Tree branches dangling maroon and Castleton green leaves framed a view of a trail highlighted by forest after forest winding up a mountain covered in snow. The boy didn’t see any trees up there. Above him canopies blocked his view of the clouds whose shapes shifted into pictures of desires if stared long enough at them. He stood in a section of the forest that blocked the heaven’s view, so he saw only leaves, branches, and the occasional animal; this time a hawk peered through him. It let off an odd sound, different from a piercing screech, and flapped off into the view that revealed miles of trees wrapped by uncertainty and nature. The young boy held a key in his palm. It glowed green until the hawk flew off. Now the key blinked yellow. As the bird flew further away, the key blinked quicker and quicker bursts of cautionary Tuscany.
The boy ran after the hawk soaring through the forest path. As he got closer to his flying friend, the key blinked slower and stronger until Tuscany yellow glowed canary, sunflower, web, and eventually neon green as the boy ran underneath the great hawk’s wings.
The woosh of the open wind blew through the boy’s hair. He laughed and jumped up waving at the hawk. That’s when he noticed for the first time in his life how beautiful the heavens under the sky really were. Everything out in the open felt so good. The aroma of the fields, the warmth of the sunlight, the exhilaration of chasing a great figure spread glee and he smiled staring up at the clouds.
The hawk flapped its wings and the boy didn’t notice that he now followed a cloud shaped as a hawk nor that his key glowed crimson, garnet, and finally merlot red. He paused in front of the opening of another forest. He peeked inside and glared at the canopies filling these skies. He witnessed the menacing glow from his key. It scared him so he put it away in his pant pocket. Night transformed the clouds into the certainty that the boy stood alone out in the wild. His fear clouded his view of the stars glowing far in the distance. A strange phenomenon pushed him closer to the new forest. Fear comforted his fear and that confused him into walking forward on the path. His key turned black the moment the canopies welcomed him back. He heard insects and bugs climbing on the trees and he felt as if they were clawing their tiny needles into him. He swatted at a few that buzzed near his ears. Then a different kind of bug buzzed by. Startled he hid behind the closet tree to him.
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A grandma holding a dog on a leash pointed at a tree trunk. A couple holding hands stood next to her. The old woman said grinning, “This wish grantor fulfills any hearts’ desires. If your dream to be together forever is pure and true, then approach its trunk and repeat these words: Wish granting tree of the forest, please make my dream come true.”
They approached the trunk of the wish grantor saying the words while clasping their hands together when the old woman’s dog sniffed, growled, and then howled at the young boy hiding behind that same tree. The dog barked and tugged at the grandma’s leash. She pointed and said while letting go of the chain holding the canine back, “Sick ‘em!”
The young boy jumped at the tree’s branch but he couldn’t reach. He ran towards another and leapt and fell on his back. He saw the dog upside down drooling after him. The boy crawled to his feet and managed to grab hold of a nearby tree branch when he slipped. He fell back on the ground and put his arms up before the dog snapped his head off. The beast’s breath smelt rotten. Just a huge abyss of barking bad breath. He remembered the grinning tree’s chasm mouth. The dog and that… that… that… nightmare of a wish grantor! They were one and the same to him. Both forcing him to see a disgusting sight. He had enough of that grinning tree and this dog and that void and all of it! In one heave, he pushed the dog off, reached into his pocket, and threw the black key into the yapping mutt’s trap! It whimpered and the boy limped towards the same tree branch as before and pulled himself up. The bites from the dog created a trail of blood dripping down the trunk. He clenched his teeth and he told himself to climb higher. He didn’t get a great look at the couple but he swore they looked familiar. And that’s when he felt a cold chill. No way, he thought. Suddenly, the young boy remembered that he used to be an old man before being attacked by shadow people. His memory felt like it had been ripped out. He took deep long breaths of air while clenching his chewed up arms. The young boy remembered that once upon time he and his wife walked into a forest with a kind old grandma who used to guide people in finding their wish granting tree. He shivered as he saw bits of his memory. He almost fainted when he remembered killing the boy that interrupted his first and only wish granting ceremony.
She gripped the couple’s hands and said in a hush whisper, “It pains me to say this but...”
That’s no kind old grandma.
“… you must kill that naughty boy!”
That’s the Oogababa!