Red Leaves and the Living Token - By Benjamin David Burrell Page 0,50

apparently satisfied with the answer.

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Moslin and Emret wandered through the crowded plaza, a wall of red stone rising up in the background. Emret kept his eyes to the decorated tile ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't look at the people in the plaza. Above all, he could not bear to look at the dead spot of earth where he should have found life.

“I don't want to see it.” He told her.

She stopped his wheel chair and knelt down in front of him, bringing herself down to his eye level. “Emret, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say.” Tears welled in her eyes. She took him in a tight embrace.

"We'll figure this out. I promise."

He looked up at her for the first time. "How?" Tears fell down his cheeks.

But then, through his blurry tear streaked vision, he saw something. Something past all the people. Something beyond the wall. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

There appeared to be a faint red glow above the wall. It looked as though it was coming from behind. He squinted. Was something there? No. He was seeing things. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, then looked again. This time he noticed a slender branch of a tree, twisting and turning into the air, just above the wall’s top trim.

"Moslin, look!" He pointed.

She turned around. "What?"

"I see it!"

She studied the wall where he was pointed then turned back to him, confused. "See what?"

"It's there! It's still there!" He pushed his wheel chair around her. "I can see it."

She stood up as he raced his chair on ahead. "Honey!" She called after him.

As Emret got closer to the wall, he could see more of the brightly glowing branches. A collage of brilliantly red leaves sprang up out of them.

Moslin chased after him.

"It's just like I imagined. So beautiful!" He shouted to her. The Tree now extended well above the wall. Its branches dense with the vibrant leaves.

Emret stopped at the wall. Not able to get any closer, he turned and followed the perimeter of the stone wall as it cornered around, hoping to find a hole or crack. Moslin dodged in and out of the thick crowd of people trying to keep up with him.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. The wall ended abruptly, leaving a sizeable ten foot section where there was nothing but an iron fence between him and the red earth. For the first time he saw the entire tree in all its radiant beauty. It's trunk and limbs swam with dazzling patterns of light. It almost hurt to look at it. He stared up at it in amazement. He'd never seen anything so incredible.

Moslin caught up to him. "Are you OK?" She followed his gaze, turning to the iron fence and the empty spot of red earth beyond." I thought you didn't want to see it?"

"Help me up," he asked her without breaking his gaze from the Tree.

"You sure?" She asked.

He nodded.

She bent down and helped him out of his chair. He put his weight on his wobbly legs. "Help me to the fence," he asked.

She supported his shoulder as he took step after careful step, finally reaching the fence. He took it in both hands. Then slowly worked his way to the space where the iron fence met the stone wall.

There was a gap. Just enough for a small boy to squeeze through. Before Moslin figured out what he was doing, he pushed his shoulder through, then quickly slid in the rest of his body.

Moslin gasped. "No!" She yelled.

The crowd ignited into a roar of screams and hisses. A guard standing ideally, by jumped to attention and darted towards the fence.

Emret stepped wobbly forward then fell to his knees below the dazzling red tree. A low lying branch hung down inches in front of him. He reached up high above his head. Straining to reach the delicate limb. Everything went silent in his mind as his finger neared the tender branch. This was his life returning to him. He sucked in a last breath as his finger glided into the surface of the tree.

But his finger didn't stop. It passed right through the branch. There was no substance. It wasn't real!

In that instant, his normal sight ended and a new sight began. He saw himself somewhere else, on a mountain side in deep underbrush, Moslin standing next to him. There was a strange object in front of him that glowed with a brilliant