MEN, LIKE TREES
by Tom Bujorian
Upon the arrival of a mysterious bedside visitor, Jon Burleigh’s final minutes of life are replaced with flashes of memories that were long ago lost to Alzheimer’s. He remembers the 5 love letters he wrote to his wife, Char, before the disease had overshadowed him. Each letter he strategically hid within their home, for her to find at their allotted times (the times he knew she would need him the most). They were to him the cloth remnants of his heart, tied to the branches of his love for her. So although they would drift apart, within these letters, she could always find her way home to him.
Within the familiar voice of this visitor, Jon’s regretful memories of raising his sons are healed in the remembrance of three trees he planted, one with each boy to celebrate their turning 10. He planted them beside a large oak tree, to symbolize their young and growing spirits. Being pruned by their father’s illness, and deep rooted by the storms of life, his sons have grown into strong but peaceful men. Men, who bend but not break in the wind; Men, like their Father. Men, Like Trees.
“With every night you lie within my arms, my heart believes I am getting better, but with each new morning, it is as though another leaf has fallen from me . . . never to return.”
— from His Love Letters
“A tree is known by its fruit, but by its roots . . . we understand.”
— Matthew 12:33
About Tom
Tom Bujorian works in the construction industry and lives with his wife Rachelle in the rural town of Primm Springs, TN, 30 minutes west of Nashville. His love of writing came from the many hand written letters he received from his father, when Tom was a young man living on the west coast. This is his first novel. He is currently writing his second novel, The Voice of Midnight.
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