Behind The Trees Novels & Stories

Women. Flying back over the woods, we can no longer sense the mark. We try to see through the dense branches. If it is true that the black trees grow with the blessing of the volva, then the other half of the legend is also true. The black trees will protect the volva that bless them. We continue to fly until the sun starts to rise, circling over the farm multiple times. No new tracks appear. The scent doesn’t change. Before heading back to the city, we return to the farm, one more time. The only movement we see is from a rooster outside a high walled yard. Bjorn bellows out his frustration and I echo it.

There was a sudden shift in our surroundings. The air had gotten more dangerous. We were no longer the only ones standing uninvited on the forest ground. Something was moving behind the trees, something that couldn't be seen, it only showed its presence by the rustling sound of leaves. My eyes finally caught a glimpse of something or someone moving behind the trees at an unnatural speed. I gasped. "Shh," the stranger who was hiding me behind himself whispered. The mark on my wrist flared up, and I held it with my other hand, not looking away from the trees.

A small procession is led by a man followed by a young man and two women. They followed the path, climbed the steps carved by the river, crossed the path of the betel tree, then disappeared behind the thickets of trees. They reappeared on a small road, crossed the second pedestrian bridge, and entered a clearing full of barking trees. The trees swayed in the wind, and it was still drizzling.

I ask, even though I already know. Tai shifts, his footprints leaving marks on the ground before us. “Dead matter, leaves and so forth. I could have torn it down, but I like it.” “You like a bunch of dead trees?” I question, watching warily as he drags a finger between the rivets of the trunk of a tree, pulling it back to show me the creamy mix of ash. I’m trusting him, believing that this isn’t going to kill me. For all I know, he could be immune to this, and in five years, I’ll feel the affects of this devastating landscape.

We passed a lot of brightly green trees that looked strong and full of life. The car abruptly comes to a stop and Blake exists with me following behind. What might look like an ordinary spot with trees suddenly becomes a dainty the moment Blake moves the long huge branches aside. A waterfall is visible from our standing area and deep water below us that look so clean with different colored leaves from the trees in it.

Kevin presses the granola bar into my palm like an oath. We turn toward the path, the roots stepping us down as if the forest itself approves. Behind us, the Mother Tree whispers in the breeze, and under that whisper, softer but steady, I swear I hear it—the slow, patient sound of something shifting in the foundations. Not thunder. But something brighter. A beginning.

"According to the maps, the Convergence site lies just beyond that stand of silver trees." The silver trees in question tower two hundred feet into the air, their metallic bark reflecting light that doesn't come from the sun. Between their trunks, space seems to fold and unfold like origami being continuously reshaped by invisible hands. "That's not on any of Dr. Winters's maps," Marcus observes, studying the impossible grove through binoculars. "Because it didn't exist yesterday," I realize, extending my perception toward the trees. "The corruption is building defenses, trying to prevent us from reaching the central site."

He said outside, and I'm here, yet he isn't. Annoyed, I rest my back against the side of the building, ignoring the fact that the humidity probably has my hair looking like those native bushes. Suddenly, a rustle in those exact bushes catches my attention. Everywhere you look, there's trees, with Grayson's backyard basically being a forest. Clearly it was too much trouble to remove at least some of the trees, so my assumption is they must be protected. Either that, or people are too scared of what lives on there...

It is a painting, not a photo on display. My eyes were busy looking at the room's state until I met the door that led to the backyard. The door was made of glass. I opened it to see more clearly what was behind it. Beauty in all true green. Very expansive backyard. The ground on the lawn was covered with grass, which felt smooth. Trust me. There is no fence here, only the border of the yard with dense pine forest. Yes, I can see the woods in front of me. Various trees grow there, but the dominant one is the pine tree. Strangely, even though the weather can be said is clear, the forest is like being covered in fog. It looks peaceful but also suffocating. Almost no sunlight was able to shine t

I can’t help but chuckle, “You sound like you can’t wait for those five months, two weeks and six days to be over.” “More like I never want to it to end.” he says as he pushes the door open, I am temporarily blinded by the light, his arm comes up and shields me, and when I look up again, my eyes had adjusted, and I was met with another field that went on forever, it was so beautiful, I tried not to blink, in case I missed anything. And thank the heavens I did not, there were five huge horses grazing around. My eyes almost fall out of their sockets. “Horses? you have horses?! in your backyard?!”