What can you do in a thousand years if you are a tree? Grow up, grow strong, grow leaves, grow flowers, grow fruits if you were a tree, that’s what you do. Giving shade to people who are tired from their journey, offering them rest and peace. Giving your fruits to hungry people and animals, so they are no longer hungry and gain strength to carry on their life. Giving flowers to the bees and butterflies, letting them flourish and built their families. The flowers also bough happiness to the people who are bored in their daily life. That’s what a tree can do. It leaves warmed the animals during their sleep, producing oxygen that all living things needed. And Yet quietly, it stood there for a thousand years.

It knew her, she had appeared in its life a few times, it did not know how, but it knew it was her. When she first appeared to it, she was a butterfly, always flying busily among its flower, but a butterfly’s life is short, their acquaintance ended soon. It remembered weeping for its beloved friend as she slowly dropped to the ground. It covered his friend’s body with its leave.

Then she came back again, this time as a squirrel, making it home in its trunk where there was a hollow. She always busy herself, playing hide and seek among its trunk, they had such joy together. The squirrel’s life was slightly longer but their friendship did not last much longer than the butterfly. She rested peacefully in the hollow as her finally resting place. It weeped leaves again this time, missing her for the first time in its life.

She didn’t forget her, she returned as cute little hedgehog, hiding among its roots. She loved to play tickling with it and often tickling its root, making it laugh with the wind. Sadly, their time ended again, she chose to be under its protection forever, lying there quietly. Its was so sad that it weeped leaves for a few days.

She came to its again as a fawn, it swore to protect her from her predator and she grew into a beautiful deer. It grew branches low enough for it to feed on the tender leaves. She would sometimes rubbed herself against her, it loved the feeling of having her showing her affection. She never wander far from it, always telling him things in the soft voice of hers.  But she had a finite lifetime, she cuddled close to it in her last moment. This time, its weeped longer, wishing it can more protection and holding her closer to its. That’s wish started to change him bit by bit.

In the time, she didn’t appear. It had gain wisdom, and from wisdom, it gained power. It slowly helped more people and with that, it gained more power. Until one day, it gained the power to transform, to roam but it always remain where it was, waiting for her.

She came back, as a cute little baby. When her mother took her near the tree, she always smiled and laughed. As she grew older, she loved to play under the tree. Sometimes, the tree transform to a bird and they went to play somewhere else, that was their little secret. Even when the girl grew up to be a woman,  she would tell the tree of her every day happening. The tree felt her happiness, her sadness, her worries, her anger. It just wanted to protect her from harm, trying to get stronger everyday. The woman grew old with the tree, her last moment, she spend in the arms of its root. She took her last breath smiling contentedly in the arms of her best friend. This time, the tree nearly died from its sadness, but it remembered she would be back and it needed to wait for her so it grew stronger.

One day, he discovered he can transformed itself into an old man, he began to roam the human world learning their languages and ways. Making him wiser and gaining power. He found that he could grow younger with every power gain, but yet he was still waiting for her. He called himself Jong Kook.

He build a house for himself, he wanted to meet her as a man and not a tree. Soon after the house was build, she came looking for him, just as he would recognise her, she recognised him. They were strangers at the start, she had no place to stay, he offered her a roof, in the room that he had kept for her only. She loved the room, her eyes twinkling. She was grateful to him, he wanted to look after her forever. Their hearts beat strong together.

She was Cheom-Im. A girl who felt the compulsion to leave her home to search for something, and when she met him, she found it, she did not know how she knew, but he was the something she been looking for. She knew she had came home. They started their life together, not as husband and wife but as companion like they always were. This time however, they started communicating, the more they knew each other, the closer they get, but a human life is still too short compared to a tree, as she grew older, he stayed the same. She did not ask why, there was no need too, but she deeply missed him when she was dying with him by her side. She just wanted to come back again, to be with him again. He heard her saying that to him, he knew he need to stay strong for her.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, he waited for her. He diligently cleaned her room, waiting for her to come back, but she didn’t, he waited and waited. After fifty years, he felt hopeless, he waited to go search for her but he also afraid she could not find him, so he stayed. He slowly wither, getting older every day, until one day, he could not get out of bed, he force himself to crawl out to the door, to feel the last sunshine on his back. He looked up at the warm sun, make his last wish, hoping she had forgotten him and never came for him again. He bit by bit turned into a log.

Insects, plants resided on the log, plants and grass shield him from the rain. A young woman wondered to that place, she was tired and chose to rest on the log. As she did, tears started to flow, she did not know why, but her tears apparently did, it flowed for the soul she would never see again,  she felt so sad, and her hope lost, she was late. Late for what she did not know, but she was too late… she did not know how long she spent crying, but she must have fallen asleep.

She woke up with a jacket on her shoulder, nearby, a man was sitting on the log reading. He looked up from his book and their eyes met. They knew they had found each other again, this time, both were human.

“Hi, I am Kim Jong Kook.” he said as he extended his hand to her.

“Hi, I am Cheon Seong-Im” she replied, giving her hand to him.

Their hand touch as the orange tints of the setting sun filled the place. They smiled.