Areeba and the Time Eating Tree
What happens when the tree at the edge of Bramble Hill isn't just a tree, but something hungry?
In this episode, Areeba walks past the tall, dark tree every day on her way to school. Her sidekick Puddle (a tiny green frog with golden toes and an odd talent for predicting rain) refuses to go near it. Then one Monday, the tree splits open to reveal a brass pocket watch ticking backwards, and suddenly Areeba can feel time pressing against her, laughter from last week, a scraped knee from last month, birthday excitement from three years ago.
Inside the hollow tree, a spiral staircase leads down to tunnels where memories drip from the walls like liquid, and at the heart sits a clock surrounded by lost things: old shoes, faded toys, notebooks that vanished from pockets and were never found again. The tree has been feeding on stolen time for decades.
But Areeba is the first person to make it blink.
Haunting, lyrical, and deeply imaginative, this is a story about confronting something ancient and hungry, about the weight of memories, and about a girl brave enough to wind time forward.
This story proves what one Year 6 student told us: "The only superpower you need is imagination."
About the Story
Story Type: Dark fantasy with time-bending mythology
Themes: Courage, memory vs. consumption, restoring what was stolen, the weight of moments
Setting: Bramble Hill, inside the hollow heart of an ancient tree, spiral staircases through roots
Key Elements:
- A tree that feeds on time itself
- A frog sidekick with golden toes who croaks warnings
- A brass pocket watch ticking backwards
- Memories as liquid dripping from tree roots
- Floating images of the town's history: the park before it was built, the street before houses existed
- A clock at the tree's heart surrounded by lost trinkets
- The line: "All trees remember, but I consume"
- Time screaming as stolen moments rush back into the world
- Puddle's thunder-croak that makes the tree recoil
Why This Story Matters
Areba has written something genuinely unsettling and beautiful. Notice the sensory precision: bark that "peeled like old paper," roots that "cracked the pavement," time that "dripped from the walls" like liquid. Notice the philosophical depth: the tree doesn't just steal objects—it consumes moments, the intangible weight of lived experience.
And that confrontation, "This doesn't belong to you", followed by the tree's reply, "Then give it back"? That's dialogue with moral complexity. The tree isn't purely evil; it's ancient, hungry, operating by its own logic.
When children are given complete creative autonomy, they don't write simple good-versus-evil tales. They write stories where trees have been feeding for decades, where frogs croak like thunder, where the protagonist doesn't destroy the villain but makes it blink—makes it recognize, for the first time, that someone sees what it's doing.
This is sophisticated mythology-building from a child who understands that the best monsters aren't just scary—they're inevitable, until someone finally says no.
About StoryQuest™
StoryQuest is a validated methodology that achieves 100% engagement across all learners, including reluctant writers, boys, and students with SEND. The approach is simple but profound: give children complete creative autonomy over something that truly matters to them.
Resources & Links
Bring StoryQuest to Your School:
Visit my-storyquest.com to download the curriculum guide and discover how your students can become published authors.
Start Friday Night Storytelling at Home:
Download Gabriel's StoryQuest Family Kit at theadventuresofgabriel.com
Read Gabriel's Adventures:
The international #1 bestselling series that started it all, co-authored by Kate Markland and her son Gabriel Khan. Available at theadventuresofgabriel.com
Connect with Kate:
Website: katemarkland.com
Share This Episode
Know a teacher struggling with reluctant writers? A parent whose child says "writing is boring"? A school leader looking for proven literacy solutions? Share this episode with them.
Because every child has a story. And when we give them the freedom to tell it, extraordinary things happen.
Keywords
Child authors, creative writing for children, literacy education, reluctant writers, StoryQuest, student engagement, children's storytelling, authentic writing, educational innovation, child-led learning, dark fantasy, time travel, magical trees, frog sidekick, mythology, memory stories, atmospheric writing, UK education
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Production: StoryQuest
"When given complete creative control, children don't just create great stories—they discover their voice. And that voice deserves to be heard." — Kate Markland