The Lonely Tree

They loved being together, especially alone together. They spent time in the woods and they had noticed a tree that stood alone, they weren't too sure what sort it was.

Spending time under that tree during the summer, became very special and gave them some beautiful memories.

One day they took a penknife and carved a heart and their initials, and they thought it would be there forever, another symbol showing how much their love for each other had grown.

They looked, it was beautiful. Then they kissed and hugged. As they kissed they closed their eyes and spent an age in heaven with each other.

They finished their kiss and looked at the heart and were shocked.

It was bleeding.

This was not sap, this was blood, it looked like human blood, and it was flowing as though an artery had been cut, pooling is a crimson puddle at the foot of the tree. Flies and other insects landed in the puddle,

They touched the flow of blood from the heart, it was warm, as though it was flowing from a living body.

They ran but knew they had to tell someone so reported it to a policeman who they saw as they left the woods.

He called it into the station and some officers and specialists landed at the tree.

They cut back the bark and were shocked to find the body of a man in the wood of the tree, and he was still alive.

As they tried to cut him out they saw that the tree was feeding him through fibrous intrusions. He screamed as they cut him free, and moved him into an ambulance.

He was placed in a solitary room in the hospital and seemed to make fast progress, eating and conversing with his carers.

He looked about forty-five but claimed he was two thousand years old.

He said he had been imprisoned in the tree by the spells of druids for becoming a Roman legionary. They said the Gods of the Forest would not tolerate traitors and so his body would be used to feed the trees.

But the tree had fed him and let him see views of his village, which was now a town, but though he could not move, he felt at peace.

He thought the imprisonment was meant to send him mad, but it did the opposite, he saw and he learned and he was content, and now he was free.

He knew he would not be allowed into the outside world yet, but he was given reading material and was given a television and shown how to use it.

His time in the tree had sharpened his mind and turned him into a very fast learner.

After a few days, he knew he could walk out of the facility, they would not be able to stop him, but he also knew that once his existence was known about he would be a target. He learned about the media and how they cared for nothing but selling products making money and broadcasting sensationalism which most of the time was a pack of lies.

He evaluated the situation and decided that his current location would be fine until he decided on his next steps.

The people here were pleasant and they fed and clothed him, and had given him access to the whole world in various portal forms.

For the time being he had everything that he needed, and he knew at some point that he would want more.

When that day came he knew he would take all he desired to satisfy his wants.