The Great and Glorious Tree of Adeline

     It was all worth it.  Every single choice that led up to this moment...

     Little slender dirty fingers investigate a worn cloth pocket. Splinters penetrate my flesh, but I know it's safe.  My most prized possession safe and sound in my pocket.  Sitting in the same pocket since my Father handed it to me not so long ago.

     My Father carved it from the center of the Great and Glorious Tree of Adeline.  This world located within a tree was where I spent time dreaming and hiding. Thick branches used to hold me during life and death moments when my brothers would torment me, always causing me to climb higher into the majestic canopy.  But I didn't mind so much.  There is much to investigate: the sounds, the smells, and textures. 
     One particular day, the sun beat down, and I climbed higher than ever before. Even my brothers stopped the pursuit and tried to coax me back, but something in me drove me upward.  It was an exhilarating rush. I knew Destiny lie at the top just beyond the green haven.  After twisting branches and pressing leaves aside, my eyes beheld a grey mist in the distance.  A foul stench on the wind initiated a rising to commence in my heart. Before I could stop myself, I heard a cry exit my mouth. A fountain of tears overflowed. I could hear my brothers calling and soon after my Father. I melted back into the canopy.  The shock of seeing death for the first time, changes you.  There is a seed of burden that can kill you or make you stronger. My Father thought I would die.
      My tiny body began to slowly waste away. The days seemed to slow down. Day and night were all the same to me. Event though I sweated from the heat, my shoulders felt cold from the lack of a motherly embrace.  
     "Why did they kill her, Father?"
     "Because she believed," His eyes sparkled with tears and a humble pride.  
     The day the Great and Glorious Tree fell changed my life forever.  I recall the bright light that shot through it, straight down the middle.  At first, the tree only shuddered, but then flames burst out from the center as the great trunk split in two. Until that day, it seemed like nothing could break it's limbs or defy it's strength, yet on that day it accepted it's fate and from it's mighty trunk came a treasure; a beacon of hope.      
      I clasped my Father's muscular shoulders as he carved. All I could see were wood shavings floating in the air and dropping to the floor. The sweet smell of fresh wood and the repetitive smooth movements of his arms were mesmerizing.  I was intrigued.
     "Just a bit longer, my little dove". Father brushed curls out of my face as he smiled.  
     As impatience grew, I went to look at the once Great and Glorious Tree of Adeline.  It's branches were drying up.  I flopped down in it's ocean of leaves.  They still danced around me in the wind as though laughing.  
     "How can you be happy when you are dying? There is no hope for you."  
     Then I saw it.  The hole where my Father had taken a chunk  out of the world of Adeline.  With anticipation, I ran back to my Father in the barn. 
     "Perfect timing, my little dove. Close your eyes." 
     My quivering fingers investigated the wood carving.  It was two pieces intersecting. It was smooth and perfect.  I breathed in it's freshness once again. Yes, this was joy of Adeline in my hands.  I acknowledged the duty of the call from that moment forward.  I might have been small in stature-even vulnerable-but I was a fire of curiosity, adventure, and justice. This fire was part of my Father's legacy, so I grabbed a hold of it even though I was the most unlikely.  It was an honor to live the worthy call given to the Fire. I finally understood. I believed.
      My older brothers had already left.  They were honored to wear the bright colors of the  Kingdom they believed in.  Even though they were only 14 and 16 they were ready to die for it. I remember when Father read me the letter describing their aggressive and passionate fighting and their graceful fall.  It was in an instant. This confused my expectation.  It sounded like there was no slowing of time or even a chance for tears. The battle just waged on.  The enemy might have mocked for a moment believing in his victory, but what he didn't know was that the Kingdom could never be defeated. Every light that faded from the eyes of those dying for the Kingdom was walking into victory.  All they could see now were the colors of the Kingdom waving in the wind as celebration ensued.
     This is the image, I have in my mind right now.  Father's little dove is seeing the Kingdom colors mixing in the wind.
      "I won't let it go, Father."
     My thumb pressed into the crevices of wood as I repetitively checked to see if it was still there. Father told me to remember that right before this moment I was to begin counting little sheep like we used to before bed.  
    "It will be no time before you fall asleep," he had assured me.
     "1, 2, 3, 4, 5."
     I was wrong about one thing.  When you die, time does slow down and tears are shed spurred on from sadness and victory.  I was also right about one thing.  The colors of the Kingdom are already waving. I am victorious and so will be the one who finds the beacon of hope from the the Great and Glorious Tree of Adeline.