The Tree

Part 1

Imagine a tree. A lonely, gnarled specimen that’s knotted and twisted and cloaked in dark brown bark. Bark that is cracked like an old man’s skin, but not dry and not thin.

The tree is not much like an old man at all, in fact. It is big, it is solid, and it is timeless.

There are leaves on the tree. Green leaves that never fall and, for as long as anyone can remember, are said to contain the souls of dead men. They are said to contain the souls of dead women and children too. But no on...