A tree... a simple tree standing in the park they were well known.
Time goes by with no such remorse. But the wise old tree is still standing, tall and strong. With the etched heart. Two etched hearts.
'S + F = 4EVA'
'M + T = 4EVA'
It had seen many years of broken hearts and fulfilled promises. Both those couples were long gone from the world you and I know quite well. But their grandchildren and great grandchildren visit the wise old tree.
One girl unrelated to Sam, Freddie, Mary and Tom walked up to the tree and admired its strong branches. She sat against the trunk and opened her book.
It wasn't long before she fell asleep.
As a boy approached the same girl, the wise old tree's branches creaked and its leaves rustled with excitement. Could this be the next couple to etch their initials in its trunk? It swayed in the gentle breeze, somehow making the boy sit beside the peaceful looking girl.
Soon after, she awoke with a startled look on her face.
"Who are you?" she asked the boy.
"A friend of this magic tree. My great, great, great, great grandfather proposed to a girl under these same branches."
The girl didn't say anything, picked up her book and started to walk off. Who was this crazy boy trying to fool? Her dress sleeve got caught on a low branch - or maybe the wise old tree was trying to grab her. She squealed in fright and the boy quickly ran over to rescue her.
"Is this tree really magic?" the girl whispered.
"Do you believe it is?" the boy replied with a question.
...
They were fifteen and the girl revisited the exact same spot as she had done a year ago. The same boy showed up, with a flower and gave it to her.
They were sixteen and the boy was kneeling before the trunk and carving his initials into it. The girl ran up to him and tackled him in a hug, promising to always be with him, no matter what. Both their initials were etched inside a heart.
'K + L = 4EVA'
They were seventeen and the boy and girl were walking up the hill, holding hands.
They were eighteen and the girl ran to the tree in tears, clutching her stomach. The wind made leaves flutter to the ground around her.
They were nineteen the boy asked the tree for advice on how to be a good father. It only shivered its leaves and moved its branches.
They were twenty
They were twenty-one and the boy walked up to the girl in his soldier uniform. The two hugged each other and the girl cried as he left her, standing alone.
They were twenty-two
They were twenty-three and the tree creaked with loneliness. The branches shivered.
They were twenty-four and the girl walked up to the tree holding a little girl's hand. She traced the etching of the heart and initials and showed the little girl.
They were twenty-five, it was a sunny day and the girl brought the little girl to the tree, and they had a tea-party together. There is a small acorn growing on one of the branches... the little girl picks it off and pockets it.
They were twenty-six and the boy finally returns to the tree, wearing his soldier uniform, he sits there for a while, like he's waiting for someone.
They were twenty-seven and the girl, the boy and the little girl are all running together up to the tree. Its branches shake and the leaves fall around the happy family.
They were twenty-eight and the little girl comes to the tree by herself asking for her mother and father to stop fighting. A low branch sways in the wind, tapping the little girl's back in comfort.
They were twenty-nine and the boy and the girl walk hand-in-hand to the tree. He asks for her hand in marriage and she accepts through tears of joy.
They were thirty and the man runs up to the tree, only to find a sign from the local park council giving notice of the tree's removal.
They were thirty-one and the man and woman stand before the tree, not giving in to the big machines and bulldozers. The tree waves its branches around.
They were thirty-two ... and there's no more wise old tree. The council had it removed... the man and woman sat by the stump sadly.
They were forty
They were fifty
They were sixty the man ambled over to the empty space, hoping for a little more magic despite no tree there.
They were seventy the woman and the man had stayed by the tree stump, only to die in each other's arms. Their daughter found them and decided to bury them right next to where the wise old tree used to stand.
She was thirty-five with two children of her own and they took the acorn that she'd taken from the wise old tree so long ago and they planted it in the ground.
...
The tree was never magical. The magic was always within the hearts of those who believed and those who loved. And those who believed in love.
Now there is a Growing Young Sapling... waiting, one day, to become another... Wise Old Tree.