The Cursed Tree  

John was fourteen years old when he entered the forest considered cursed by all the people in the region. They told horrifying stories about what had happened to people who despised their magic and dared to enter their territory. They said that whoever managed to get out of there, would bring a part of her back with them, forever, into their lives. And this part could be something completely evil.

He was challenged by his boarding school friends to prove that there was nothing evil or supernatural as the people of the tribe who lived in that region said, and who did not dare to visit that forest.

John didn't believe that local legend. He stopped in front of the fence and took the pliers from his pocket and cut the fence that was trying to prevent the students from entering the forest. That fence was the work of a former principal of that boarding school, who, according to the comments, had ventured into the forest.

John finished making a passage for himself and threw the pliers to the ground. He held the camera he was carrying as if he needed to check that it was attached to his neck. He looked back and his friends were drinking beer and chatting, laughing and watching John. They didn't believe that he would be able to go much further into the forest, so they set the goal of the challenge that he should bring back a photo of the whispering tree in the center of the forest.

John took a deep breath and walked slowly into the forest. He could still hear his friends whistling and shouting things at him to make him feel afraid and turn back. He walked for about thirty minutes before he felt silence prevail. This was not normal. Not even the leaves on the trees were moving and it was windy. He didn't mind and continued his walk deeper and deeper into the forest.

It was then that he began to hear whispering. These whispers turned into the voices of men and women as he progressed through the forest. Some of these voices were urging him to stop and return from there, and others were saying that there was no need to be afraid. Go ahead. John pressed his lips together and frowned. His foolish friends must have followed him there and were hiding in the dense bushes to scare him. He moved on angrily.

After walking another two miles into the forest, he found the tree. It was more of a trunk, and the moonlight gave it a grayish tint. It was the only tree there that had no leaves. He walked around it and then took several photos.

Tired from his walk, John decided to sit down for a while and leaned his back against the tree, and closed his eyes. He ended up falling asleep.

When he woke up, he wasn't sure where he was and got up. As soon as he looked up at the tree he was leaning against, he remembered everything. He must have slept for hours, for the forest, once silent, was now full of animal noises. He could make out the sound of an owl and was afraid that there were snakes around.

John took the path back, careful not to trip over any rocks or branches, or even step on a snake. The moonlight helped him to see which way he should go.

As he walked, motivated to reach his friends quickly, he heard a female giggle. The laughter had a strange echo. He stopped and looked around, but saw nothing, so he resumed his way without caring about the laughter.

When he was finally about to leave the forest, an icy white hand grabbed his wrist. He was not startled and simply stopped and turned to see who it was. Just then, he took a step back, causing her to let go of him.

It was a young woman who appeared to be at most five years older than him. She wore a wreath of flowers in her long red hair. Her eyes were the color of the tree he had leaned against to sleep. She couldn't have been more than six feet tall, compared to her sister who was that tall. He also noticed that her dress was a very light white dress that covered her heels and looked very old, and an owl, as white as snow, was resting comfortably on her left shoulder. He picked up the camera, without any sudden movement, and took her picture. She didn't mind. She just stared at him with her head to one side, as if he were a stranger there. He took advantage of her not caring and took several pictures.

She let him take as many pictures as he wanted, and he took until the battery ran out. Then he stared at her and turned red. He didn't even greet her and just kept taking pictures. So she stared at him like he was from another planet.

"Hi." He said shyly.

The young woman didn't answer but frowned thoughtfully. Then she looked back, as if someone had called her, and turned to him, staring at him one last time, before running into the forest.

John was enchanted by her. She was very beautiful. He wished he could get to know her and talk to her. He was very stupid. He could have talked to her first, and then taken the pictures. Maybe he would have even met her smile.

And with these thoughts, he easily found the place where he had cut the fence and went to the side of the school. His friends were no longer there. He took a deep breath and went back to the dormitory. His roommate, who was one of the challenges, was snoring quietly. John looked at the headboard and the radio read three o'clock in the morning. He changed and went to bed.