Thought-provoking rainforest piece wins Royston Arts Festival Competition

The competition was open to all who live in Royston and the surrounding villages and the theme for this year was 'Our Planet'. Staying true to the assigned topic Genevieve wrote a thought-provoking and emotive piece from the perspective of a tree in the rainforest. The tree is happy when it makes friends with an orangutan, however the arrival of a 'hairless orangutan' wrecks havoc on their surroundings. 

Read 'The Fallen Warrior' here:

We are all part of our planet yet some seem to have more power than others. Listen whilst I tell you my
story. I started out as a tiny seed snuggled into my earthy duvet. Slowly, steadily I pushed my way towards the golden sunlight and unfurled into the humid air. I cringed at the brightness but loved the glorious heat. Over time I became a small sapling then developed into a towering tree. Birds nested in my branches and bugs tickled my insides. I had started out as nothing but now I was a great queen of trees with a crown of emerald leaves.

One day there was the most amazing storm. I sheltered under my leaves but could feel the bullet-like
raindrops splattering. I tasted the sulphuric smell in the humid air and could see the downpour creating tiny rivers on the forest floor. I could hear thunder like a prowl of hungry ocelot ready for its next meal and lightning cracked like beetles. A tiny orange blur sheltered on one of my branches. I could feel her caramel-coloured wrinkly feet hanging on for dear life. As the storm began to clear she crept cautiously into view and I had a new friend. Olivia the orangutan and I were the best of buddies; she slept on me and I combed her thick hair. I was her everything.

One day we heard a noise that sent chills down my trunk. It was like the great roar of a panther. What was happening? I pulled myself away from my daydreams. I felt the vibrations of a colossal thing thudding across the ground. I could see hundreds of panic-stricken animals escaping from a moving mechanism that was being controlled by… I squinted my eyes and saw something that amazed me. It was a great hairless orangutan!

Olivia chattered anxiously as the vehicle thundered towards us. I was anchored to the floor by my chain-like roots; left to face the great beast. I could do nothing. I heaved and heaved in desperation to get away but it was too late. I was forced to watch the forest be slaughtered. The creature swung its great axe as if the trees were air. But they were not. Those trees were my family; Olivia’s planet. What would we do without them? Wiping away salty tears, I saw through my bleary eyes the alien ominously turn towards me. Olivia scampered away, whimpering nervously. The hairless orangutan had destroyed her home.

I tried to feel courage in my heart but I couldn’t stop a small trickle of a tear leaking from my eyes. I stood bravely and nobly as the strong contraption crashed through the remaining trees. A habitat destroyed.

In the last 20 years, Orangutan habitat has declined by 80%. We are all part of our planet yet some seem
to have more power than others.