Lila's Tree and Other Stories: The world as we dream of it!

By Elise Sarkis-Talj

What if you knew what was to happen in your life and so you got a chance at amending by doing things differently?
It would save a lot of guilt and tears. And if these changes were easy things, new habits could transform your future and that of those you love into a brighter one.
What if your experience and knowledge of things in life could ensure you a better tomorrow, something you would be proud of? Something to claim as being a legacy of kindness, love and respect for humanity and the planet.
It happened to older generations, it is happening to us, it will keep on happening until we learn to replace the What Ifs and Should Haves by concrete actions and a better way of living so as to ensure our beautiful world keeps being so and the human race deserving to be the one in charge.
Let’s imagine the wrong side of tomorrow and steer away from that image, starting today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781398419087

Elise Sarkis-Talj

After three decades in the hospitality industry, Elise just decided to shift her hotelier career to follow her passion. Having a first experience with the power of the words and how good communication can build bridges across countries and people, she decided to use her story-telling skills to help make changes where changes were due, and so contribute to the wellbeing of future generations.

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About the Author

After three decades in the hospitality industry, Elise just decided to shift her hotelier career to follow her passion. Having a first experience with the power of the words and how good communication can build bridges across countries and people, she decided to use her story-telling skills to help make changes where changes were due, and so contribute to the wellbeing of future generations.

Dedication

This has been a rough ride, one of self-discovery and assertiveness.

I would like to thank my parents, Elie and Odette, for their strong belief in me; my siblings, Eddy and Viviane, for their unconditional love and support.

As always, I am grateful to my husband, Joseph and to our children: Rami, Roy and Tala, who continue to pave the way.

Copyright Information ©

Elise Sarkis-Talj (2021)

The right of Elise Sarkis-Talj to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398434035 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398419087 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgement

On my awakening journey, my thanks go to all my teachers and my students; they are indeed my soul family.

Thank you Maya Badran, Tony Shoushani, Abeer Ayash, Sarah Abdelal, Dr Niveen ElSaleh, Susan Furness, Katia Barhoum, Svenja Reincke, Marlise Ishak, Lydia Belabdelouahab; and last but not least, my thanks go to someone wonderful who is changing the face of the world, Vianna and her husband, Guy Stibal.

liliy

Lila’s Tree

The old man was sitting outside, under the tree. The bench was made of some kind of plastic of undefined colour. It had seen better days when it was of a bright orange tint.

The old man was breathing loudly; it felt like he was commanding the oxygen to enter his lungs.

Even breathing is proactive now, he thought to himself.

His back was hurting but he didn’t mind anymore. Since his wife’s passing a couple of years back, his life had changed dramatically. His waking moments were turning into a countdown.

When shall I see her again? The phrase kept echoing in his mind.

He was still hurting from the loss of her and he knew that this pain will leave him no more. They had been married sixty years when she passed away and their life together, despite all the domestic issues that are familiar to all couples, had been made of happy moments and a series of events that had bonded them even more over the years.

Since he lost her, the old man was unable to find a meaning to his remaining days. Not that he had much left to live, he thought; nevertheless, the void in his heart was starting to feel like a physical hole. His children had tried to keep him busy by asking him to help around the house or the workshop, but he was unable to perform a single task without feeling overwhelmed, as if the years had suddenly piled up on his beaten bones.

Every day, he would come out of the small house and sit on the plastic bench under the tree and get lost in his thoughts and broken dreams. Being the eldest of the two, he was expecting to go first… but then she did.

Why am I still here? Haven’t I finished all that I came into this life to do?

Obviously not, was the auto-response. Otherwise you would be long gone. Some contract has yet to be fulfilled.

He looked around him at the bare mountain ahead, the muddy water of the lake, the greyish fence around his house, the tired walls and roof, the emptiness of the sky above. Such a sad sight!

The old man belonged to the generation that believed in do-good as a payment for their place in heaven. During the early years, he was very religious and would follow the book by the line. It was only when things started