And that was the only reason she had stepped back out.
Not everyone who entered the tree left it unchanged.
Some villagers who had gone missing over the years—people assumed they had been lost in the forest. But Elara knew better.
The tree did not consume bodies.
It consumed burdens.
Memories. Grief. Identity.
What remained of those who stayed too long… was not truly them anymore.
A Mother’s Decision
The next morning, Elara gathered her daughters.
“There is something I need to tell you,” she said.
Lina listened intently. Maris fidgeted, sensing the seriousness.
“The tree you found—it’s not what it seems. It can take things from you. Important things.”
“Like what?” Maris asked.
“Your memories. Your feelings. The parts of you that make you who you are.”
Maris frowned. “Why would anyone want that?”
Elara hesitated.
“Because sometimes,” she said softly, “the things we carry feel too heavy.”
Lina’s gaze softened. “Is that why you go quiet sometimes?”
Elara looked at her daughter, surprised by her insight.
“Yes,” she admitted. “But we don’t get to choose only the pain to let go. If we give up the hard parts, we risk losing the good ones too.”
The girls were silent.
“I won’t let that happen to you,” Elara said firmly.
The Return to the Tree
For days, the forest seemed to call to them.
Maris felt it most strongly—a gentle pull, like a song just beyond hearing.
“Do you feel it?” she asked Lina one afternoon.
Lina nodded. “Yes. But we shouldn’t go.”
“I just want to look,” Maris insisted.
But Lina remembered their mother’s fear.
“No,” she said. “We promised.”
And for a while, that was enough.
Until the night the storm returned.
The Storm’s Echo
Thunder cracked across the sky, shaking the cottage. Rain lashed against the windows, and the wind howled through the trees.
Elara stood frozen.
It was too similar.
Too familiar.
Without a word, she grabbed her cloak.
“Stay here,” she told the girls.
But Lina stepped forward. “You’re going to the tree, aren’t you?”
Elara didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
“I’m coming with you,” Lina said.
“No,” Elara replied sharply.
But Maris had already picked up her coat.
“We’re not letting you go alone.”
For a moment, Elara considered arguing.
But time was slipping.
“Stay close,” she said.
