As I reached the forest well past the village, I waited, but there was no one there to guide me upon my new path. I was alone for quite some time. As the sun was beginning it's descent and turning a crimson red, I saw them.

There were men, no women, dressed in cloth that was not colored with berries or plants. These cloths where streaked with fresh blood. I thought of the only possibility in my mind, they must have just come from slaughtering a whole army. Then I remembered that demon and witch blood never changes color as it dries. There was enough blood here for all my village's people to have been murdered. Suddenly I was not sickened by the sight of it, but proud. From the types of clothing, I could see that each kingdom was represented.

People of the south, were in clothing that was light and flowed nicely on their bodies. Northern people were in heavy warm pieces that would never allow cold to reach their wearer. West, displaying the crest of their long lost king, killed by demons sent by the witch for his beliefs and rules. Lastly Eastern people, with their nomad ways, who fidgeted constantly, as if wishing to get away and be by themselves once more.

Once these warriors showed themselves, they parted in two, uncovering a frail old man walking with a tree branch at his side. He had two of the biggest men in the group following him as his guard. As he approached me, I could tell that he was not the one who needed the protection; I was the one the men were to look after. The elder looked at me and asked:

“If a bird builds a nest in the forest, and it falls to the ground with all her chicks inside, what does this bird do?”

I responded to this as a mother would tell her child of death, with fear, yet certainty of the answer, fearing the outcome that might occur. I remembered what my father told me, and it only sealed my suspicion.

“It is frightened. It flies down to the place the nest has hit the ground, and seeing that her children are safe and alive, she starts to question what would be right. Should she stay here until their father comes back? Or does she go off and build another nest? Knowing that her children will not survive until the time that their father comes back, she goes off, and builds a stronger nest for her chicks to live in. Once this is done she flies back to the nest that has fallen, however she does not meet her children there, she finds a fox. It's muzzle in covered in the bright red blood of her now dead children. She scratches the eyes out of the fox, blinding it, and then watches as a hungry bear finishes her vengeance. She then goes and tells her mate what has happened, and they fly off to the new nest and make a new family. She knows it can never replace the old, but she is strong, as all women are.”

I do not know where this response came from. It never sat well with me in class as the teacher told us of the old nursery rhyme that states that we must be stronger than the mother bird, who is told to fly off in fright. I knew that this was not how the bird would act, as a woman, I knew it was something greater.

After my story, the old man looked at the astonished crowd of men. They were regarding me with looks of hope, speechlessness and fear. Only one person, a boy around my age, looked at me with sadness. He turned away and started to walk the long path to their temporary camp, where I would soon find a comfortable home.

I was taught the ways of my people; the traditions and powers that had long ago been forgotten. I learned to read the world like a map, and to read it like a letter. I was able to tell who was in danger, and where they were. I was the first woman to read the earth, and I turned out to be the best to do it in the Dow-Chi.

I had no skill in fighting. I was not built to hold a shield, or to swing a sword like an extension of my arm. It was not natural to me. I was only valued to the Dow-Chi as a Cika, or Sky Reader. It is the easiest and most useful way of interpreting what has been written. There is no way there to change what is written. No one can go up with the birds and erase what has been put there.

It is possible to write on the earth or in the ground, but it is very hard to do it right and mistakes sometimes happen. Messages can sometimes be misread if a person walks on them. At times a witch or demon will come upon such a written letter and change what is said, saying that this person is dead when he still lives, when he has been killed by a beast.

By the time my training was done, many more women were asked to join the Dow-Chi. It was not just me who was extremely good with Cika. Women seemed to be more in touch with the earth than men. It was a great astonishment when I saw the second girl who was asked to join our group.

Leema was scared, but she said exactly what I had said to Dimai, the elder of the Dow-Chi, the old man with a tree branch at his side. Every word was the same, every blink of her eyes were the same as mine. I swear by the gods of this place that her light blue eyes and straight golden blond hair changed suddenly to chestnut brown waves and chocolate eyes that are my own. After that, no men practiced Cika anymore.

I found the boy in the crowd at my graduation. He was waiting outside. As I always do right before bed, I went outside to read the stars. It was not unusual for people to stop by and offer their thanks for my hard work, but this boy had intentionally ignored me for the whole year that I had been there.

He gave me one look. It was of sadness again, but not so much sadness at me as I had assumed, but sadness at himself. He looked at me and told me this:

“I joined Dow-Chi only because my family was killed by the witch Azu Camen. I knew that I could not fight her and her army alone, but I also knew that it would be a while for the Dow-Chi to be ready to clean this planet of her and her army. She had killed my mother and father already that night when she came to me and sat me down. She found me crouched in my room ready to run, yet instead of killing me, she read my future and told me of a great trouble that was to come. She said that I would join a resistance against her, and that I would fall in love with the first woman to join this group. She told of a great sacrifice I would have to make, to either have the vengeance for the death of my family, or to keep the woman that I loved. I am sorry I have not come to you sooner, but I was hoping that if I could stay away, that I wouldn't love anyone until my job was done.”

I looked at this boy with a great struggle. He had stayed away for a good reason, but now that we had met, he would eventually have to chose with either my life, or the death of the witch. I asked him what exactly Azu Camen had said he would have to choose.

“I will have to choose whether to kill the witch and cause the woman I love to be changed into a tree, or leave the witch alive, and have a beautiful life with my love.”

His name was Tie-mi. He was tall, with skin darkened from hours of practicing in the sun. His dark features where shocking next to his gray-blue eyes which I was sure would light up the darkest of houses. He was lean, with flexible, hidden muscles that I knew were there, but would not be obvious to some one who had not seen him at work.

Tie-mi was one of the leaders of the Vike, the fighters and protectors. Once he graduated from his training, he was assigned to protect and serve me. He came with me to each of my meetings and was eventually promoted to second after Dimai.

Dimai was more than our leader, he was also a sorcerer. He came to me after a meeting, saying:

“As you can see, I have assigned Tie-mi to you. I understand that you have no skill with weaponry, which is why I have given him to you. He is the best Vike we have, and you are the best Cika there is. I thought it fitting.”

“Have you heard of the future that Tie-mi and I hold ever since he came to you?” I asked, knowing that he did, but wanting him to know that I also heard it.

He responded gently, quietly.

“I have not heard of it, but I have seen it myself. Once a prophecy is made, every sorcerer knows about it. We have all learned the same things, we all knew of the same people, we are all connected. Once the prophecy was made I knew. I saw you and I saw Tie-mi. You spoke the words only a true Cika could. You said the first things that were ever written in the sky. None of this is by accident or chance. You and Tie-mi will be together, and Tie-mi will one day choose to either have you turned into a tree and spend an eternity looking for you, or he will choose to leave the witch alive, and cause the rest of the world to look for her for an eternity.

I did not know what to say to him, I was shocked that he was so sure of himself. I turned from him and walked to Tie-mi and my house.

Tie-mi was not only my protector, but also my fiance.

By this time, he had come to me each night with a single leaf from an oak tree. The last one which was given to me two days before he moved in, had a ring knotted into the stem of the leaf. He had his bags, and he has lived in my house ever since.

We came home one day to broken windows and furniture that had been turned upside down. Books with pages that were torn out of their covers. A note was burned into a page of a book about Cika. Only a skilled witch could have done such work. It read:

I looked at this boy with a great struggle. He had stayed away for a good reason, but now that we had met, he would eventually have to chose with either my life, or the death of the witch. I asked him what exactly Azu Camen had said he would have to choose.

“I will have to choose whether to kill the witch and cause the woman I love to be changed into a tree, or leave the witch alive, and have a beautiful life with my love.”

His name was Tie-mi. He was tall, with skin darkened from hours of practicing in the sun. His dark features where shocking next to his gray-blue eyes which I was sure would light up the darkest of houses. He was lean, with flexible, hidden muscles that I knew were there, but would not be obvious to some one who had not seen him at work.

Tie-mi was one of the leaders of the Vike, the fighters and protectors. Once he graduated from his training, he was assigned to protect and serve me. He came with me to each of my meetings and was eventually promoted to second after Dimai.

Dimai was more than our leader, he was also a sorcerer. He came to me after a meeting, saying:

“As you can see, I have assigned Tie-mi to you. I understand that you have no skill with weaponry, which is why I have given him to you. He is the best Vike we have, and you are the best Cika there is. I thought it fitting.”

“Have you heard of the future that Tie-mi and I hold ever since he came to you?” I asked, knowing that he did, but wanting him to know that I also heard it.

He responded gently, quietly.

“I have not heard of it, but I have seen it myself. Once a prophecy is made, every sorcerer knows about it. We have all learned the same things, we all knew of the same people, we are all connected. Once the prophecy was made I knew. I saw you and I saw Tie-mi. You spoke the words only a true Cika could. You said the first things that were ever written in the sky. None of this is by accident or chance. You and Tie-mi will be together, and Tie-mi will one day choose to either have you turned into a tree and spend an eternity looking for you, or he will choose to leave the witch alive, and cause the rest of the world to look for her for an eternity.

I did not know what to say to him, I was shocked that he was so sure of himself. I turned from him and walked to Tie-mi and my house.

Tie-mi was not only my protector, but also my fiancé.

By this time, he had come to me each night with a single leaf from an oak tree. The last one which was given to me two days before he moved in, had a ring knotted into the stem of the leaf. He had his bags, and he has lived in my house ever since.

We came home one day to broken windows and furniture that had been turned upside down. Books with pages that were torn out of their covers. A note was burned into a page of a book about Cika. Only a skilled witch could have done such work. It read:

We sailed to the island and began our search. In the center of the dormant volcano, there was a camp with magical beings inside: bulls with serpent tails and legs of lions; horses with wings that unfolded into beautiful, yet menacing, black blankets of feathers, each sharpened to a point as swords would be. I had no doubt that they would kill a man with one swift motion.

In the center of the chaotic mess of misshapen bodies, a woman emerged. She was tall and slender. Her black hair fell into perfect waves that shimmered with flecks of silver and hues of blue. Her face had prominent cheek bones that jutted out of her face, olive colored skin with eyes of gray-blue, just the same as Tie-mi. In fact you would have sworn that they could be siblings.

In one swift motion of her magic, Azu Camen rose from the center of the volcano in a fiery tower of lava, which quickly dried to a black rock cylinder with a spiral staircase on the outside. Once she was at the top, she turned to look at the massive army that we had brought, waiting at the edge of her hidden fortress. Her eyes burned red, the gray-blue eaten away and running down her face as blood, just as the lava had done. Her hair rose in a wind that was not present, her hands, pointing to us.

Quite literally, all hell broke loose. The ground under the rock cylinder melted away to the sight of creatures much worse than the ones already in the volcano. They began to climb out of their chamber and crawl along the ground, leaving a path of blood and a stench of decay.

In all the chaos, Azu Camen, hair still blowing and eyes still alight, spoke with the words of the dead, hundreds of voices escaping her mouth.

“I see you have not only come with your wife, but also with your people. Shall I remind you my dear, that hell has no end, it is the evil of the universe. It may be your belief's opposite, but opposites often have some connections. My dear, have you not forgotten? The day I came back to the house, I told you that it would not matter the number you bring, it will be you, your wife and I that fight in the end. Your people have a date on which they die, mine do not. Who shall win this battle? Come now to me, and let there not be blood shed. I wish not to kill my people, I wish not to harm my brother's people! I understand that there is a change of plans. You came here for a fight, and now you find a submissive sister where you expected a monster. I give you until tomorrow evening.”

We walked back to the camp silently. There were many questions. You could almost hear them buzzing through the air, being thrown at Tie-mi.

Finally Tie-mi and I were alone, and I looked at him for one moment, and turned away in complete humiliation and frustration. Tie-mi came to me with arms outstretched, paused when he was just close enough to touch me, but he did not. He dropped his hands and turned away.

“She is dead to me. She died in my heart long before she killed our family.” is all he said. It would not surprise me if that is all he could say.

I returned with hate and sorrow.

“So you do not deny it? It is true? You are related to the witch who has cost us everything?! She has taken from me my family, my life, my innocence! All you can do is say that she is dead to you?! She is not dead to me! SHE LOOKS ALIVE AND WELL!”

“I have never lied to you about who I was or what I stand for.” He told.

I was shocked to hear this, but he did not expect this to be an issue.

“You have never told the truth about your . . . your, sister, which makes you as good as a liar to me! How can you choose between your wife and your family, your blood? Is there some brother that I should know about? An uncle that will come to kill me in my sleep?”

“Love, I never gave a second thought to who I would choose. I need to kill Azu Camen, that is all, I will find you, and I will save you. That has always been the idea, the plan, and it always will be.”

I knew that this was true. I knew that this person loved me and I knew that one day I would be changed into a beautiful, strong tree. I did not wish that upon anyone.

Once we calmed down, we talked rationally about it. Tie-mi told his story in its entirety.

“Ari was my younger sister, and when she was little, she could be seen outside, playing amongst butterflies and flowers and nature. She seemed to call it to her, or it was attracted to her. Only after she killed my family did she become Azu Camen” Tie-mi sighed, he had loved his sister greatly.

“In our village in the west, it is forbidden to have a sorcerer in your household, as you already know. Ari was found to be one of the forbidden. She was helping my mother in the garden as she always did. Anything with nature, anything at all she was great with. One of the people in a house beside ours took a look outside and saw Ari making a plant grow. It was placed into the ground and with one firm hand print beside, it shot up from a small plant to a full grown tree bearing fruit. She was taken away. The night before they left with her, I cracked open the gate to release her. I found her badly beaten. She was frightened and refused to come with me. I saw that she was blinded by the swelling on her face. She did not know it was me. I stayed with her until sunrise, then I carried her home. After that, she was always angry and throwing tantrums. Ari didn't cry when she was a baby, but after that one night, she cried every day. Our lives changed then. Ari never talked about her life with the men that had taken her, but I am sure of what happened.”

I saw in the eyes of my love that he was deeply ashamed that he had not been able to protect his sister. There was so much love for the young girl had been was replaced with the powerful sorceress. I could not understand how he could still love her so much.

“How can you still love her? But more importantly, how can you kill her if you love her so much?”


“I may love Ari, but not Azu that the world knows. She has changed beyond what is good. This . . . this being is dead and gone to me. She is not Ari, she is a sorceress and a demon. I want nothing to do with her, I just hope that I can release the young girl trapped in Azu Camen to the Kings. Ari deserves more.”

That night our warriors agreed on a plan, Tie-mi and I would be the first to go down to the fortress. We would go to Azu Camen and fight her. We knew that once we killed her, I would become a tree, but I did not know where I would be once I was changed, but the idea was that I would hang onto Tie-mi once the witch was killed, in hopes that I would be able to carry him with me and that there would not be enough room for us together, he would get me out and save me. Then the army would come in and make sure that the deed was done.

This is not what happened.

As expected, we where allowed entrance to the tower. Beasts everywhere hissed and growled at us but let us pass. We entered the door to Azu Camen's room and were greeted by two armed guards. They were a few feet taller then what was healthy. It was they who sat us down on the luxurious bed with a pure horse skin as a blanket.

She came in with a walk that could have been a slender cat's, ready for preying on a little mouse. She sat next to us and then turned to us with a wicked grin. She was ready to play with her food.

Azu Camen spent much of the time just looking at her brother.

“How are your children? They must be grown by now. I was never made aware that I am an aunt. It does not bother me however, since I knew the moment that they were conceived who they were and what they would become.”

She spoke with an unsatisfied and puzzling look, not talking to me, but to Tie-mi.

He responded gently:

“My children are now grown. They are the top of the Dow-Chi and have families of their own. They have experienced all they needed to with us and we came to search for you. My dear sister, it seems that time has not treated you well.”

It was true. What seemed like beauty from up on the edge of the volcano now looked barren and old. She was younger then Tie-mi, but looked to be his mother. Her eyes were sunken into her face, her lips were cracked and dry. There was a faint sign of lines at the corners of her eyes. There was no happiness or joy in her face; they had long ago fled.

“It is taxing work with magic, but of course you already know this. Your dear leader, his name escapes me. He was nearly crippled by his time with magic, yet he was not nearly as old as he looked. I have spent half the time he has with this gift, but I have done much better with magic's side effects.”

Her slight smile at us caused her lips to rip and draw a single drop of blood to form. You could hear her skin drink the little moisture it provided after the sound of it cracking and stretching.

“I can see so my dear, but this is not what we came for. We have chosen to face you alone so as to save our people. I wish the same that you do sister, I wish not to kill our race.”

“You have chosen a path that is noble and brave, but there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Have you chosen correctly? I will give you time to speak with your wife. Choose well brother, your people do not have time to wait.”

She strode off, out of the tent. Luxurious as it was, there was a faint smell of decay. I turned to my husband with a brief sight of the years that we had spent as teenagers. As there had been so many years before, there was sadness in his face that he had so many times before. It was evident that it would not let go. He opened his mouth multiple times, wishing to say something, but nothing would come. I told of what I wished to know the outcome.

“I wish it to be the same as we have already spoken of. We need nothing to be different. There need not be more bloodshed.”

I knew that this would be the last battle I would know, and I embraced that and began my prayer to the Kings.

Oh hear me, my Kings.
Oh hear my song, my hope.
My mistakes are large,
Outweigh the good I have done,
But hear me, hear me.
I hope to put all that to rest,
I hope you take me, that is my wish.
But hear me, hear me.
Let me know eternal peace,
With you, my Kings.
Hear me, oh hear me.

I had never been told of the outcome that this prayer comes to. I only know that once you say it, you are heard, and accepted into the realm of the dead. There are no responses made. However, one came.

"Daughter, I have heard you, you are my prize and my treasure. I will accept you to my realm but it is not your time to come. Dear child, you have more work to do. You will see to many more lives accepting me and becoming part of our family. The Dow-Chi has served me well, and with you, I am greatly pleased. I will give you a gift to help you on your way. Dreams are paths that can be spoken through, they may be more real than you notice. Use my gift wisely."

The voice left as it had came, in a gentle breeze that met my face. It smelt of the finest fruits, ready for harvest, t was cool under the hot, feeding sun. It gave me courage and understanding and I knew that this was true and right to all who served. Soon, there would be truth and understanding in not just my heart, but the hearts of the world.

I stood from my place, with a great strength I called Azu Camen to the tent, and gave her these words.

“I have spoken to the Kings, and find them to speak of hope and wisdom. I must tell you now that there is always room for another child to come into their arms and be welcomed. As you know, sorcery in this world can be illegal, but to the King it is just another gift given to man. You will be accepted if you ask for their favor and show that your heart is not full of hatred for this world. Come child, and see the possibilities that are shown.”

Azu Camen first looked at me in shock. She knew that I have talked to the Kings and that this was a sign of favor and respect. In instinct her knees buckled and she was near to bowing in front of me. Her guards came before she could hit the floor and stood her up. She looked at me, and with a swift smile amongst a shaken mind, she turned to my husband, her brother.

“Tie-mi, come and do your deed. I find your wife tiring and useless. End my suffering, and let me enter the realm of the magic I posses.”

With tears in his eyes, Tie-mi came to me, held my hand with one of his, and swiftly threw a short, curved knife into Azu Camen's heart. She cried in pleasure. Her masochistic ways were now fulfilled, and she sank to her knees and said her last words. His small blade wedged deep into her ribs. There it would stay until she was dead.

“Hear me! Hear me! I have followed the path given to me. I now show this woman what I have lived! My last wish is for her to know of isolation and frustration. People will see her, but not know of her. People will hear her, but won't understand. She will scream, and no one will come, she will never lose her voice. She will cry, and no one will see the tears and no one will wipe them away. This is my last wish.”

Azu Camen died in the hands of the darkness she followed. There was no comfort in the hands that held her. They were only there for the blood that seeped from her womb. The blood was black and thick, tar was leaking from her skin. Tie-mi cried over his sister that night, but not the sister that was now dead, but the sister that had died many years ago. He also cried for his wife that he had lost. She was nowhere to be found, but the Dow-Chi knew what she had become.

Once Azu Camen's last words were spoken, I looked at Tie-mi. He looked surprised. He held me with both hands, but I saw that pieces of me were missing. Holes grew in my hands, and I knew that the rest of me also had these same holes covering my body. I had gone through child birth, but this was a much greater pain. As pieces of my body were being ripped out and placed somewhere else, no blood seeped from my wombs to ease the sting. The holes continued to grow until there was nothing left but my soul, and soon that was also taken away. The last I saw of Tie-mi was him kneeling down, crying. He had completed his task but also failed his journey.

I do not remember waking up or even going to sleep. All I know is that at first, I was not a strong oak. I started as a seed, and fell to the ground and then began to grow. The first fall, I felt the cold wind come through the forest that I was in, but with my family all around, I was protected from such cold weather. I remember the first winter and the deer coming and eating the ends of my branches. It was a pain like no other. I can only describe it only as some one slowly eating the tips of your fingers off. Just enough so that one day they would grow over, looking as if nothing is wrong. And yet that they would bleed, and be sore for many months.

I remember the first melting of the snow, and I remember my first cross with near death.

Humans were taking down the forest. It was quiet a few years after I was placed. I was almost fully grown and I was strong, stronger then any of the trees here. No one talks of the clearing today. I have too much significance now. A young man came to me one day in the middle of the forest. I could hear my brothers' and sisters' cries of death and warning in the ground. All the trees were being cut down, one by one. The area was being cleared. This man came to me and saw my great size and shape. He had never seen anything like me. He placed a sign beside my trunk which hit one of my many roots. It was very uncomfortable to have a dead piece of wood touch me. Think of a dead finger being placed on your foot, that you can't take off.

The sign read : The Major Oak

This made no sense to me. Was I being named? Would I be placed here and shown off? I had nearly forgotten why I was here and what I was hoping to achieve. Tie-mi would see such a beautiful, strong oak and find that it was me. He would have to.

I could still feel him, and see him. Every night we shared the same dreams and one night I found a way to talk to him through these. I was able to tell him what I saw. One night, after the forest was cut down and I stood alone, I told him what I was called.

“Tie-mi, this dream is more than you think. I have been named and the forest has been cleared around me. I am now called Major Oak. Come see me, Love, come save me from this binding curse!”

Tie-mi woke and I was able to see for two seconds that he believed what he had dreamed, and was planning on leaving that day.

Many decades had passed since I had been formed. All the old ways were lost. Sorcerers did not practice their art, and people who had no gift for it flaunted their ability to pull tricks and fake magic. The Kings were no longer heard of. They looked down at my tree and whispered that Tie-mi and I were the only ones left. The only children that followed their path. Their realm had so much room left, but no one would come if the stories were not passed down. Our way of life had died out.

Many years I spent in that tree. I saw people come and pray to me. They did not know were to go. I would send their prayers to the Kings, and they would grant them if they were worthy. The Kings worked on the people they could and occasionally they would have someone who would find the way, and follow it.

I remember the first melting of the snow, and I remember my first cross with near death.

Humans were taking down the forest. It was quiet a few years after I was placed. I was almost fully grown and I was strong, stronger then any of the trees here. No one talks of the clearing today. I have too much significance now. A young man came to me one day in the middle of the forest. I could hear my brothers' and sisters' cries of death and warning in the ground. All the trees were being cut down, one by one. The area was being cleared. This man came to me and saw my great size and shape. He had never seen anything like me. He placed a sign beside my trunk which hit one of my many roots. It was very uncomfortable to have a dead piece of wood touch me. Think of a dead finger being placed on your foot, that you can't take off.

The sign read : The Major Oak

This made no sense to me. Was I being named? Would I be placed here and shown off? I had nearly forgotten why I was here and what I was hoping to achieve. Tie-mi would see such a beautiful, strong oak and find that it was me. He would have to.

I could still feel him, and see him. Every night we shared the same dreams and one night I found a way to talk to him through these. I was able to tell him what I saw. One night, after the forest was cut down and I stood alone, I told him what I was called.

“Tie-mi, this dream is more than you think. I have been named and the forest has been cleared around me. I am now called Major Oak. Come see me, Love, come save me from this binding curse!”

Tie-mi woke and I was able to see for two seconds that he believed what he had dreamed, and was planning on leaving that day.

Many decades had passed since I had been formed. All the old ways were lost. Sorcerers did not practice their art, and people who had no gift for it flaunted their ability to pull tricks and fake magic. The Kings were no longer heard of. They looked down at my tree and whispered that Tie-mi and I were the only ones left. The only children that followed their path. Their realm had so much room left, but no one would come if the stories were not passed down. Our way of life had died out.

Many years I spent in that tree. I saw people come and pray to me. They did not know were to go. I would send their prayers to the Kings, and they would grant them if they were worthy. The Kings worked on the people they could and occasionally they would have someone who would find the way, and follow it.

A young man was there with him. He was exactly what Tie-mi had looked like years ago when he was young. Strong, tall, dark features. Everything was there, and I saw in his eyes the same longing and desire to be better and greater for the ones close to him.

The girl held onto the memory of this boy's face. She loved him, and I could see that one day, they would be as Tie-mi and I were.

“So this is why you are here?! I know where your husband is. He doesn't go by Tie-mi though. His name is Cain now and the boy pushing him is Jake. They moved here not that long ago. I will bring them here.”

She left running, and excitement had come over her. I waited a long time for that girl to return. Nights passed, and she didn't come back. Days became months and soon one year had passed, but I saw a common figure amongst the crowd one day. It was the boy, Jake. He was there with the young girl, but Tie-mi was nowhere to be seen. The young girl broke her interlocked hands with Jake and came running under that fence and straight to me. She looked into the single knot in my bark.

My heart was in this spot. The only way to release me. Tie-mi would have to stab me with the same knife that was used to kill Azu Camen. My body would then be released, but my soul would always have some damage afterward. The girl turned back to Jake and motioned for him to come over to us.

He was more careful with his movements then she was. He came over from behind her, and wrapping his arms around her as if he would break her, he asked if this was the place.

The girl was talking, and it was only half way through her rambling that noticed she was talking to me.

“-- I know it was longer then you thought it would be but they left and I went to find them and it took some time, and --”

“She is extremely sorry that we took so long.”

The boy interrupted her and said what she was trying to. I had no doubt that she would have continued to ramble if it had not been for her new mate. She realized this and it gave a bright pink flush to her skin that was not there before.

“Yes, I am sorry, and Cain will be here tomorrow. He doesn't think that a crowd should be here when you are, well, you know, 'released'.” She made small quotation marks in the air with her delicate hands when speaking the word “release”, as if it held a curse.

That night, Jake and the girl I know now as Karen, left me promising to return with my beloved. They keep to their word and came again the next day.

In the evening, the three of them emerged from the north side of the clearing. Tie-mi was being carried by Jake and Karen was skipping merrily forward. They came to a stop right at my trunk and Tie-mi was placed on his feet. He leaned against me and looked at the rough bark with such love, and longing.

“The children have died and gone. Their children have gone as well. All of them are gone. The only ones left are Jake and Karen. They know of the stories and they are going to tell the world of the truth. Once you come from your encasement, we will both pass. The world will no longer hear of your screams and they will no longer be cursed with my wails. We will go forth to the kings.

His voice was hard and his face was in utter pain. There was nothing left of my loving, caring husband. All that was left was pain. He watched the children die and their children and so on. There was not a strand left of the world we knew and the world that was right and good.

He took his weapon, the short, curved knife. With all the strength he had, he thrust upwards with a cry, and I felt the knife cut through my nonexistent skin and puncture my heart. The knife was pulled back out and with it came my body. I was being pulled between bark and wood. Then for the first time in a century, I was out. The cool night air lifted my chestnut brown hair. There was the sound of song birds, the smell of wild flowers, and where my body was in the tree, there was only a space left, that was all. The Major Oak was no longer a prison, it was a strong and beautiful tree, as it always was. Now it was standing on its own strength, not needing mine, it looked bigger, and more lively.

There was great pain. I was aging a century in only a few minutes and soon. I looked as Tie-mi did that night. We both passed into each others long awaiting arms and were given to the Kings as heroes. We were adored in the realm that is where we now see our children and our children's children.

Jake and Karen lived to tell our stories well, as did their children. Soon the Kings were praised again. Although there is still the lingering hate of Azu Camen, she is being fought out. Someday the Dow-Chi will rid this world of her.

We had served our purpose, and were needed no longer.