The breeze slowly rolled in, forcing the branches that had already gone to sleep for the night, to dazedly wake up.

Leaves would dance around for a bit, before they once again got laid to rest, and just as suddenly as it had come, the breeze went away, leaving the tired branches to their own comfort.

But the branches had been disturbed. They had been awakened.

“I see you’re awake too” Said the branch to the left, as it stretched all the way over to the one on the right, a bit below it.

“I think we’re ALL awake” answered the branch at the uppermost top, as it shook the entire tree, so even if what it had said wasn’t true before, it would be now.

“Mmmh” Came from a few branches here and there, that were very close to the innermost privacy of the tree, not easily disturbed.

“There was no need to do that” complained a branch that was a bit away from the top-most bothersome one.

“I do as I please” The top branch said, shaking for good measure.

“Could you PLEASE not do that” complained the same branch again, retaliating with a shake on it’s own.

“Could both of you stop that” Said an older branch, that had grown thick, with small ones branching out from itself. The small ones were now copying the shaking motion that the two earlier branches had initiated, but only, it didn’t shake the entire tree. Only the old and tired branch, that wished the Wind had left them alone for the night.

“Could ALL of you stop that” said a newer branch, that was just entering the conversation. It didn’t sound too bothered by the situation, but more like it wanted to say something just to say something, being a part of something.

“SHHHH, someone is coming” said the branch that had started off the pointless conversation. The entire tree rustled as the branches tried gathering themselves together once again, while also being able to see what was happening, and who was coming.

“I’m sorry” He said, a man just barely visible in the moonlight, had walked near it and now stood half covered by the shadow of the tree that was intensely and curiously listening to the conversation that was happening.

“A sorry isn’t enough” someone answered, but the tree and it’s branches couldn’t see who.

“A sorry is all I can give” the man said, slightly annoyed, moving completely out to the limited natural light the moon was providing him with.

“I don’t have to take it, just because it’s all you can give” The unknown voice answered back, as the man clenched his teeth almost as hard as he clenched his fist.

“So this is it?” The man asked, clearly not believing it was.

The unknown voice was silent, making the man clench up even more.

Rustling of the tree became louder as the branches looked for the source of the voice, but found nothing.

“This is it” the unknown voice finally said, after a long and painful moment of almost silence.

“It’s not” The man answered back, now in utter disbelief, relaxing his entire body, as if the entire conversation had been a joke, with a point he had only gotten just now.

“I’m sorry” the voice said, sounding slightly amused, but with a deep sorrow hidden in plain sight.

“Do you really think I’ll take your sorry, when you won’t take mine?” The man, once again angry, yelled loudly, as he looked directly at the big tree.

The bigger and older branches now looked down, rustling in the lukewarm night, with no source of wind, finding a shadow beneath it’s long branches.

“When did they get there?” a smaller and younger branch asked, but was shushed by the branches near it before it got an answer, after which it didn’t dare ask again.

“I don’t. And that’s okay” The silhouette beneath the cover of the branches said in a soft voice.

“That’s okay” Spewed the man back, as if he had misunderstood the joke from earlier, only to find that HE had been the joke all along.

“That’s OKAY?” He repeated, now as a question, going forcefully forward, clenched fist raised high.

The rustling branches bowed down before he could get close, leaning directly towards him, making him take a sidestep, as he would otherwise have been hit.

“That’s okay” He whispered, disbelieving what he had heard once again, but didn’t want to take another chance on the seemingly dangerous falling tree.

There was no wind. No sound.

The moon was shining, but even the light it offered seemed dim.

“Thank you” The voice from underneath the branches said.

“You’re welcome” Said the uppermost top branch, as if it was the only one that had automatically moved to protect the mysterious source of sound and discourse that had been witnessed.

“SHH” said the rest of the branches loudly. Though the shush’es would have been easily explained as simple rustling, the sound of actual words could not.

“Don’t worry” The mysterious voice said, laughing to itself a bit.

“Your secret is safe with me. Always has been” It assured them, and then it vanished out from the shadows as suddenly and unnoticeable as it had come.

The branches was in panic. And amazement. And shock.

“Oh” The oldest branch said all of a sudden, as if it had suddenly remembered something.

“I remember something” It continued. The rustling once again took place, as the branches rearranged so they could all hear what it was about to tell.

“It was a curious human” The oldest branch started, building up somewhat of mood.

“They came to cry when we were still a fresh branch. They talked to us. So we responded. Then the human said trees doesn’t speak, so we stopped” The oldest branch took it’s time.

“But yet, the human came to talk to us quite often, getting mad when we didn’t respond. Telling it was okay to talk to THEM, and that our secret would be safe with THEM, but that we shouldn’t easily trust other humans” The oldest branch shook a bit, to make an emphasis.

“It must be the same human that was here tonight” It concluded.

“But what happened tonight, with the humans?” A small branch asked, curiously.

“That, we won’t know. That is human business. We don’t involve ourselves in human business” One of the elder branches said.

“You bowed forward with the rest of us to protect the human as well” Another branch chimed in.

“….I was simply going for a stretch after getting woken up so suddenly” It responded, slightly embarrassed.

“Me too!” A smaller branch said.

“Me three” Another said.

“Also me” Others said, here and there, making the entire tree loud and noisy with every branch jumping in on the silly excuse the elder branch had come up with.

A shook made them stop, as the uppermost top branch was asserting itself once again.

“We all did. Now go to sleep” It said.

As it wasn’t unreasonable and only midly rude, the entire tree decided to listen to it for once, and once again fell asleep, thanking the Wind for awakening them so they could protect the human, but also hoping dearly that they wouldn’t be awoken again, as there was always a loud rustle and bustle when everyone was awake.