The Magic of the Almond Tree: A Love Story

On a cold Wednesday evening in December, I walked down the street of a quaint town where I was visiting for work. The air was clear, and the wind was chilly, but it was a welcome difference from the choked atmosphere in the city I had just left behind. There was minimal vehicular traffic, and it seemed like there were no insane drivers in this town. Compared to my town of residence, it seemed like I had stepped into an alternate universe where sanity reigned.

I was walking down the street when I came across an almond tree and immediately, I was awash with memories. In fact, you could say I had time travelled, because the memories were so vivid, you would be forgiven for thinking I was practically living them in real-time.

I remembered my first experience with an almond tree. I was a child growing up in church, and the compound had an almond tree. That tree was an iconic part of my childhood and still remains a major highlight whenever the reels of the past roll through my mind. As kids, we spent a lot of time climbing up and down that tree, eating its fruits (which were never allowed ripening), and resting under the shade of its leaves.

It was in those moments I was first unconsciously exposed to the concept of love that was not familial. We were kids then, but we loved each other dearly. Ours was a love that was created under the almond tree.

Over time, the tree was cut down to create space for a building project, and we all moved on. Fast forward a few years later to university, and I found myself in a school with an abundance of almonds. And again, the magic of almonds struck. Under the shade of almond trees, and while eating its fruit (which was allowed to ripen this time), I was exposed experientially and consciously to the concept of romantic love.

Those nights spent under the almond tree were spent talking, laughing, and living. In those moments, I understood why Percy Bysshe Shelley penned down the immortal words’ soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.

Again, the almond trees were damaged, this time to beautify the environment, and again, we moved on. But this time, I moved on armed with the knowledge of how to take the magic of the almond with me.

This descent into memory ended abruptly when I felt a hand on my shoulder gently tap me. I turned around and looked, and I understood how Beren felt when he saw Luthien for the first time. I was greeted by a beauty so dazzling and yet so gentle I was left stunned. She was seeking directions to a coffee shop. I was out for a stroll, but I suddenly had an urge for coffee. Before I left my hotel room, I had consulted my maps (a habit I developed from living in my town) and was thankfully equipped to aid her.

We found ourselves in a surprisingly crowded coffee shop, with little space to relax peacefully. We decided to order and take our cups outside. We ended up under the almond tree, and it was there while sipping coffee and talking, I felt the magic of the almond stirring again.

She had a smile like summer and a voice that reminds one of spring. Her presence was like the gentle breeze after a good rain, and in her eyes, I saw goodness, gentleness, and kindness. We talked deep into the night and had to go get extra cups of coffee. I found out she was also there for work and lived in a city different from mine.

We met up every day we were both in town, always meeting up under the almond tree, and moving out from there. On her last night in town, we discovered something interesting best described in the words of Boris Pasternak. We discovered we had been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught. And we did know.

When I returned back to my town, miles away from hers, I took the magic of that almond tree with me, and I cultivated it. I talked to her every day about everything, including the most irrelevant things, and she listened and laughed. She did the same with me, and in those moments of conversation, sharing our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and every silly thing that had happened to us, the magic of the almond bloomed, and took its ultimate form. A love that runs so deep, I couldn’t fathom any direction without it.

It’s been three years since then, and I got myself a gig that allowed me to relocate. I was tired of the seemingly endless hustle of my town, and where better to relocate to than her town. It was more peaceful than mine, yes. But the deciding factor was her presence. Her presence makes everywhere home for me.

Today, we are getting married. We bought a house in a quiet part of town, and we are going to start our lives together there. We have an almond tree in the compound. That was a big part of us choosing the house. We are going to raise our children together there, and introduce them to the magic of the almond tree.

I look forward to when we are old and grey, sitting under the tree and remembering these events I have written about. Until that day, I will love her every day, with everything I have, and together, we will flourish in the magic of the almond.