Gilding the Lily

Photo Fiction

Brett Paufler

Page 5

"You're seriously sticking with this, a tree murdered that girl."
"Yes. But how do you know it was a girl?"
"I just assumed. Isn't it always?"

So, we've got an Evil Tree at the heart of the park. But these tree are good guys. Notice how their trunks form a sort of fence to keep the evil in?

Children in the Forbidden Area of the Park

This is the type of picture that I always think long and hard about prior to posting. At what point am I infringing upon another's anonymity? I don't really know the line. Anyhow, it's factual; it's true; this is a real picture. And I think it's a carpet or something, but if you look in the center where the kids are facing, it sort of looks like a giant fish. In story, this is where the 'body' would have been found. In reality, I think they're just kids having fun after school.

Tree Trunks that are Reminiscent of a Fence to me

More fence trees and more graffiti. I like these 'weird' trees. I grew up in the Midwest (a suburb far south of Chicago close to the end of the IC line); and so, I consider almost any tree other than an Maple or an Oak to be weird and/or exotic. And for the most, I love the lot of them. They have personality. And these particular ones call out 'Guardians' to me. If you can't hear it, I don't know what to tell you.

"So, now you're saying these trees talk to you?" And more than trees, sometimes characters talk to me. And this particular character is telling me that she's a local girl (born and bred on Oahu). And she's sort of annoyed (peeved, disgruntled, and/or has her panties in a bind) over being teamed up with the Crazy Haole Guy. And, I mean, aren't they all crazy? Anyhow, she would know what type of tree this tree is (and that tree and that other tree), but I don't, so I'm not saying and neither is she. Anyway, I've sort of interrupted her dialogue (rude Haole that I am), so let's let her continue unmolested. "You saying these trees are good, whereas the one back there..."
"Is Evil!" the Haole says breaking in, so I guess it's contagious. Anyway, "You can see it in the way he holds his branches, the way his leaves sway in the breeze."
"So, a guy tree. No surprise there. And you know it was a Haole import, too. Came with the rats, yeah?"

Truthfully, I have no idea.

Long story short, I like the way these trees look. I probably would have had a better feeling about the park if I started from this side. (There's a parking lot up here.) But I didn't. And so, I was still sort of focused on the mosquitoes.

"Mosquitoes? What mosquitoes? Are you getting bit?"
"No, not now. But I can feel their presence, sniffing for my blood."
"Are you sure you're not supposed to be on some kind of medication? Or maybe it's the Captain who should be on something sending me out with you..."
"How's that?"
"Oh, nothing. Just making a mental note. Something I need to look into for myself."
"Well, keep it down. You're giving our position away?"
"To the mosquitoes?"
"Exactly!"
"No good. They can smell your Haole blood a mile away. Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!"
"Stop it."

Upper Park In the Shade Looking on Lawn Through Trees

It's a pretty nice view. Maybe I just came on the wrong day. There had been a big rain a few days prior (complete with 'Flash Flood Warnings' beeping on my iPhone), so maybe I was predisposed to experience some weirdness... or the time was ripe for mosquitoes.

Vehicle Bridge at Edge of Park -- One Last Tree

Look at those roots, sprawling out, as if to say, 'I own this place. This is mine. And none shall pass without my say and leave.' And then, there's that bit of litter on the ground. Sort of a travesty, really. There's probably a local community clean up crew that comes by one or twice a year, but they (not I) should come more often. Or (and here's an idea), I went up to the Pali Lookout yesterday and they had a parking attendant (two of them, actually). And I don't know what they're official job title or responsibility was, but what they were pretty much doing when I was there was 'helping' folks work the pay meter. I'm guessing parking lot meter compliance was darn near 100% on account of their presence. Well, turn some local (man, woman, child, or better yet, a tree) into a Park Warden and I'll bet litter, graffiti, and whatever other nefarious activities that take place in this park would plummet to darn near nothing.

"Pick up that litter, now! Don't make me come over there," which might sound like a sort of hollow (get it, hollow) threat coming from a tree, but as we've seen, when these fictional tree characters move in story, death tends to result.
"I was just..."
"Pick it up! Now!"
"Geez."
"Now, go do your homework. No swimming for you. Don't like you walking all over my roots, anyhow. Now, I said, git." So, I guess maybe it is a Haole tree.

Close Up of the 'Fence Tree's' Interweaving Trunks

Hey, no names carved into this tree, so that's saying something.

"What? What are you doing with that knife? Don't make me drop a branch on you."

Empty Can of Soda Left on Rock in Middel of Stream (like an offering?)

More litter, that's all this picture is about. In the real, someone was probably wading through the stream or just sitting on that rock. And when they left, they were too lazy to carry out the empty can of soda. But I tend to view these things as offerings... to the River God... or whoever comes down from upstream. I suppose I have my reasons for this:

These three pictures were taken nowhere near Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden.

They weren't even taken on the same island.

Heiau at Sunset -- surfers in the background

So, um, yeah. I see this stuff a lot (like a lot). So if it looks like it might be an offering, my mind is keyed to interpret it as an offering. And that last, the soda in the middle of the stream, in my mind, that could easily have been placed there by someone on purpose in order to ward off, well, whatever.

"So, let me get this straight. You're seriously suggesting that someone left this soda there for the tree."
"Oh, no. We've gone beyond that, now. It's there to keep something or someone from coming down stream. There's no way that tree is getting past these Guardians."

Back Side of Last Tree Overlooking the Stream

Seems obvious to me, but I've noticed that what obvious to me isn't always so obvious to my travelling companions, so let me reiterate. Because of these Guardian fence trees, the Evil Tree down the way isn't going anywhere. OK, maybe he'd make it up the bank and give someone in the apartment complex across the way a good smack (maybe that carpenter, dude) as I'm sure whatever protective forced where in place in pre-colonial times were destroyed when the bulldozers came to put in the foundation for the apartment complex. But, whatever. Random anti-development environmental propoganda aside, for the most (or for the completely), we shall now leave the residents of the apartment complex behind, like forever.

"So, none of them are suspects."
"Nah."
"But they're right there. We should talk to them. Go door to door, you know, maybe one of them saw something."
"OK. I'm game for interviewing the girls hanging out by the pool..."

Or maybe it is time to move on.

A Pair of New White Sneakers Left on the Ground

And exiting the park, I found what is perhaps the most important clue we've found yet. I'm sure (about as sure as I am that trees can walk and talk) that these belong to one of the schoolgirls traipsing about in the muck. I mean, it wouldn't do to get their brand new shoes all dirty.

And as a sort of aside (or as a complete aside), I once heard this one story about a local boy who only wore his store bought shoes in and out of his front door. Left for school with them on. Took them off two steps outside. Ran around barefoot all day. And then, squeezed back into them right outside his door. Had the same pair of shoes for like ten years. Didn't matter that they didn't fit. He only wore them two steps at a time.

Anyway, so I figure they belong to one of the swimmers. But in story...

"But it doesn't make sense. She was found with her shoes on."
"You couldn't just give this one to me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Does the fact the deceased was found fully clothed interfere with your tree walking scenario?"
"Well, yeah, a little.
"Sorry, you're just going to have to dig a little deeper."
"Or a lot deeper. Fully clothed rules out a lot of the, um, more common scenarios."
"Deal with it, hotshot."

The Next Exciting Installment of Gilding The Lily

(((Note: while the pictures are real (as real as pictures can get) all the text should be treated as fiction -- or at least, unreliable. Nothing has been fact checked. Things change. And the truth sometimes only serves to get in the way of a good story. Thus, taken as a whole, these web pages that comprise this story should be viewed as a record of one man's flight of fancy as he takes a walk on a long sunny afternoon. Nothing more. Nothing less. And most certainly, no disrespect to any individual (living or dead) is intended.)))

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