The Haunted Tree

In a Botanic Garden groves, the Giant sequoia stood. No one could say exactly how old she was. Visitors to the Garden came to admire her beauty, especially couples in love who adored her and called her Coy. She was the most famous tree in the park, a beautiful red-brown, impressive diva with massive girth and evergreen leaves.

During her long existence, Coy endured not only natural but also man-made damage. She was full of scars because lovers used to carve hearts and their initials amazed by her longevity. But Coy didn't mind; on the contrary, she looked with sympathy at the couples in love. Her scars were testimonies of eternal love.

Nobody could guess that she was also in love. Her beloved was a tall and slim Coast Redwood who stood proudly in the corner of the Garden, 250 feet away from her. 

Beneath the soil, where sunlight never ventures, their roots secretly reached out like searching hands. The mighty Coy and the graceful Roy had felt the gentle hum of each other's presence for decades. Their thick roots sprawled outward, weaving through the earth like ancient rivers, until at last, the finest, thinnest tendrils of their roots brushed against one another in a delicate, trembling touch. 

Their connection deepened with each passing season. Through their roots, they exchanged nutrients and water. Gifts of life passed between them in an unspoken pact. When Roy endured a drought, Coy shared her reserves, and when she faced a storm, Roy lent his strength through the unseen bond beneath the ground. But it was not only survival; it was much more than that. It was true love. And they were happy.

Until one summer a storm of unprecedented proportions came. It thundered; it blew; it lightning flashed. Roy and Coy were tightly intertwined with their roots underground. They knew that this storm would pass like all the previous ones. They had no idea that this one would be fatal for him; that this would be his final season.

A powerful bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, illuminating Roy with an ominous light. Through the roots, as through the veins, an impulse flowed like a final jolt, like a voiceless moan. Coy flinched. Through the heavy curtain of rain, she saw fire and smoke. Roy burned in fiery flames, and she felt his pain. As the fire consumed his body, the pain was immense. They both were going through agony. It was the most horrific form, the most brutal way of death. Coy could do nothing to save her beloved. She felt his grip loosen and life drain from his veins as she watched him disappear in the flames that rose high above him.

Finally, the storm calmed down, and over time nature renewed itself, but her heart could not be healed. She became an embittered, vengeful diva. Angry about the evil fate that had robbed her of love, she no longer welcomed visitors, especially not couples in love.

But the lovers continue to come to swear eternal love under her crown, as so many times before. That day the young man brought his girlfriend there intending to propose to her. The guy, whose name was Ethan, led Maria to a secluded spot beneath a large, old tree.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about this place for a while. It’s... it’s where I first realized how much you mean to me.”, Ethan said nervously, glancing at Maria.

She smiled softly, curiously watching him.

Ethan, taking a deep breath, in a serious voice, said firmly, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He stepped closer, kneeled on one knee, pulled out a small velvet box from his pocket, and continued. “Maria, you’ve been the best part of my life. Every day with you feels like a gift. I don’t want to just live through life with you—I want to build it with you.”

“Oh, Ethan…”

Coy looked down on them with contempt. She felt a surge of anger and resentment, fuelled by the happiness that had been unjustly denied.

“Will you marry me? Will you be my partner, my love, my everything?” 

A young man stood with his heart racing.

“Ethan... I…”, Maria took a breath, her voice trembled with excitement, “ Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes!”

Maria looked at Ethan in rapture, eager to feel the engagement ring on her hand. She held out her hand to him; he gently took it and slid the ring onto her finger. 

“You’ve made me the happiest man alive,” said Ethan and his face lit up.

Coy couldn't listen to this anymore. At that moment, the large branch separated from the tree fell with a deep, resonant crack. First, there was the sharp snap of wood, as if the tree itself had groaned in protest, then a sudden, deafening rush of air as the branch tore free from its perch. While it fell through the sky, its massive form twisting and swaying, sending a cascade of leaves fluttering down like confetti. As it descended, the branch cut through the air with a loud, whipping whoosh, like a heavy cloth flapping in a storm.  And then, with a heavy thud, the branch struck the young lovers. The impact sent a shockwave through the forest, a sound like distant thunder, followed by the rustling of smaller branches and leaves as they scattered in the wake of its landing. She crushed the young man's skull in an instant. Ethan lay on the fragrant grass in a pool of blood with no signs of life. Maria moaned softly, facing him, watching the blood drain from his body and the parts of his brain oozing out like jelly. She was breathing heavily; branch compressing her torso, and slowly crushing her ribs. Her legs and arms began to tingle. The breaths became shallower and shallower until finally she too exhaled, her gaze fixed on the ring that glittered on her finger.

The air was thick with the scent of fresh wood and earth, and the silence that followed the crash felt almost sacred. Coy calmly observed the accident that occurred when a branch broke from her trunk.

Security guards went to the accident scene and examined the tree in the following days. It was not rotten, all the branches were healthy. No one could figure out how the accident had happened.

A few months later, David and Sophia had a picnic under the Sequoia’s canopy. 

As they chewed their sandwiches deliciously, Sophia said, “Do you know what I mean? I think we should invite Robbie to our wedding. Even though you're fighting, he's still your cousin.”

As David said loudly the word wedding, the earth began to tremble and the ground beneath them opened up and swallowed them.

The young lovers fell, losing themselves deeply into the ground. Coy’s roots coiled tightly around their bodies like a serpent constricting its helpless prey. 

When the rescuers arrived on the scene they could only confirm the death by suffocation. The Garden botanists presumed that a hole had formed under the tree due to soil erosion. After a long time of debating whether to remove the Giant sequoia or not, they decided to leave it since it was protected and in good condition. To prevent some eventual accidents, management of the Garden ordered a fence to be installed so that no one could get close to the tree. Since then, visitors could only observe it from a distance. From that day Coy defiantly stood completely alone in the Garden, visited only by birds. During their walk in the Garden visitors and couples would glance uneasily in the direction of the tree. They no longer affectionately called it Coy but called it the Haunted Tree.