Many years ago, there was a learned man named Digory Kirk who lived alone in a large house in the country. His eyes held wisdom beyond his time. Looking into them, one got the impression that this man had seen sights no ordinary person had seen.
Every year, during the holidays, he would go and visit his aunt in London. This was one such holiday. His aunt was getting quite old and had already retired for the night. Digory sat in his room, looking out into the back yard. He was not yet tired and he had many good memories in that yard. After a while it began to rain. Soon the wind was blowing and it had become a storm. As the storm raged on, he watched a tree he had planted many years ago when he was a boy.
He remembered how the tree had always seemed to be connected to another place. Sometimes, on very still days, it would sway as if there was wind in its branches. He wondered if it was connected to the tree whose seed it came from. That other tree was in another land, a different world. Digory knew this and always wondered when this tree moved if perhaps the other tree was swaying in a great wind.
Suddenly, the tree in the yard seemed to shrivel and shrink within its very core. It was as if its heart had gone out of it. A mysterious feeling of dread filled Digory when he saw the tree wither. As the storm raged on, it seemed that there was no way the tree could survive. It grew late and Digory went to bed. However, as he went to sleep, he pondered on why the tree had seemed to shrink within itself. In his dreams, he saw another tree, enormous and beautiful, being torn down in another land. He saw the white face of an evil witch standing victorious on a battle field. Could the time have come so soon?
When he awoke the next morning and looked out the window, he was not surprised to see that the tree in the yard had been blown over. There was nothing Digory could do for the tree, but he decided to at least use the wood from it to make a wardrobe. He didn't particularly need another wardrobe, but he couldn't bear to see the tree thrown away like so much trash. Perhaps it would be useful in the future. Somehow, it just seemed so right for a wardrobe…
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Author's note: I've been wondering lately whether the tree Digory planted in London died at the same time as the Tree of Protection in Narnia. If things go well, I will continue this story from the Narnian point of view. I have some ideas about how the Tree in Narnia might have died and how the White Witch could have come to power. It will depend on how much time there is between school and teaching.
Please be gentle with the reviews, I haven't written anything other than homework for years. I don't mind criticism, I just don't want flames.