Welcome to the TREE OF LIFE: Branching Out collaborative writing challenge, where creative minds meet epic movie music. To read the collective story in its entirety and for more details on this groundbreaking collaboration with Audiomachine click HERE.

Watch the incredible Tree of Life Tribute created by Elise Fallson for the Branching Out writers and audiomachine composers!

Bringing us full circle, the lyrical soul of Amy Willoughby-Burle heralds the end of an unforgettable journey…

* Listen to the inspiring track from Audiomachine’s Tree of Life album featured in the sidebar music player

Inspiring Soundtrack: Audiomachine – Final Hope – Tree of Life

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The music of cicadas and birdsong filled Zoe’s ears. She listened closer and somewhere in the far away she could hear the neighing of horses, the calling of pups, and what could be nothing else but the laughter of children. Even the trees sang—rubbing their leaves together in the wind.

At her feet, Adam stirred. His intake of breath the clearest note of all.

Zoe knelt down to Adam and helped him up to his feet. She turned back to speak to Gaia, but she was gone. “Thank you,” Zoe spoke aloud to Gaia’s memory.

Adam breathed in deeply to get his wits about him. He called out in a whinny and there at his side was the steed on which he had first arrived.

“Where are we?” Adam asked Zoe.

“Back where started from,” she said. “Begun again.”

Adam’s horse stamped his hoof against the ground and green spread out around the three of them, running across the earth toward the sapling already branching out, stretching up toward the sun.

Like Adam and Zoe, the very earth was beginning again—just like it was meant to do. Winter’s barren had brought Adam to Zoe and spring to the Tree. Acceptance of the gift of second chance had brought Life to them all.

Zoe took Adam’s hand and placed it on her belly. There was new life budding there as well–born in those moments under the blue sky and palm leaves along the edge of the ocean when she and Adam had found passion and peace in each other’s arms.

All that she and Adam had journeyed together was reflected in nature—both human and earth. Change and choice—destiny and decision. Zoe saw them all for what they were—the serpent, the dragon, the rumble of storm and the shaking of the earth. She remembered her wings and her ability to soar. She remembered the charring of the tree and the tear that brought it back. She understood that each season of life brings with it joys and trials, tests and jubilations, magic and miracles.

Adam wrinkled his brow at his own misunderstanding. “But what is the point of doing it all over again?” he asked. “Aren’t we just repeating the cycle?”

Zoe touched her belly and thought of the baby growing inside. She knelt down at the base of the new born Tree of Life, sure that she could feel the roots shooting beneath the very dirt on which she knelt . Adam joined her and put his arm across her shoulders.

“No,” Zoe said. “Each flower is new, each branch of this tree reaches out in a different direction than before, each leaf that unfolds is as different as each new day that will dawn. And with us, all of us, each birth is a new Adam or a new Eve. A new chance. A new hope to get it right.”

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© 2013 Amy Willoughby-Burle

* Cast YOUR VOTE for favorite chapter in the Tree of Life: Branching Out saga, via private message to Sam’s FB page by August 17th.

ATTENTION FANS: You can WIN an autographed TREE OF LIFE Audiomachine album by LEAVING COMMENTS! On August 17th, two lucky readers will be chosen at random from the comments section of the story excerpts. The more you comment–the better your chances are of winning a piece of cinematic history! We want to hear from YOU!

TREE OF LIFE is available NOW! Click on the following links:

Purchase a CD from CD Baby
Download it from iTunes
Stream it on Spotify      Download it from Amazon       Purchase a CD from Amazon