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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: GRATE (11/19/15)
Anjali grew up and moved to a big city far from her sea shore home. She had to find work. The city life irritated her. Everyone was always in a hurry. There was no one who had time to listen to or tell stories. She remembered her grandpa’s stories about the coconut trees that grew outside their little home. There were not so many coconut trees in the city, but when she saw one she felt a deep longing for home.

Anjali’s family had lived in a village by the seaside on the west coast of Sri Lanka for many generations. Her grandpa told her stories about his fishing trips far out at sea, but the stories she liked best were about the coconut palms that grew around their hut. “This is your coconut tree, Anjali, the smallest one here. It was planted the day you were born. We can pick the first coconuts when you are ready to start school.”

He continued, showing her each palm and told the story of each family member for whom they had been planted. “This is you uncle Sunil’s tree. It is already forty years old. I planted it the day he was born. My tree is over there. It is sixty-five years old. All the trees remind me of my family. Each tree has its own story.”

Older generations had named the coconut palm “The Tree of Life”. Grandpa’s list of all the uses of the coconut tree seemed endless. They slept on mattresses made of fiber from the coconut husk – the outer layer of fruit. Mother’s broom was also made of that husk. She cooked all their meals in a small stove burning dry coconut shells, stirring the aromatic curries with a coconut ladle.

Anjali remembered her seventh birthday. The first rays of the morning sun sifted through the feather-shaped leaves of Anjali’s own coconut tree. She woke up excited. Her mother was already up making her favorite breakfast, “appa” hoppers. Her mother had chosen the first coconut from Anjali’s tree to prepare coconut milk for the hoppers to celebrate her first school day.

The coconut that Mother used for making coconut milk was ripe. The outer skin was brown, and the husk was dry. The meat or kernel inside the hard shell was pure white. Mother grated the coconut with a coconut grater. She added a little hot water to the grated coconut and squeezed out a thick white liquid, which was coconut milk.

Anjali had to stop dreaming of home. She had to live and work in the city, and not give way to her dreams.

…

One day Anjali read a notice outside a building: “Who can eat the fruit of the Tree of Life”? That question made her curious. What kind of tree was that? She went inside the building which was full of people. She found a seat far back in the large hall. She did not realize that she had stepped inside a church.

A speaker at the front was reading from a book: “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:9 NIV.

The speaker went on to describe how sin came into the life of the first two people. Their choice had brought pain and suffering, and a constant craving and longing for ‘home’. Whoever has ears, let them hear... To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7. Many do not even know what ‘home’ they long for. The God who created us all, loves us deeply, beyond any love we have experienced before. He has prepared a way for us to return to our true home, to come back to him. He has prepared a place for us. The tree of life is available to “those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates”. Revelation 22:14.

Anjali wanted to know more. She wanted to taste the fruit of the true Tree of Life. The coconut tree was just a symbol of what was waiting for her.
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This article has been read 797 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
11/26/15
This was beautifully written and expressed.

God bless~
Bonnie Bowden 
11/29/15
I liked the MC and her view of life. It was interesting reading the facts about coconuts and how you tied it to the story of Adam and Eve.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
12/03/15
I never realized the coconut tree had so many different uses. God provides for us in wonderful ways. You really show this throughout your story, both in the beginning and the end.

The story felt a bit stilted at times. Try reading it aloud to see how it sounds, then go back and tweak the spots that make you stumble. For example, this is one way I may have edited the beginning: After years of struggling, Anjali moved to the city, far from her seashore home, to try to find work. The city life irritated her; people hustled by, never taking time to stop and chat or exchange stories. Sighing, she thought about her grandfather's farm.
I tried to use your words, but rearranged them a bit so they flowed a bit easier.

I think the story has a great foundation and a lovely message. My favorite part was hearing about the trees and how each one represented a family member. You did a nice job of pulling the topic in both as grating on one's nerves and grating the coconut. Nicely done.