Mother puts both daughters inside the fir… See more

Branches scratched at her arms as she pushed deeper, following the path she had hoped never to walk again.

And then she saw them.

Both girls were sitting inside the hollow of the fir tree, their faces calm, almost serene.

“Get out!” Elara shouted.

The sharpness in her voice startled them. Maris scrambled to her feet, while Lina hesitated, confused.

“Mother?”

“Now!” Elara’s voice trembled with urgency. “Come out now!”

They obeyed, stepping away from the tree.

Elara pulled them close, holding them so tightly they could barely breathe.

“You must never come here again,” she said. “Do you understand me?”

“But why?” Lina asked. “It felt… safe.”

Elara’s grip tightened.

“That’s why,” she whispered.

The Truth Beneath the Bark
That night, after the girls had gone to bed, Elara sat by the fire, staring into the flames.

She knew she could not keep the truth from them forever.

The fir tree was not just a tree.

Years ago, during the great storm, Elara had lost more than her husband. She had nearly lost herself. Grief had driven her into the forest, where she had wandered for hours, calling out to someone who would never answer.

And that was when she found the tree.

Or perhaps, she realized later, it had found her.

Inside the hollow, she had felt the same warmth her daughters described. But it had been stronger then—soothing her pain, quieting her thoughts.

It had offered her something dangerous.

Forgetfulness.

For a moment, she had been tempted to stay. To let the tree take her sorrow, her memories, everything that hurt.

But she had children.

And that was the only reason she had stepped back out.