Forest of Hope – short story – ✍️ Written by Hisham Mahmoud Suleiman
In the heart of the Forest of Hope, where the old trees told new generations stories of the days when peace lived in every corner and the sky was always blue, how darkness had begun to seep into the earth, surrounding everything. A black bird carrying a frightening darkness within it began to infiltrate. The forest began to recruit with him armies of traitors who turned against their forest. They sowed discord among the trees and tried to cut hope from its roots. Their weapon was seduction. and false promises that ancient roots needed to be toned down in order to keep pace with development and modernity. And terror began to seep into the ancient trees for fear of an unknown fate surrounding the happy forest.
But in this forest, there was a newly born small tree named Nour, with roots. He was born in the shadows of chaos that began to seep in, but he carried in his heart a ray of ancient and eternal light that could not do so. disappear despite her smallness Nour, the cautious one, was not afraid of the dark, and she felt that she had the ability to bring the forest back to life, but the price was too high.
Little Nour began to sow seeds of hope everywhere and sing songs of joy, but she soon discovered that the darkness was not just an evil bird, but had found someone to take care of it. help.
There were great trees that betrayed their forest and sided with darkness out of fear or greed for power. They believed that darkness would give them a greatness that they could not obtain in light.
Do you think you can change this forest, Noor? One of the ancient trees who fell into the trap of cooperating with the dark said: We are convinced that it is better to remain in the darkness than to face the light.
But little Nour did not despair. She tried with all her might to motivate the hesitant trees and remind them of their beautiful past and how the forest thrived with love and cooperation, but some of them had gotten lost and others had completely lost hope.
As the days passed, the darkness began to spread further and the strong winds increased until almost everything was uprooted. However, a small ray emanated from the heart of the little tree, and despite all its attempts to restore the light, there was betrayal. hitting every corner, and the darkness grew stronger, and every time the darkness seemed weak, the wounds that the tree was bleeding became bigger.
The little tree realized that the path to victory required sacrifice and said to itself: “If I can't stop them now, then the darkness will take everything.” She knew she had to make the hardest decision, to expel fear. » in her, and she began to sow a role of resistance against the dark project.
And at that moment
The little tree moved towards the heart of darkness where the black bird waited. You don't know what to do, no one will survive, said the bird, flying over him.
But the little tree answered: If the light in my heart illuminates a path for others, then I am ready.
In a moment of great sacrifice, the little tree attached its roots to the deep earth and began to direct all its strength toward the sky, directing a powerful light that reflected its inner strength. The light escaped from his heart until it seemed to be. the whole earth was shaking.
But the darkness did not surrender easily. The black bird attacked, with its armies of traitors, to try to extinguish this light. The attack was harsh, the wind uprooted the roots, and the sounds of the trees groaned in pain. the little tree continued to resist.
At the last moment, when darkness was about to win, light rose from the roots of the tree into the forest sky. At this time, the hesitant trees were freed from fear and returned to stand beside the small tree. spread everywhere to defeat the darkness, but the price was high, because the little tree had exhausted its last strength.
At the end of the battle, the little tree was gone, but in its place it remained vibrant with life, pulsing with love for country, justice and equality. Other trees began to come back to life and the forest began to breathe freely again.
The little tree gave its life so that hope could be reborn in us so that we could return and live together in peace
Even though the darkness was gone, the pain of betrayal and sacrifice remained in the hearts of the trees. But after they all gathered around the trunk of the little vanished tree, they began to feel a new light in their souls. the homeland can only be built with love and no one can win the battle of darkness unless everyone stays united, no matter the cost.
In the end, the forest became what it was again and patriotism became the light that illuminates the sky from every tree, every bird and every stone.
Hisham Mahmoud Suleiman
