I Will Become an Apple

I Will Become an Apple

 By Nasser Yousefi 

When Little Sparrow's mother flew away, he was left all alone. He heard a sound and turned around—it was Cricket.

"Hey, Cricket, why are you singing?" asked Little Sparrow.

Cricket said, "I feel sad for your brother."

Then, Cricket chirped a sad song and said, “When your mother buried him under the apple tree, I felt so sorry. It was too soon for him to go.”

Little Sparrow felt confused. Cricket said his brother had died, but his mother told him that his brother had gone on a journey. He wondered, "Why would she say that?"

When his mother returned, he didn't say anything. He wanted to ask her, If my brother is under the apple tree, will he ever come back? But he decided to stay quiet. One day, when I learn to fly, I'll go and see for myself, he thought.

A few days passed, and spring bloomed. The apple tree where their nest was perched was full of blossoms. By then, Little Sparrow had learned to fly. When his mother was away, he flew down to the base of the apple tree, just where Cricket had pointed. With his little claws, he dug into the ground, but he found nothing.

He thought, Why would Cricket tell me such a strange story? Feeling disappointed, he flew back up to a branch and called for Cricket. But the cricket who answered wasn't the same one.

"Who are you looking for?" asked the new Cricket.

"I'm looking for the cricket who told me my brother was buried under the apple tree," Little Sparrow said.

The new Cricket chirped a tune and explained, “That cricket is gone now. You see, crickets don’t live very long.”

Little Sparrow felt sad and restless. He hopped and flapped his wings, asking, "Then how will I find my brother? Where should I look?"

The new Cricket replied, "Maybe he's still under the apple tree."

So, Little Sparrow flew down again, scratching at the soil around the apple tree. As he searched, he kept asking, Where could he be?

The new Cricket sang a gentle tune and said, "He’s there with the tree. Maybe now he's become part of it, even feeding it."

Then Little Sparrow understood: his brother wasn't there as he used to be, but as part of the tree.

Many days passed. The apple blossoms fell, and tiny apples started to grow. Little Sparrow kept thinking of his brother. Is that it? He came and went? Just disappeared? He began to wonder what would happen to him one day.

He called for another cricket.

This time, a cricket nearby asked, “What do you want to know?”

"I want to know if my brother just turned into earth for the tree. Is that all? Did he become part of the apple tree?" asked Little Sparrow.

The Cricket thought for a while and replied, “If he became part of the tree, then he’s now its life. Look at the apples—they’re full of life and sweetness.”

Little Sparrow didn’t ask any more questions. Quietly, he thought to himself, My brother became an apple?

A few more weeks went by, and the apples ripened, red and sweet. Little Sparrow fluttered up a few branches and pecked at one of the apples. “How tasty, how sweet!” he chirped. He felt a new strength fill him and wanted to fly higher than ever—over the apple orchards, the pomegranate trees, the pear and berry bushes.

He no longer feared what would happen to him one day. He knew he would never truly be gone.

He chirped to himself, “I will become an apple. I will become a berry. I will become a pomegranate…”

Yosofi.nasser@gmail.com