Kapok: Hero Tree

Earlier this spring, I noticed a sad tree outside my window. While the HK orchids have kept their leaves and continued to bloom throughout the winter months, this tree was a naked stick with no leaves. It was that tree that prompted me to write about Atreyu and the quest to save the Empress.

A few days later, the tree began to grow huge buds, the size of golf balls. There were no leaves, but the buds gave us hope that the leaves would be coming soon. A few people commented on how quickly the tree was progressing, when it had been completely dead before.

Before long, the buds started to pop, not with green foliage, but with huge, bright-orange blossoms. The bare tree looked silly, but we were delighted with this surprise.


As I looked at the trees today, I realized that they are a sign of Easter, coming out of the dead of winter, suddenly alive and vibrant.

Now the blooms of the Kapok or "Hero Tree" are falling, and decorating the streets and bushes below.


-吴佩芙