Heart-wrenchingly gorgeous. Poignantly thought-provoking. A poem like these and beyond.

What lends the story so much poignancy is not the unconditional love the tree lends to the boy, but the passing of time, irreversible and destructive.

Someone commented that she cannot read it without crying every time, despite having read it 100 times before. Similarly, it touched my heart string so intensely and sorrowfully just now that I have to cover my mouth to avoid the shivers and tears in every page I scrolled down.

The boy used to swing on her leaves. Played hide-and-seek with her. Climbed on her trunk. Laughters spread.

As time went by, the tree was often alone, until...

"Take my apples so you can get money. Cut my branches to build yourself a house. Use my trunk to sail away."

Someone says the love is twisted, self-destructive. But to me, it's the purest kind in the world that does not require payback or rewards, a love transcending time and space to unwind time and dispel the deepest darkness — an epic love yearning to bring us to our spiritual home.

It was because of my grandma's passing in 2019 that I've realized that never hesitate to approach our loved ones when they are still here. Don't let the cruelty of time colden our instincts to warm them. Tell them some jokes. Listen to their dusty stories. Warm them with a few words of love.

They can be happy as long as you are there.

And, don't get 'too big,' 'too busy,' 'too old and sad' to hearten back to our childhood days, where endless days of singing and laughters await.