"The Tree That Calls"

There was a little boy named Ethan. He was only ten years old, but he was already scared of many. The dark, strange sounds of the night, the shadows in the corner of his room - these things scared him. But there was one thing that scared him more than anything an old tree in the forest behind his house.

The tree stood alone, twisted and dark, with long branches in the sky that looked like fingers. The villagers called it a "horror tree," but no one ever talked about it. They said it was there for centuries, and no one came back the same way, when they got too close. Ethan had no idea what they meant, but when he saw it, he always had an icy cold.

Ethan's parents often warned him to stay away from the forests, especially the trees. "There's something bad about these forests," his mother would say. "Don't go near you, Ethan. This tree is not just a tree."

But Ethan didn't listen. His curiosity defeated him. Every day after school, he went to the edge of the forest and stood far enough away from the tree to feel his cold presence, but not close enough to touch him. He wondered what was so dangerous.

One day, when the sun began casting a long shadow on the ground, Ethan decided to approach. His heart competed, but he said he was stupid. "It's just a tree," he whispered to himself, slowly moving towards it. His feet shattered onto the dry leaves as he moved deep into the forest.

When he finally reached the tree, he felt a strange shower running down his back. The smell of rotten wood and damp soil made the air thicker. The tree seemed to moan as if it were alive. The bark is twisted and dark, and its leaves are sparse and brittle. Ethan reached out to touch it, but something stopped him. A sense of fear washes it away.

When he saw it.

At first, it was just a weak movement - long, long black hair that fluctuated in the wind. But as Ethan stared, his hair began to grow and wrap around the branches as if it were alive. He grabbed the air and retreated; his heart hit his chest.

And he looked through his hair.

A face appears on the bark of a tree. It was pale, almost lively, with deep hollow eyes staring directly at him. The women's hair was long, black, and involved in the branches. Her mouth stretched into a twisted smile that changed Ethan. She seemed to have not lived in years, and her skin stretched firmly over her bones, her eyes were empty and cold.

The female voice echoed over Ethan's head once more. "You must not come. You are mine now."

Ethan tried to run, but his feet felt like they had no stones. His body refused to move, and froze in fear. He wanted to scream, but there was no sound that escaped his mouth. He was trapped and captured by the grip of something dark and old.

The tree has begun to change. The branches squealed, moaning, and bent in an unnatural way. The woman's face turned and stretched out, pulling it out of the bark. Her hair began to move as if it had her own life, unfolding around Ethan's arms, his legs, wrapping it in a choking embrace. The cold of the tree spreads across his body as ice cries in his veins.

His vision is blurry as he tried to free himself, but his hair got closer to the more he fought. He could feel the way it pulled his skin and dug into the flesh. The woman's laughter made his spirit big and loud until it was everything he could hear.

Ethan's chest felt firmly, as if air had been sucked out of his lungs. His mind competed in panic, but no matter how much he tried to scream, nothing came out. The tree branches began to bend at him, their sharp tips dug into his skin. The woman's face approached, her dented eyes reflected nothing but death.

She whispered softly: "You should have listened. The tree takes what it wants."

The last thing Ethan saw before swallowed him, the woman's face, her hair was like a tortuous snake mass, her smile changed from a cruel joy. The tree, now covered in fresh blood, seemed to sigh as he absorbed his latest victim.

And then there was nothing.

The next morning, the villagers found a tree as usual - alone in the forest. But something was different. The air around it felt heavy and dark. The floor on that base was soaked in something rainless. The tree grew stronger, and its branches continued, turning like fingers touching the sky.

The Ethan parents were waiting for him at home, but he never returned. Days passed and they called out their name in search of the forest. But the tree kept its secret. It's always had it.

Deep inside the

and its twisted branches, a new face appeared. Brass, lively, empty eyes. Ethan's face.

Tree claimed that.

And someone else would argue that it's too close.