Once upon a time, there was a young boy who loved his grandfather a lot and liked to spend his spare time to visit his grandpa. His grandpa was the wisest man on earth that the boy knew, he liked to hear some wise story that the grandpa made. They both also liked to spend their time in the grandpa´s garden and they liked to plant and take care the plants in the garden.

On the grandpa´s 70th birthday, the boy gave his grandpa a young tree because he knew that his grandpa liked trees a lot. His grandpa was so happy to receive the gift, so he asked the boy to plant that young tree together. They agreed to name it tree of hope because they hoped that one day the young tree would grow so dense so that it could be a shelter when the sun shone so bright and it could also be a place to stay for the birds.

They really took a good care of that tree so that the tree grew well actually after some times. The tree was getting taller, the branches grew stronger, and also there were so dense greeny leaves. But the season changes, all the green leaves turned to yellow and started to fall. The young boy got so confused because he thought that they already took a good care of the tree. He thought that the tree might be sick or something bad could happen to the tree. The grandpa explained that it was because of the changing season, the leaves fell so that the tree could survive in winter since the weather in winter could be so dry. The young boy got it and he hoped that the tree could survive in winter time.

The winter came and it was so cold. So many people preferred to stay at home for a while because it was the coldest winter after so many years. Suddenly the young boy thought about his grandpa a lot and he got a strange feeling that something bad happened to his grandpa, so he asked his parents to visit his grandpa soon. After they arrived at his grandpa´s house, they found that the grandpa was lying so weak on the living room floor. They called a doctor, and luckily the doctor came in a rush.

Unluckily the grandpa had a problem with his heart and it´s getting worse since he was getting older. The doctor also told maybe the grandpa was dying. This news was breaking the family´s heart, especially the boy a lot. He was so sad and he didn´t want his grandpa to die so soon. They cried together in other place, because they didn´t want the old grandpa heard how sad they were.

After some times, the family decided to live with the grandpa to take care of him. The grandpa felt a bit better even though his health was getting worse, because his family was there to accompany and look after him. His family tried to hide their sadness a lot in the front of the grandpa and be as cheerful as they could. Actually the grandpa already knew that his time would come soon and he accepted it.

On one sunny day, the spring finally came, but unfortunately it wasn´t a good day for the family. The grandpa seemed so hard to breath and his condition was dropped. The young boy sat next to the grandpa on his bed and held his grandpa´s arm. “Be strong, you can do it.” he said to the grandpa while he was crying. “You are the one who should be strong my dear child. Don´t cry, I am okay. I know that my time will come soon” said the grandpa weakly. Then, the grandpa tried to wake up, but they didn´t allow him to leave his bed, but the grandpa insisted. He wanted to go to the garden to breath some fresh air.

Because the grandpa had a really strong will, so the family took him with his wheel chair. The grandpa pointed at the tree that they planted together. The tree still had no leaves. It made the boy really sad because the thought that the tree was dying like his grandpa and it seemed like there was no hope anymore for them. The boy ran to the tree and he kneeled down, “Please don´t die.” he said to the tree. He cried with a broken heart.

Suddenly he felt someone touched his shoulder, and it was the grandpa.  The grandpa touch the branches nearby him and showed it to the boy, “You see the buds here. It will turn to new leaves. The old leaves should fall first so that the tree has enough food to survive in winter and it is able to live longer. After that, the new leaves will replace the old one. There won´t be enough space and food for all if the old and new one grow together in one tree.” The boy saw his grandpa´s eyes confusedly.

The grandpa said, “Life and death are a life process. We can avoid it. It makes a balancing. Death exists so that something new could begin. Death is just a process of changing places from the old one, who has enough time to experience the life, to the new one, so that the new one are able to experience the life itself. Because of it, this world will always be filled with something fresh and new and there are also enough places and food to the new one to live. Beside of it, new life brings hope also. So don´t worry my boy, a new beginning will come after an ending.” The boy was still crying, he hugged his grandpa because he got the meaning of his grandpa´s words.

“I may leave, but I will always stay with you, in your heart, in your memory. I will be there in any trees that you will see, in the wind that will blow. So don´t be sad.” said the grandpa. After that, he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and smiled. Then, he passed away peacefully in his lovely garden. The boy knew that he would miss his grandpa a lot, but he knew that the grandpa would always there, in his heart. The family then decided to lived in his grandpa´s house so that they could take care the grandpa´s garden that he loved so much. Beside of it, they could always keep the sweet memory of the grandpa in their heart and mind.

Several months later, the boy´s mom brought a happy news to the family. She was pregnant and the boy would have a brother in several months. The boy remembered what his grandpa said before. He went to the hope tree and touched the branches which were already covered with dense leaves again, “You are right grandpa, a new beginning comes after an ending. Now, the new life comes to our family, just like this new leaves cover the branches. Rest in peace dear grandpa. I love you.” said the boy in his heart. He knew then that they would be just fine, even though they still missed the grandpa a lot, but the life it self would always be filled with hope and joy.