Zvanimir was glad that the mouth numbing effect of the herbs was in effect now as it allowed him to easily conceal any facial expressions he might make in such a situation.
Baba was still giving him curious glances, but soon turned her attention elsewhere.
“Well, a curious case you are.”
She moved towards a bookshelf that was located at the other end of the room.
“Do you know about this tomb by any chance?”
Zvanimir wanted to think more carefully about what he was about to say, but his mouth moved faster than his thoughts could.
“Oh, just a little. It’s an old place, I can tell you that much.”
Baba took a book from the shelf and began turning the pages.
“You should stay the night, let your body and mind heal. I’ll give you some supplies and point you in the direction of the nearest city.”
Her tone was a lot more frank than before and Zvanimir couldn’t help but tense up a little.
“It’s really alright. I’ve imposed on you enough already.”
A smirk formed on Baba’s face as she lifted her head to look at Zvanimir.
“No no no, don’t you worry. Think of it as a favour from a kind stranger. Just look kindly upon me when we meet again and your debt will have been repaid.”
There was no malice in her voice, nor was there anything evil. It truly sounded like she was being genuine, but there was something that made him doubt her intentions nonetheless.
“I wanted to ask, why do you live in this tree all by yourself? Isn’t there a village nearby or this city you mentioned?”
A slight chuckle came from her as she closed the book and put it back onto the bookshelf.
“I do not do well with people, or it is that people do not do well with me. Either way, I like it more on my own out here. It is peaceful, the Alcari keep most people away.”
Zvanimir felt that the answer was too vague and felt that he should press on.
“But isn’t it difficult for you to live by yourself like this? Getting supplies can’t be easy?”
Baba waved her hand at him as she brushed off his question.
“I can grow everything I need in my garden, it really is not much of a task for me.”
Zvanimir finished drinking the herb mixture and put his cup down on a table next to the bed. He slowly got up and found that he could quite easily.
His previously unmoving legs were full of vigour now and it felt like, had he had this energy back then, he could run all the way to the hills and maybe even further.
“If you like, I can help you with some work to repay your kindness. It would be the least I can do.”
Baba just began shaking her head and putting her arms up.
“No no, it really is alright, just…”
“Please, I insist, kindness should be repaid.”
The woman looked at him with an almost saddened expression. Her head moved to face one of the windows as her gaze got lost outside.
“Hmmm, maybe I can find some work for you. Do you know how to wield an axe?”
Zvanimir paused briefly to think to himself. Anticipating what he would say, Baba cut him short.
“It is not that difficult, you will learn quickly.”
-
They both stepped out to a sight that Baba was very familiar with, but one Zvanimir had not expected.
The scenery outside was a small garden, but one surrounded by a forest. The truly baffling part came only once Zvanimir looked to the sky, expecting to see the sun, but instead seeing the top of a cave with several holes present to let light shine through.
Each of the holes in the ceiling seemed unnatural, like it was strategically placed there to let the sunlight shine through onto the garden around Baba’s house if you could call it that.
The ceiling itself was held up by the branches of the large tree that Baba lived in and seeing it from the outside, Zvanimir could finally appreciate how truly large it was.
The sight was truly humbling, the towering tree, at least six times as large as Zvanimir from what he could tell, held up the cave and made room for an entire forest to grow under the ground.
“Wow, this is… “
“Nothing special, just a lucky find on my part.”
She put a quick end to his marvelling and explained that she had stumbled upon the cave and its contained ecosystem many years ago and decided to make it her home.
“Now where is that axe?”
While Baba went to look for the axe, Zvanimir took several more moments to take in the scenery and truly let all his senses appreciate it.
The quiet home of the leaves as the occasional gust of wind passed through.
The smell of the forest and all the plants that Baba had growing in her garden.
The touch of the bark that ha…
“Stop that!”
Baba broke the tranquil moment.
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“You must not touch the trees without their permission. They may sometimes hold more anger in them than you know.”
Zvanimir’s hand retreated from the tree in a flash.
“But it’s just a tree, what will it do?”
Baba shook her head and approached the tree he was about to touch.
“This one does not like the touch of human hands. They have taken many of its brothers and sisters and therefore it harbours much rage towards them.”
The words made little sense to Zvanimir, but then again, little things did in the world around him. It was likely just a hurdle he would overcome once he regained his memory.
“Now listen closely and observe.”
Baba put her hand close to the tree and began speaking in a language similar to the one she had been until that point, but there was something different about it. As if the words sounded wrong, or maybe they sounded more right? Zvanimir was unsure.
She continued to speak the language as if having a conversation with the tree itself and after several exchanged sentences, she put her hand on the tree.
“Do you see, they must be respected lest you incur their wrath.”
Zvanimir could hardly comprehend what had just happened.
“But you just spoke to it and touched it regardless.”
“Tch. Yes, I touched it, but I spoke to it first.”
“But what difference does that make.”
Baba started rubbing her eyes in annoyance.
“Come here.”
As Zvanimir approached, Baba grabbed his hand and placed it close to the tree, making sure he wasn’t touching it.
“Now, repeat after me.”
Once again, she spoke the language and this time, Zvanimir did his best to reproduce it.
“No, not like that, you must pronounce it with more vigour. Let it speak through you as much as you speak through it.”
With more vigour this time, Zvanimir let the words flow from him.
“May I touch your bark?”
Like magic, Zvanimir reproduced the words and felt the tree answer.
“I will allow it this once, because the woman swears that you mean no harm, but no more.”
Zvanimir put his hand on the tree and felt…
Connected.
In that moment of union, he understood. Understood the feelings of the tree. Understood that the tree even had feelings. Understood that it had been wronged terribly. And he was about to understand so much more when the voice of the tree shook him back into reality.
“Begone now, I have allowed you much already, you will need to earn more human.”
His hand moved away from the tree instinctively, as if heeding a command.
“What was that?”
Baba smiled and gestured for Zvanimir to follow her as she began walking towards a tree stump with an axe stuck in it. She gestured to Zvanimir to pick it up and so he did.
“That was Kaikavian soldier, most people know of it, but many have forgotten how it is spoken properly.”
Zvanimir held the axe in one hand and followed Baba as she began walking through the forest.
“So you can speak to trees if you learn it?”
“Oh, you can do much more with it than just that, but it also comes with many repercussions. It should not be spoken by those who are not versed well in its ways.”
Their conversation was frequently interrupted as Baba would stop to converse with the trees from time to time. Seemingly asking them for directions.
“But if you speak to the trees like this, how are we going to cut one down?”
“We will not kill a tree, only help it shed its old body for a new one that will regrow over the years. But to do that, we first need to find one that is wishing to be reborn.”
They continued to walk for several more minutes until finally they arrived at an old slender tree, its branches barren of any leaves and little life left within it.
Baba spoke to it and then gave Zvanimir an approving nod.
“This one wishes to try again. Please be so kind and cut it down.”
Zvanimir took the axe and prepared to swing at the base of the tree.
Just as he was about to cut into it, he stopped himself and lowered the axe.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do it. It’s alive, this would be like cutting down a person.”
Baba was silent for several moments and inspected Zvanimir closely.
“And you truly believe this soldier? Have you yourself not cut down many men in opposing armies?”
Zvanimir thought to himself, but no memories were willing to come to him.
“I don’t remember, but even then, a soldier attacks you, this tree did nothing for me to kill it.”
“But unlike them, this one is asking you to cut it down. Does its wish not make it right?”
Zvanimir stared at the tree. He couldn’t find an answer to the question, at least not one he would be satisfied with.
“Can you let me speak to it please, I need to hear it for myself.”
Baba’s lips curled into a gentle smile as she placed first her hand on the tree and then Zvanimir’s.
“The man wishes to speak to you, please tell him what you have told to me.”
There was a moment of silence before any kind of response could be heard. Then, after some seconds, Zvanimir heard what sounded like heavy breathing and a tired voice call to him.
“Huff… Please, I beg you… Huff… Cut me down… Huff… I wish to be… Huff… Reborn…”
This tree sounded tired, as if it was even difficult to speak. Zvanimir knew he shouldn’t waste its words and decided to ask directly.
“And if I stayed here, took care of you. If I made sure that you could become better without needing to be cut down, would your answer still not change?”
He could see Baba in the corner of his eye and he could see that she was trying to hide a smile.
“I thank you… Huff… Human… Huff… But I have… Huff… Long waited for this…”
The expression on Zvanimir’s face was one of defeat, but it was decided. The tree asked and he would do what had to be done.
“It will be better once it is finished, for now, just do as you are told and cut it down.”
Zvanimir nodded in agreement and began to cut down the tree.
With each of his axe strikes, he imagined the sound of the tree crying out in pain, cursing its own decision. In some moments, it seemed like he didn’t have to imagine, but rather that the tree was crying so loudly he could hear it regardless, but maybe it was just his imagination. He hoped.
-
It took time, but finally, it was finished and the three fell to the ground, leaving behind just the stump.
“Well done. Now all that is left is to chop it into smaller pieces and carry them to the house.”
Baba tried to give Zvanimir another command, but this time he seemed to ignore her words, opting to focus on the fallen tree and the stump it had originated from instead.
“Well, I presume it is better than most other humans.”
She grabbed his hand and put it onto the stump.
There was little time for Zvanimir to get ready, but he expected to feel the pain of the tree cursing throughout his own body. Instead, he was met with a feeling of bliss.
“Thank you. I shall not forget your deed. Tell me, what is your name?”
The voice of the tree sounded pained, but also relieved at the same time.
“Zvanimir.”
“It is a good name. Tomorrow I shall be no longer, but what is born from me I swear will grow in your name. May they both someday reach great heights.”
The words were touching and they helped make him feel better about what he had just done. His hand slowly lifted off the tree this time, wavering a bit as he put it back on the handle of the axe.
“Do you see now, it is good for them. We exist in the same world and harmony between us all is only natural. The people of today have just forgotten it.”
Zvanimir gripped his axe with determination. His head turned to Baba and his eyes locked with hers.
“Teach me!”
“What?”
Baba’s calm expression contorted into one of shock.
“Teach me Kaikavian.”