In the seas of wood stumps, one lone tree stood firm. A rope tied to the highest and strongest branch held onto a little boy’s ankle tightly. He dangled upside down, his frail body swinging to the sides with the strong winds. His body shook from the cold, his hair and clothes drenched. A quiet whimper escapes the boy’s lips as he hugs himself, shuddering from the cold - and fear. How did he end up here? The farmer was not sure. It did not matter; the boy needed to be brought down.

The farmer scaled up the tree, his hands and feet climbing like many times before. It is his last tree, the only tree left for him to climb up, pick the apples, sit and read on its branches, and watch the stars reserved only for the star-seekers like him, who left the smoke-covered skies of the city to gaze up at them. Yet this boy, this little boy who can be no older than ten, cannot be the criminal who is taking down his trees. He is too young and weak to do so!

“Hey kid,” the farmer called softly, as if he was not trying to disturb his sleep.

The boy opened his eyes. His green eyes were bloodshot red, and the farmer’s heart ached for the boy. The farmer wished he had arrived at the scene before the storm came. He had told himself he would come in the morning, but seeing as it was raining and thundering that morning, he went at sundown instead. If the trap captured the thief in the storm, more gleeful the punishment for his crime will be. The farmer’s face reddened at the thought: how evil of him to leave someone like this! Thief or no thief, the boy’s physical state was not okay.

“I am going to bring you down.” the farmer assured the boy, lifting a hand in peace. The boy frowned and crossed his arms, glowering at the farmer.

“No.”

“Why?” the farmer asked, looking at the boy. Although the boy was upside down, he was serious and ready to pounce, or swing, himself at anyone who dared to defy him. The boy’s jaw clenched at the question, his fists clenched tight that they turned whiter than they already were.

“My brothers are coming to see that their trap is a success. It won't be long until they arrive here, laughing. My brothers are aware that I often take this farm as a shortcut home. Just wait till they see me like this and have some remorse for what they have done to me!”

The farmer’s face boiled in shame, but he could not hold back a small smile. He wanted to laugh at the boy. That little, narrow-minded boy!

“I hate to break it to you kid, but I set up this trap.” the farmer confessed, continuing to climb until finally reaching the boy, “if you open your eyes for a moment, you will notice all the tree stumps. Someone has been cutting down my trees, and I am trying to catch them!”

The boy blinked, looking around and gasping when he realized the massacre that was so hard to miss. The farmer laughed as the boy’s face flushed red in embarrassment. The boy still dangled upside down as the farmer laughed, but the boy was upright again.