Reader Submission: The Girl Who Talks to Trees

“My eight-year-old niece Amelia talks to trees. She spends all her free time outside, whispering to the leaves and listening for replies. I used to think it was a silly game, but then something happened that changed my mind. You see, I’m pretty sure the trees talk back.

Amelia has always loved trees. When she was four, she snuck out of her room one night and feel asleep under an old pine tree in the back yard. Her parents were terrified when they found her missing. When they demanded to know why she’d left her bed, Amelia said the tree was lonely and had called to her for company.

Another time, a large fire broke out a few miles from her home. Amelia didn’t sleep for days and became so exhausted that her mom took her to a pediatrician. When the doctor asked what was wrong, Amelia said she couldn’t sleep because the trees were screaming.

Up until this point, I thought Amelia just had an overactive imagination. I thought the trees were her version of imaginary friends and it was a phase she’d eventually grow out of. Now, I’m not so sure.

Last weekend, several members of our family got together for a camping trip. We reserved a couple of large camp sites to celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday. The sites were near a lake, but Amelia wasn’t interested. While the rest of the kids played games or splashed in the water, Amelia spent the day introducing herself to the trees.

That night, Amelia and I shared a tent. Around midnight, she woke up screaming.

‘He’s going to fall! He’s can’t hold on much longer!’

She began yanking at the tent’s zippers, screaming that we had to get out. I tried to calm her down, but she wouldn’t listen.

‘He’s falling, he’s falling, he’s falling,’ was all she would say.

I was groggy and disorientated, but something in Amelia’s tone chilled me. I followed her out of the tent without bothering to grab my shoes or socks. Not even 30 seconds later, one of the trees crashed down and flattened our tent. If we’d been inside, we would have been killed.

Things were pretty chaotic after that, but once we were settled, Amelia grabbed my hand and said the tree was sorry.

‘He didn’t want to hurt us,’ she said. ‘He just couldn’t stop stay up.”

Can my niece truly talk to trees? I don’t know. But if she has another warning, you can be sure I’ll listen.”

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