The Death of a Tree

By Sivan Pillai

Visits to my village home had become rare, the only attraction being the cashew tree. Its branches overhang the paddy field in front, causing damage to the crop during the cashew season. But the owner, a family friend, never complained as he knew our attachment to the tree.

We, the siblings and our parents, had spent a lot of time under it, collecting cashew nuts, sitting around bonfires, swinging, and doing many other things at all hours.

The visits will now dry up, thanks to the tree’s death, rumoured to be at the hands of the new owner of the field.