The Magic Bonsai Tree



a local-context ESL story by Dan Castalez and Robert Bruce Scott
June-July 1988

Every day, as Hitachi walked to SIU-C at Nakajo with his classmates, they talked about a gigantic bonsai tree in the cemetery near their path. None of them had ever seen the tree up close, but they knew that it was supposed to be magic. The people of Nakajo said that if you ate the leaves of this magic tree the river monsters would creep into your home at night and raid your refrigerator. Hitachi proudly boasted to his friends, "That story does not scare me."Hitachi came from a large city and had received an excellent secondary school education. He thought of himself as a pretty sophisticated guy. So the whole idea of river monsters and magic seemed ridiculous to him. He continued to brag about his fearlessness until finally his friends said, "O.K., big manh, if you're so tough, we dare you to find that bonsai and eat the magic leaves."


Now Hitachi was faced with a real problem.The problem was that the Nakajo police chief had told his friends and him not to go out alone at night. But after dark was the only time that Hitachi could enter the cemetery, because it was sacred ground and he didn't want people to see him. So, by eating the leaves of the magic bonsai, he would be breaking city law, religious law and magic law. But he had to do it anyway: he had to follow the stronger laws of curiosity and adventure.


Having decided to take the dramatic step, Hitachi drew up a plan of action. First, he would wait until his 20th birthday--in just four days--because he always felt extra-special on his birthday. Second, he would not tell anyone at school until after he had actually done the deed. And, he would call his very best friend from high school to ask her advice about his situation. Feeling like he needed to talk to someone he could trust, he dialed her number and waited anxiously as the phone rang and rang. For some unexplainable reason, Hitachi began to sweat.After the 20th ring, just when he was about to hang up the telephone, Hitachi heard a soft voice over the phone line: "I was expecting your call." Hitachi explained his situation and waited for a response. After 15 minutes of silence, her voice came across the line again. "Sorry, I had to finish eating supper. While I was eating, I realized that the only thing I want to say to you is this: do what you want to do and be what you want to be." At the same time she was saying this, a cool, refreshing breeze blew past Hitachi. Now his mind was calm. The only pressure he felt was his own blood pushing through his veins. "Thanks," he said, and hung up.


Birthday. Here comes the sun. No sleep. Can't eat. Check the fridge anyway. Go out. Nothing doing. Day goes on and on. No party, no calls, no visitors. Sun goes away. Think, man! Think about the past four days. Think hard. Time to prove yourself. Time to prove to yourself you're really worth something. Now it's getting real dark. Time to get going. Move. Tell the legs to move. Yeah, O.K., here's the place. Get over the wall. Breathing hard. Why's everything so loud in my head? Can't think. Pass the graves. Leaves all over. Ground's real soft. Hey, I'm sinking. Wait. No. There. That's it. That's gotta be it. Man, it's incredible. Glowing. The Bonsai! Hitachi knelt down in front of the glowing tree and said a prayer to Nature. This was something new for him. Nothing in school had prepared him for this encounter with the magic bonsai. He thoughtfully and carefully picked off only enough of the bright leaves for several people to eat (somehow he knew he would have company at home). As he took each leaf, Hitachi thanked the tree for sharing its life force with him. When he had enough leaves, he knelt again for a moment and then quickly left the cemetery. It started to rain. Hitachi stuffed the magic bonsai leaves in his shirt pocket under his coat, and ran the rest of the way home.


Eat the Leaves?

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