Dear Birch--The wind blows where it wishes.

Dear Birch,

No, you are not being punished, and there is nothing wrong with you. It’s true. We were made to wander the earth, but our roots are cursed to remain stationary. We can only move up—and down.

You know the wind. You feel it in your leaves. It blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. It is the same with you. You were made, by the man in the moon, and you occupy space on this planet. You grow into the sky and you grow into the ground, but one day you will no longer be confined to the earth. When you die, and pass through the Great Fire, your ashes will be gathered up to the moon, and the man living there will breathe life into you again.

He will create you anew, and plant you there beside him. You will grow into a tree of silver and gold, casting your light onto the ivory surface of the moon and up into outer space. There, in the garden of the man in the moon, you will meet the tree shepherds.

They were made to wander the earth, but after the first day, the day death entered the world, they were removed. The man in the moon took them away in the curse, and now we are confined to our own patches of soil.

Be not afraid, dear friend. Whenever you fear for your life—when you doubt him who loves you, or despair of improvement—remember that you are the wind. You are not bound to this earth, but will rise with the man in the moon and be with him forever.

Love Always,

Fir