Sal's Favourite Tree

I can still see it in my head: it was a tree which stood outside the centre and it was...well...it was not beautiful; in fact, it was an oddity. I used to watch its seed pods dangle from its branches and my close circle of friends and I would point and laugh and make schoolgirl-inappropriate jokes.

Obscene jokes were made of the greyish-green pods as the wind blew them and rustled up the leaves of the tree. We would call it "Sal's Favourite Tree" after a friend of mine who cringed at the sight of the tree because of its unclean connotations.

However, once a year the tree bloomed. Those were the times when Sal's Favourite Tree became a sight to behold. From the window of the classroom which I had my English classes, I could see the white and pink flowers swaying in the billowing humid wind. And every sweep of the wind plucked a few flowers away from its stems. When I stood under the tree, I could just make out the flowers behind the sunlight and would attempt to pluck a flower from the lowest branch. On certain days, usually after the rain, a friend and I would sit on the nearby step and have a chat while watching the rain water drip from the flowers


But eventually, the flowers would disappear after much wind and rain and Sal's Favourite Tree would be left bare once again. In a months time, seed pods will start to grow again and dangle from its branches only to be laughed at once again.

Those were the days left behind - we graduated and left the school and Sal's Favourite Tree is nothing more than an image in memory. We left it behind together with the other memories we never took to heart while we were there. And sometimes, I regret not doing so.

Although we are no longer there to witness it, Sal's Favourite Tree continues to bloom at the same time every year for the other schoolgirls who pass by it just like we did in our time.