Under The Oak Tree 42 Novels & Stories

The basket was getting heavy, filled with the apples we'd selected carefully, when Miles suddenly grabbed my hand. "Come here. I want to show you something." He led me off the main path, down a narrower trail between two rows of trees, and then we emerged into a small clearing I hadn't noticed before. In the center was a massive oak tree, probably a hundred years old, its branches spreading wide enough to create a canopy overhead. There was a simple bench built under it with its floor stem.

Amelia's POV As I made my way through the forest, the familiar sight of the towering oak tree greeted me like an old friend. Its gnarled branches reached out to me, casting dappled shadows upon the forest floor as if beckoning me closer. With each step, the soft crunch of leaves beneath my feet echoed through the tranquil air, a comforting melody that soothed my restless soul. The canopy above filtered the sunlight into a dappled mosaic of light and shadow, casting a sense of enchantment over the secluded grove where the ancient oak stood sentinel.

But I just shrug it off. “Daddy, what’s that huge tree?” Andre voice draws Carlton’s Attention from me. All eyes trails where he’s pointing at and there’s gigantic tree at a far end of the forest. Even as we are standing up on a wooden bridge it’s still so tall and has its branch sprouting out everywhere. The tree is so magnificent and would really get anyone bedazzled. The oak tree. “That’s the oak tree.” Carlton says and someone squeals beside Andre. Griffin. Then with his eyes widen in amazement he exclaims, “The royal tree of the forest!”

I go until I’m far above the ground, far enough that looking straight down leaves me feeling dizzy. Don’t look down, don’t look down. I tell myself and look straight ahead. I’ve wrapped my arms around the tree trunk and I’m gripping tight. It’s some kind of oak tree, with large wide branches and a sturdy trunk. It’s thick with leaves in midsummer and they rustle gently in the light wind. Below is the hard baked ground and a little way away, the pool that comes down from the waterfall before the river rushes away through the forest.

Daniel muttered, “underground bunker next to the biggest tree in this area.” Our eyes moved around the ground to find the place Jake had mentioned, and landed on a large, perhaps hundreds of years old oak tree. “Move.” Within the next moment, we were out of the car and in the ground, moving cautiously with careful steps. My ears were on a high alert for any unnecessary voice. There was nothing suspicious but I knew things could not be this easy. Ace was on edge, ready to pounce out at any given chance. Daniel and I moved around the ground to find the bunker but there was no trace of it. The whole thousands of acres large ground was spread out into oblivion.

How many times had they put themselves in danger while I was too focused on war plans and elder meetings to notice? I stayed far enough back that they wouldn't hear me. Close enough to intervene if something went wrong. The trees grew thicker. The light grew dimmer. Shadows stretched long and dark across the forest floor. Still, the children kept running. Finally, they stopped. A massive oak tree loomed ahead. Ancient and gnarled. Its roots twisted up from the ground like frozen snakes. Its branches spread wide, blocking out what little remained of the evening sky. Carl and Karin dropped to their knees beneath it.

Colton looks like he wants to walk into a tree. I shake my head, unable to stop the small smile tugging at my lips. “You two are terrible at lying.” Oakley beams. “Thank you.” “That wasn’t a compliment,” I say. “It felt like one,” he replies. Colton exhales slowly. “Let’s just… move on. The orchard is this way.” Oakley nods quickly. “Yes. Orchard. Trees. Fruit. No mysterious healer prophecies there.” Colton mutters, “Hopefully.”

“He hasn’t released me.” “He will.” The certainty in her tone leaves no room for doubt. “What if he never does?” Her head tilts slightly. “He will.” Silence hums between us. “Where?...Where can i find you?” I ask. The clearing shifts. The trees blur and rearrange. The vision expands outward like a map unfurling. I see forest stretching westward denser, darker. A narrow trail barely visible beneath overgrowth. A river cutting through stone. Then a massive oak tree. Its trunk is split clean down the center, blackened along the jagged seam as if lightning once struck it from sky to root. The top half leans precariously but still lives, branches heavy with leaves.

Then Amber felt it too. “What is that?” “I think the tree is trying to communicate with us.” “What?” Amber looked shocked. “Let’s just go see.” Isabella continued up to the top and stood under the tall oak. She looked at the leaves and half rotten acorns around its base. “It’s a black oak.” She whispered to Amber. “How can you tell?” “You have to look at the leaves and the acorns. Those are black oak leaves and acorns.” “Okay.” Amber looked up at the tree.

The sound of soft weeping draws my attention to one of the few remaining trees on the lot, a large, aged oak that at this distance I can see a patch of pale skin contrasting with the tree's wood. I change the course of thoughts of the past with the inopportune curiosity of discovering who is hiding, I look over my shoulder confirming the endless line of associates sucking up to the most important new name within the mafia, with his pet dog beside him feigning pain with the loss. The funereal atmosphere is not strange, the cold wind raises some fallen leaves despite the clear sky at that moment the announcement of the storm lurks around the corners like the darkness in my chest, hidden by the