The Taking Tree

The sun had just set, and the sky was a deep, twilight purple as Sally stepped away from her friends. She was used to going on adventures with her group of friends, but today she was determined to go out alone. She couldn’t explain it exactly, but she had been feeling restless and wanted to break free from the same old routine, so she decided to explore a place she had never been to before.

The path ahead of her was dark, and the trees seemed to whisper secrets of bliss and sweet release and accomplishment as Sally walked. She could feel her heart racing and her palms were sweating, but she kept walking, determined to enjoy her own adventure and to see just exactly where this could lead.

Suddenly, she heard a loud howl coming from the woods, and her heart skipped a beat several times over. She had heard stories of creatures lurking in the woods, and she started to reconsider her decision as she thought about all of the goblins and fae and vampires that could be awaiting her there. She had never gone out alone before, and she had no idea what to expect.

Despite this, she knew she was brave, so determinably Sally kept walking, though her heart would not cease pounding in her chest. The howling grew louder and, even more horrifyingly, closer, and suddenly she felt something cold and wet brush against her leg. She yelped in surprise and jumped back, vaguely aware of the seat building up in her armpits and around her neck, and stood terrified as she saw a large black wolf standing in front of her.

The wolf stared at her, and she froze timidly, unsure of what to do. The wolf moved forward and slowly started to circle her, its eyes glowing a hauntingly bright yellow in the moonlight. Suddenly, Sally realized that the wolf was not alone. Horrifyingly Sally realized there were more of them, and they were slowly closing in.

Sally was horrified and she wanted to run, but she was too scared to move, as it felt as if each other her bones were frozen in place with the frost of indecision. The wolves continued to circle her, their eyes burning with a hunger that she had never experienced before, and a sensation of which she was certain would be the last she would ever experience in her life.

Finally, Sally managed to break herself from the stupor of fear and mustered up the courage to run, and she took off into the night, back in the direction she had seen her friends last. She ran faster than she had ever run before, but unfortunately for Sally, the wolves were faster.

           The wolves chewed and gnashed at her flesh. Not a single injury was enough to be fatal, but the multitude of rips and tears on her blurred her vision, and her pain would eventually numb. Everything was turning dark, and Sally found she was no longer able to fight back; she left herself drift to endless sleep…

           Though it was not an endless sleep, Sally found herself awakening to a great tree. She did not know how, but she knew that this tree was at the center of the forest. It towered high into the sky, at least twice as high as the others, as it stood indomitable and proud.

           Sally looked upon the tree, and as she stood mesmerized by its beauty, a root of the great tree stirred in the dirt. It rumbled and stirred until it broke free from the soil and raised itself up to Sally’s eye level. Sally stumbled back aghast, and the root followed her. It wriggled through the open space until it came within mere inches from her as if waiting for something. Sally acknowledged the tree wanted something from her, so she felt no other choice but to bow her head and give acceptance. As she did so, the root moved stretched more forward, and touched the crown of her forehead.

           Instantly when the root touched her, she felt her mind being occupied with another; the sentience of this tree.

           It showed her visions of what she could be, should she choose to remain in this forest; she was a lone wolf in every sense of the word, she prowled and hunted and lived free without the expectations or judgment of others as she became one with nature. She would find a mate only if it were on her own terms, with no pressures of social parameters or what the world would expect of her with finding a lover in this life. It all felt so absolutely perfect, a dream with no expiration.

           But she then saw herself howling to the moon, looking for a specific other who would not come. Calling for friends who were not there. Asking for a family that was no longer there.

           Sally pulled away from the root and told it that was not the life for her. She knew her friends were not perfect, but she also knew she was not perfect either. She turned from the tree to leave and saw the roots stretch angrily toward her. She leaped away from them and found an exit from this grove in which the base of the tree resided in. She ran.

           She did not know how long or how far she ran, but she eventually made it to a clearing in her path and jumped through. As she did, she saw all her friends sitting around a campfire. They looked at her and acknowledged her, but they did not act as if she had been gone for hours which she felt she was, but just a mere few minutes.            

           She sat among her friends, silently noting there was hardly a scratch on her, and telling them she loved them all. She did not know what the future would bring for her, after the messages of the tree, but she knew that she was the master of her own future regardless, and did not need the help.