Deep in the woods, away from prying eyes, stands a tree. A tree like no other around, with a trunk so wide it takes five men to reach their arms around. The branches are strong and reach towards the sky with such ambition, one could imagine you’d reach the sky if you climbed it.
But no one climbs this tree. No one should dare.
This tree of frightful majesty and bark the color of coal has a story. Some might call it a tall tale. One as tall as the tree itself. Surely a tree of such grandeur and beauty could be anything close to evil. A tree, who’s fruit ripens to a wonderfully deep red and is full of sweet juice when gathered, must be something great.
And great it is. But it is also terrible.
It is said that the tree takes from anyone who touches it. It takes from any who dare to pluck the fruit from the branches. It takes from anyone who comes near.
It takes and it takes and it takes…
Until there is nothing more to give.
It is said that the fruit is red with the blood from the tree’s victims. It is said that the juice is so rich because it is full of the life force of any who dared… It is said that if you were to carve out a piece of the bark, you would see the blood running through the tree like veins.
The lore of this tree has brought brave travelers to the forest. Very few find it in the darkness. And even less return home to tell of it. The forest itself works to protect those from the tree. It will turn you around and have you walking circles until you collapse from exhaustion, because anything is better than you reaching that tree.
But those who do… They stare at the tree in all its glory. Their eyes fill with tears at the magnificence of it.
And then there are those who dare touch. Who dare to climb. Who dare to pluck a fruit from the branches. And those who dare to take a bite.
Those are the poor souls who don’t return.
By morning, their camp is empty. Their bed roll left cold and wanting. Any fruit they gathered will have gone bad, turned to mush and rot. Their companions will return home with stories of how he’d been brave enough to touch the tree. And they’d warn anyone else from attempting to do the same.
And so the tale of the tree will grow and expand, just as the tree itself.
If you find yourself in a forest and stumble upon a tree with bark as dark as pitch and fruit as red as blood… stay away.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.