Once upon a time, an old lumberjack used to live in the middle of the forest.

His life was simple: he woke up early in the mornings, cut down the trees that he marked the previous days, then he would go around the forest looking for shrooms while also marking old trees for the following days.

Before the sun set, he would go back in to his comfortable house to enjoy his homemade stew.

Life was simple.

Day 1)

It all started as an avarage day, the man woke up early in the morning, eating his breakfast, grabbing his trusty axe, silver pendent and bag before going to chop trees in the woods.The temperature was colder than usual, wind was starting to form.

After the man was done working, he headed back to his comfortable house, ready to make his usual dinner, mushrooms soup.

During his afternoon walks the man found some peculiar mushrooms laying around far from the normal trail, they were black with white spots, way bigger than a normal mushroom and seemed like they grew in groups. They looked very similar to a species of shrooms that the man used to eat but were now almost extinct.

Looking around for more mushrooms in this unexplored area the man found a weeping willow.

(Strange) the man thought to himself (I have never seen a willow in this forest.)

The willow was old and twisted, towering in the middle of a large clearing in the woods, surrounded by the same black mushrooms that the man found earlier. The wind was producing weird noises, like a far away voice whispering.

(How did i never find this place before?) The man said confused to himself.

Apart from the peculiarity of this place, the tree looked ready to be harvested, his huge size would provide so much wood that it would take days to harvest it all.

Cutting down old trees also provides room for newly born trees to grow, and this one seems like it's not allowing anything else to grow in his proximity, except the mushrooms.

The man grabbed his trusted knife and carved the willow with an X.

Then he proceeded to harvest all the mushrooms that his basket could carry before the sun started setting.

(It's getting late)said the man to himself before grabbing his basket and heading home.

He was satisfied, he found new excellent old tree for wood and a basket full of delicious mushrooms, he couldn't ask for anything better than this.

Day 2)

The man was immobile and unable to move, talk or scream, the wind was laughing at him. He was in the middle of the forest, with the tail of his eye he could catch a glimpse of the old and twisted weeping willow.

A light could be seen in the distance, a faceless figure with an axe was getting closer.

The faceless man put his hand on his chest, and after muttering a few indecipherable words, he struck in to his bark.

The man woke up sweating, (what a terrible nightmare) he said with a hand on his forehead.

The man woke up late, the sun already arisen.

He couldn't afford to waste any more time, his wood was essential for both to warm himself in the upcoming winter and earn a living.

The man quickly dressed up, grabbed his neckless from his night table and rushed downstairs. Then he grabbed his trusty axe, knife and lantern and went outside to start working.

It was too late to eat his breakfast.

The man was behind schedule, he couldn't afford to cut down all the trees that got marked the previous day, so he had an idea.

(The willow is way too far away from here, I shall do my work as usual and cut it down tomorrow.)

The man started working, cutting down tree after tree and gathering the wood. Working was good for him, even tho he rarely get to experience company working keeps his mind occupied. Not like he is looking for company anyways.

After hours of hard work, the man reached the final tree, an oak tree. Some of those weird black mushrooms started forming on the base of this tree as well.

The man marked this tree a few days earlier,this mushrooms must have grown in less than 2 days. The tree had a pretty big trunk so even if he could take it down today he wouldn't be able to bring the woods home before night, however the lumberjack decided to get on with the work and started chopping.

In the distance, the lumberjack took a glimpse of something strange, the willow.

(Weird, I thought it was way further north) though the old lumberjack.

Is it possible that the old man was mistaken? He roamed these woods since he was a child, it's impossible that he got lost.

The man decided to shake the thought off, maybe he was just tired and misremembered where the tree was.

A painful headache started forming inside the man's head, the man could have sworn that something else was roaming the forest making sounds of breaking twigs and leaves.

After a few minutes, the oak was down and the lumberjack started chopping, occasionally glancing around himself and over the willow.

The wind was as strong as always, making the sound of a deep howl.

The lumberjack didn't feel at ease, paranoia was starting to set in. He was starting to sweat and his head pounding with pain, maybe skipping breakfast wasn't such a great idea.

Coming back home, the man occasionally glanced back, feeling like someone was watching him without ever seeing anything moving, the man couldn't even hear the chipping of the birds or the sound of squirrels digging inside the trees.

Once home, the man rapidly locked the door behind him, taking a sigh of relief.

He cooked this food as usual, the mushrooms that he found next to that willow would have lasted for a few days. His stew, formidable as always, managed to take away his pain and his headache. The mushrooms has a sweet taste and a gummy consistency, it's hard to know when they are cooked when their base color is black.

After such a stressful day, the man fell asleep due to exhaustion in front of the fireplace, sitting in his chair, holding his pendant, without a care in the world.

Day 3)

The man woke up in the middle of the forest, right under the willow tree gently holding his head on its roots. It was the middle of the night, and there were no lights on sight.

The man knew that he shouldn't be there, traveling at night it's extremely dangerous. Suddenly, he heard a voice, or rather, someone screaming in anger.

He couldn't make out the words that were screamed to the wind, but he could feel their rage.

The man tried to walk towards the source of this sound, hoping to find civilization.

In the distance, the man could see a light, a bright light, so bright it started illuminating the sky.

(A city?) The man thought to himself, but when he saw the source of the light, the man froze horrified.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

His home was engulfed in flames, the trees around it were also rapidly catching on fire, a shadowy figure was standing in front of his front door.

The man was outraged, he started yelling (who are you! What did you do!) before he started running towards the shadowy man in front of his house.

The flames were expanding at an alarming rate, the man in front of the house slowly turned back.

The man had his face, completed devoid of any emotions and covered in blood.

Before he could do or say anything, the man heard a sound coming from the woods behind him, someone was running in their direction.

But before he could see what was coming from the forest, the flames engulfed both him and the doppelganger,

And then he woke up.

The man was soaked in sweat, the chair he slept on was emanating a nauseating stench.

(Ok, maybe I'm just sick. Today I will rest, if I don't get well by tomorrow I shall go to the nearby village looking for a doctor).

After cleaning himself up the man spent the morning at home, warming himself with the fireplace.

The wind howling like a pained animal, it's sound drilling into his mind worsening his headache. He wasn't use to rest, working was the only thing keeping his mind occupied, and now a sense of dread was starting to take him over.

The wind was getting worse and the man decided to look outside to check the situation, he wouldn't want the wind to tear his roof off.

In the distance, the man noticed something, Long branches with long thin leaves, the willow was right on the hill a few kilometers away, next to the road that leads to the village.

It was waiting for him.

The man became pale, jumped back and started barricating the house with planks and needles.

(It won't get me, I just need to wait for someone to help me, I just need to wait)

Once he was done, the man grabbed his trusty axe and sat in front of the window, staring at the willow until night came.

The man fought vigorously to keep his eyes open, trying to catch a glimpse of the willow moving, but eventually, exhaustion took him into a deep sleep.

day 4?)

(This has gone for long enough)

The man was walking in the woods at night, a lantern on his hand, his trusted axe and shovel on his belt and a mysterious bag on his back.

The man looked exhausted, covered in blood, but he had a job to do, he couldn't stop now.

After reaching an old willow the man started digging.

It took hours, but in the end he managed to dig a grave big enough for the bag in his back.

The man unceremoniously threw the bag inside the hole, looked up and started laughing.

(I'm free) the man told himself.

Then, he quickly buried the grave, hoping no one would find out what he has done.

<>

Mark abruptly woke up. Panicking, the man looked at the window, the willow was gone.

There was a deafening silence outside, the wind completely stopped blowing.

Mark couldn't see the tree from the window, he told himself (it must have moved again).

The man started checking all the house's windows, making sure that the boards on the windows around the house were intact.

Suddenly, mark heard knocking.

He froze in place, terrified.

After what felt like an eternity, the man decided to slowly walk towards the door, he looked outside with the peephole and saw the trunk of the willow right outside of his door.

Mark screamed panicked and ran upstairs, closing himself inside his room and curling up in a corner, holding his pendant tight inside his fist. He could now hear the whispers clearly, calling his name and they where laughing and laughing and laughing.

Day?

[It's been a few days since we didn't get any news from the old lumberjack, he is 2 weeks late, I need you 2 to go check him out and if he is dead, bring his belongings to me, he has a debt to pay.]

Carlos{You heard him, let's see if old man Karl kicked the bucket or not}

Yaro(Augh, fine)

The 2 guards started heading north.

Yaro( So what did you know about this old man?)

Carlos( It's just an old lumberjack, living in the woods alone. He doesn't often visit the city)

Yaro{Why? Does he enjoy being alone?}

Carlos ( He surely doesn't enjoy company, not after his wife betrayed him and went living in the bigger city with a wealthy man. The poor man also lost his child soon after. I guess he doesn't trust other people anymore)

Yaro{Daam, still doesn't he risk going insane?}

Carlos( Of course, I could never live like he does, but you can't exactly force him to live in the village.)

The 2 reached the old house in the middle of the woods, all the windows were boarded up.

Yaro{wow, I guess he snapped}

Carlos( let's go check and be careful, he might be dangerous)

Yaro{For sure}

The front door was blocked, something was placed behind it to prevent it from opening.

Carlos (let's find another way, look around the house)

Yaro nodded and the 2 started circling around the house.

The house had an abandoned backyard with several plants and trees, including a beautiful huge weeping willow with an x crossed over it.

Yaro{Daam ,did he marked this to take it down? Such a waste if you ask me}

Carlos(Focus, help me open this door)

The 2 started banging on the door untill the lock broke open and they fell inside the kitchen.

The house looked abandoned, dust and bugs covered the floor, the sink was in an unpleasant state, black mushrooms started growing over the left over plates.

Yaro gagged, then said{dude, what is this stench}

Carlos answered(Rot)

The 2 slowly started exploring the house, a huge cabinet was dropped in front of the front door, the fireplace was full of cold ashes. A chair placed In front of the fireplace had also started growing mushrooms, and right in front of it, a pool of dried blood stained the floor.

After exploring the ground floor, the 2 decided to go upstairs.

An overwhelming smell of rot could be felt more and more intensely after each step.

When the 2 found the source the source of the smell, yaro went puking inside another room wile Carlos waited for his return, staring at the rapidly decomposing body of Mark.

Carlos got closer to inspect the body, knelling next to him.

Mark was covered in black oily mushrooms sprouting from most of his open wounds, wounds that looked like he made scratching himself. His eyes were missing and part of his tongue was on the ground, rotting on his own.

On his hands, a silver neckless hold in a tight clutch.

Carlos(It looks like he rly got mad and killed himself, or maybe he consumed this undercooked or poisonous mushrooms. Pity)

Then he got up, and told to yaro(if you can't stand the smell, go outside, grab s shovel, start digging)

Yaro nodded and went outside, relived to finally breathe some fresh air.

In the meantime, Carlos kept investigating around untill he found the old diary of Mark.

Since he wasn't interested in anything other than he's death, he skipped right to the last pages.

The last lines of the diary were written in a rushed and trembling way, with stained of coughed blood all over them.

[It's still outside, it's waiting, I can't open the door, I can't escape.

The wind is caring it's voice, it's laughing at me, mocking me. I just need to wait for someone to come looking for me, yes I can wait, I got food, yes I wait, I wait ...wait.]

The word wait was written all over the page.

On the following page, there is only one phrase: [Nobody came for me, please forgive me son].

Carlos then placed the book back on the desk and said(Daam, he did got crazy)

Yaro came back upstairs, covering his nose.{Done}

Carlos forced Mark's fist open, the sliver necklaces has a photo in it, the photo of a kid.

After a small pause Carlos told Yaro(ok then, you want the legs or the arms?)

Yaro reluctantly responded{legs}

The 2 carried the body downstairs, a grave was now present in front of the old willow.

Yaro{I think something else was buried there too. I found small shattered bones in it, maybe this was his dog?}

Carlos looked at the bones, trying to hide his shock. Those were not dog bones. They were small and shattered, like of someone hit them over and over again.

But this wasn't worth time, the body in their hands was stinking worse than death.

The 2 threw the body in the pit and the buried the remains.

Carlos crossed his hands and said(What is dead is dead, let the past die)

Yaro{was that supposed to be a prayer? You such at this}

Carlos(Yea yea, whatever, let's garb some valuable things and let's head back)

The 2 kept exploring the house,they found nothing of note, only trash and rotten food.

Before heading back, Carlos looked at the building, if the mushrooms were to blame for the lost of sanity of Mark, maybe burning them would be the best choice to avoid future incidents.

Without saying a word, Carlos took one of his torches and lighted it on fire.

Yaro{w-What are you doing?}

Carlos threw the torch at the building, the old wood immediately catching on fire, then he said (I told you already, let the past die)

Yaro didn't say a word, he was just happy he wouldn't have to ever get back inside that place.

Yaro{so how did he die?}

Carlos(It's as you said earlier, he lost his mind. Maybe the mushrooms did it, or maybe it was something else)

Yaro{Dam, it was horrible}

Carlos(hey, stop the horses.)

Carlos spotted something in the mud, he couldn't tell was it was but it looked familiar.

Yaro{what did you find?!}

Carlos got down the horse in silence and started slowly approaching the object on the ground.

It was ..Mark's diary?

Carlos breathing started to get faster as he picked up the small diary, Yaro confused couldn't even tell why he was holding.

Carlos opened the book on the last page and read [It got me, Why did you bring me outside?]

Carlos looked at Yaro terrified, but Yaro wasn't looking at him.

Yaro was fixated on something in the distance, slowly dragging itself closer.

The body of Mark was covered in dirt and twigs was slowly dragging itself closer and closer.

Roots spread from his arms like tentacles, mushrooms started popping out of his eyes, his expression was a wide grin.

The horses got mad, Carlos's horse ran away immediately wile Yaro horse jumped on his back, breaking Yaro's leg in the process and dismounting him before running away as well.

Yaro was screaming in terrible pain but he couldn't move.{Help me!} Screamed at Carlos.

Carlos was frozen in fear, whatever he had in front of him wasn't just a simple zombie it must have been something way worse to make the horses behave like that. He looked at Yaro and said (I'm sorry) before running away.

In the distance, Carlos could hear the screams of pain of Yaro.

(I have to report, i have to ask for help, I can't fight that thing alone)

Carlos run and run untill he found it, The willow was right in front of him.

Carlos froze in place. It was the same willow with the x carved over it.

The leaves started moving , retracting.

The trunk started twisting and slowly spinning. The 2 biggest branches started to move and rearrange, the trunk splitter in 2, mimicking 2 long and thin legs. When the leaves were completely retracted, the smaller branches also started moving like tentacles, slowly getting sucked inside the bigger branches. What it looked like it's chest bursted open, revealing something similar to lungs completely made out of those black only mushrooms.

It looked humanoid, it was big, slender and with an empty hole similar to a hood where the face should have been,

And it was laughing and laughing and laughing.

The 3 bodies were never found, the house was found days later burned to the ground, no one knows what happened, except you.