My Cardboard Balcony

The Tree Stopped Growing by Belinda Roddie The tree stopped growing in the middle of the square, and it stayed as a short, stout sprig of what it could have been. Still, the town loved its presence. They called it the Dwarf, and big trees did not receive such fair attention. One day, a child took a piece of its bark, and it was rough and thin within her hand. She dug a hole and buried it, a spark of hope lighting her eyes. She thought a small tree would grow just like the Dwarf, and yet no twig sprouted from the dirt. Her family all pitched in to find a little tree just so their little girl could have her own short, stout tree, which she simply couldn't live without.

People do hateful things for the sake of their "values." They spit on those they deem immortal because they feel it is what God expects of them. As if he keeps a long, typewritten list and gestures at a name to scourge. They kick down those who fall hard because they believe the fall is not long or hard enough. They believe they are the judges of suffering. Their shoulders are heavy due to their own fool's scales.