Mother puts both daughters inside the fir… See more

The Truth Beneath the Bark

That night, after the girls had gone to bed, Elara sat by the fire, staring into the flames.

She knew she could not keep the truth from them forever.

The fir tree was not just a tree.

Years ago, during the great storm, Elara had lost more than her husband. She had nearly lost herself. Grief had driven her into the forest, where she had wandered for hours, calling out to someone who would never answer.

And that was when she found the tree.

Or perhaps, she realized later, it had found her.

Inside the hollow, she had felt the same warmth her daughters described. But it had been stronger then—soothing her pain, quieting her thoughts.

It had offered her something dangerous.

Forgetfulness.

For a moment, she had been tempted to stay. To let the tree take her sorrow, her memories, everything that hurt.

But she had children.

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.