In the way.

“where has the tree gone?” “They cut it down” “Awww” A snatched conversation between a couple of kids, a boy maybe 10 and girl I didn't see as I cycled home. I'm not sure why they cut it down as part of the new house development, didn't seem to be in the way. The branches fanned out so that there were often children up in its heart laughing and testing he world limits “to the end of the road and no further”. Awww, That stayed with me for days. Had the residents asked the developers to quietly remove that old thing as part of the “new builds” so that they would no longer be disturbed by the children who venture as far as the junction or had the company decided the delivery lorries might not get past? Either way as I cycled home I noticed it was gone, that silent sentinel to the passing of generations. There were often children climbing in its dark foliage, and now there are just parked cars and the replacement sapling, small and unlikely to grow that strange shape that invited hidden youngsters to plan their pirate escapades or feel safe enough to occasionally taunt the passing adults. It wasn't a tall tree, it didn't need to be, they were just children and it seemed big enough, like the world.