcetera. In just a month, it was around my current height. When it was starting out, we thought it was just a wheat variant. However, as it grew, my father believed it was going to be a tree. We’ve never grown trees before, the soil quality wouldn’t allow for it, but the plant seemed to be a miracle.

It started fruiting within six months; normally it would take years for a tree to reach that stage. Its fruits were strange though. They had the stem of an apple, the shape of a pear, the size of a watermelon, the hair of a kiwi, the colour of a blueberry and the spikes of a pineapple. The fruits were also seedless, surprisingly enough. Regardless of its shape, it was the most delicious, mouth-watering fruit I have ever tasted.

The landlord eventually found out about the tree after a year. As it was on his land, he began selling the fruit. We didn’t mind though, as he lowered our rent in return for looking after the tree. It continued to grow, getting larger and larger until it was as tall as our house! The number of fruits it gave increased exponentially as well, making the landlord demand more and more.

We didn’t realise how well the fruits were selling until people started moving into our village. They set up shop, built homes, basically turning the village into a small town. They all wanted to be part of the tree-driven growth. Several recipes were created using the fruits as their main ingredient. We even began to get tourists as a result. The food that involved the tree’s fruits were incredible.’

‘I want fruit, Granny! Can you get me one pleeeeeaaaaaase?’ Lucy pleaded.

‘Unfortunately, the tree no longer exists, Lucy,’ I explained.

‘Why? It’s not fair! I want one! Your mummy and daddy kill tree?’

‘No. They thought it was the tastiest thing they ever had too.’

‘Then why it gone?’

‘Well, as the town grew into a small city, and as the tree grew to be as tall as a small apartment block, the landlord also grew ever greedy. He wanted more. Just one tree wasn’t enough for him. He needed another. He wanted to build an empire. But there was one problem: the fruits didn’t have seeds in them.

I also looked for some, but nothing came close to the blue peanut-shaped seed that crashed into a ditch. As you probably know, you need a seed to grow a plant –’

‘Teacher said that too!’ Lucy shouted, grabbing another biscuit to nibble on.

‘Your teacher is right to say so. The landlord knew this too. His greed blinded him. So, in desperation, he got the authority to cut the tree wide open.’

‘Nooo! Why you not stop bad landlord, granny?’

‘We didn’t have the right. The tree was on his land. Due to legal nonsense, the tree wasn’t ours.’

‘But you grow and water and love tree!’

‘What you said is true, but you can’t do anything against the law. My parents and I learned that the hard way when we tried to fight against the ruling. It led to our eviction.’

‘What eviction mean?’

‘It means we got kicked out of our own home. Luckily, we got some money in return. We used that to move out of the village and buy our own home elsewhere. As we left what once home, I saw heavy machinery surrounding the tree. I cried for days thinking of what was going to happen to it. It was the first thing I properly looked after. It was my pride and joy,’ I said, tears starting to form.

‘What happen to Granny’s tree?’

‘I don’t know. As I told you, we moved out of the city. I grew up, went to school and got married. My village and tree always came to mind though, so one day with my husband, your grandpa, we visited this village on a holiday trip. Well, it was a city now, but that’s beside the point.

This trip was several years after I moved out originally. The one thing I noticed was that the city wasn’t as lively as it was at its peak. I think the reason was the massive hole created by the tree’s lack of presence. I rushed to where my old home was, only to find that my fears came true. The tree was no longer there.

However, I found out the land was on sale. Apparently, the landlord didn’t find any seeds. This, along with the uproar that was caused by the tree’s disappearance, led to the landlord running away. So, I discussed things with your grandpa. The very next day, we bought the land as our own. We tidied things up, then moved and settled down back in my own home. We had kids, including your mother, and from there I think you know what happens.’

‘Mummy grow up and have me!’ Lucy answered gleefully before getting sad. ‘But granny tree gone. Why live in our house when tree not there? It’s too sad.’

I thought about my words carefully. It was true that I was upset by the tree’s loss. However, I didn’t want Lucy to get upset too. I wanted to cheer her up, otherwise, my daughter, her mother, would have gotten annoyed with me.

‘It’s not that sad,’ I told Lucy. ‘The way I see things, the tree still lives. This city we live in would never have been created if the tree didn’t exist. The poor soil my parents started off with has now become land which can allow many flowers, trees, and plants to flourish. If it weren’t for the tree, I would have been an uneducated farmer-girl. For that, I am grateful to the tree.’

‘I like Granny’s tree,’ Lucy responded, much happier. ‘I go grow mine to be good like granny’s tree.’

‘Make sure to water and take care of it regularly,’ I advised.

‘Yes, granny!’

She scampered off in search of her mother to help her with the planting. I smiled at her enthusiasm. It was refreshing to see such youthful behaviour. It made me get up from my rocking chair and head over to one of my drawers. I kept a hidden key underneath, which I used to open the middle drawer. It was empty bar from a peanut-shaped object, with holes in a few places and had a faint blue-coloured glow.

‘Maybe I’ll give this to her in my will,’ I muttered to myself, putting it back in the drawer.