Grape Turtles

“Mrs. Nettle says it’s a grape turtle tree.”

“Oh, I see. Well, maybe we should put it in water to keep it fresh.”

“No, Mom! I want to plant it!”

Before she could stop her son, the screen door leading to the back yard was slamming against its frame. She watched at the window as Eddie paced the yard, looking for the perfect spot. Once he found it, he struggled to push the limb deep into the ground. A tear ran down her cheek, and she caught it with her left hand, brushing it away before Eddie burst through the door again.

“Go wash up for dinner, Eddie. Your daddy’s going to be home soon.”

A few minutes later, an old red pickup truck rumbled into the driveway. “Eddie! Your father’s home!” She heard the thumping of little boot-clad feet running down the stairs and saw a blur as Eddie ran out the door once again.

“Daddy!” He ran to his father, who enveloped Eddie in his arms and lifted him into the air.

“How’s my boy today?”

“Just great! Look Daddy, I planted a tree!” Eddie squirmed from his father’s grasp and pointed excitedly at the limb. It was surrounded by a few of the delicate pink petals that had fallen to the grass. “Oh no! I forgot to water it!” Before he could be corraled, Eddie had turned on the hose and was dousing the poor limb with water. The sudden stream knocked off more of the petals, but Eddie was satisfied. “There! Now it’s going to grow!”

“Well, we’ll see,” his father smiled. The two went into the house and sat down at the dinner table. Eddie talked about his “tree” nearly the whole time.

Before he went to bed, Eddie pressed his face against the kitchen window, gazing into the darkness toward the limb. “I can barely see it, Mommy. Is it still there?”

“Of course. Sometimes we have to believe in things we can’t see. That’s called faith, Eddie.”

“I believe it’s there, Mommy.” Eddie skipped happily up to his room and slept soundly.

Every morning, Eddie would run to the window and inspect his tree. Every afternoon, he would water it. Every night before bed, after putting on his PJs, washing his little face and brushing his teeth, he would kneel down beside his bed and pray that his tree would grow big and tall.

About one week later, as his mother was fixing breakfast, she heard Eddie thumping down the stairs. “How’s my tree, Mommy?” He ran to the window and looked. All the pink petals had finally fallen from the limb, and a breeze had blown all of them away. “Oh no! The grape is gone! Maybe it needs some more water.”

“I think it has plenty of water, Eddie. Come here a minute.” He trudged slowly over to her. “Sit down here. That’s good. Now, look out the window. See that great big oak tree at the corner of the yard?” Eddie nodded. “That tree started out smaller than this egg.”

“Wow!”

“Wow is right. The little seed contained everything the tree needed to get started. It was planted in the ground and started to grow. The sun and the rain over the years helped it get big and strong.”

“Just like me!” Eddie grinned. “I’m going to grow someday, right Mommy?”

“Of course you will.” She hesitated and swallowed her emotions, then was able to force a smile and continue. “Now where was I? Oh yes. The thing is, that tree had to start with that seed, called an acorn. If you look at the big, thick limbs it has, those limbs don’t even contain the right kinds of things to make a new tree grow. It has to start with the little acorn. Just like a man has to start as a little baby.”

“What are you saying, Mommy?”

“Well, the limb you planted last week, I’m afraid, won’t ever grow up to be a big tree.”

“Because it is a limb, not an acorn. Right?”

“Right. The limb is only part of the tree, but that little acorn is the whole tree, just really small.”

Eddie thought for a minute. “I think my tree is going to grow anyway.”

“Why is that, Eddie?”

“Because I love it. I look at it every morning, I talk to it, I water it every day and then I pray about it before I go to sleep.”

His mother smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. “But your limb hasn’t changed in a week.”

“I have faith, Mommy. You said that’s when you believe in something you can’t see.”

“That’s right.” She felt her tears start to pool. She couldn’t hold them back any longer.

“Why are you crying, Mommy?”

“Oh, it’s no big deal, honey. Tell ya what, why don’t you go out and talk to your tree for awhile. Your daddy’s going to be up for breakfast soon, and I need to talk to him about something.”

“OK!” Eddie struggled to push his little feet into his boots, which he had left in the kitchen because they were muddy. Then he ran outside, letting the door slam behind him.

She watched as her son sat down next to the little limb and had a one-sided chat with it. Her tears started to flow freely, and she didn’t bother to hide them.

Later that day, Eddie faithfully watered the tree after lunch, talking to it the whole time. That night, he prayed that the tree would be happy.

The next morning, his mother was downstairs fixing breakfast in the kitchen. She glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. “Eddie?” she hollered. “Breakfast is almost ready!”

When she got no response, she ran up the stairs. She pushed the door open and saw Eddie still asleep. She roused him, noticing he was sweaty and felt hot.

“Eddie! Are you alright?”

“I don’t feel so good, Mommy.”

“Well, you’re burning up. Can you sit up?” she asked. Eddie shook his head. “We need to take you to the doctor.” Her voice wavered. “I’ll be right back.” She ran to the other room to get her husband. Eddie’s father went in, carefully scooped his boy into his arms, and took him downstairs. Eddie’s mother was just getting off the phone.

“The doctor said it sounds like it’s happening now and he wants us to take him to the emergency room. As soon as we can,” she whispered. She bit her lip in a futile attempt to maintain her composure.

Eddie’s father carried him to his pickup truck. Eddie felt the slight chill of the air and squirmed to look at his tree. “Wait, Daddy,” he said meekly. “My tree.”

His father turned and carefully propped Eddie’s head up with his forearm so he could see. The once frail-looking limb was a bit taller, and where it was once bare, large pink blossoms bloomed.

“Daddy! My tree is growing!” Eddie exclaimed, suddenly excited. “Mommy! Look!”

“I see it, honey,” she said.

“See? Faith works!” Eddie grinned. He gazed at the tree for a moment, but soon was overcome by fatigue and slumped back into his father’s arms. He closed his eyes as his breathing became more labored. “I told you faith works,” he mumbled.

The husband and wife looked at each other, tears forming in both sets of adult eyes.

His father’s voice cracked. “I know it does, Eddie. I know it does.”