In the Tree of Life

In the Tree of Life

Written By: Michael J. Krym

The world began as a blur, a mesh of shifting shadows and light that projected distorted pictures of what lay waiting for new eyes to find. A million sensations danced across the skin and even more awoke deep within the body. A new life had been cast out into the world and it did not yet understand why it was that such a thing had happened. The girl could feel she was naked, resting against the coarse bark of the tree behind her, and yet she did not understand how it had come to be the case. She was the personification of the lost, brought down into a world she could yet perceive, let alone understand. After the overwhelming sensations of life had taken their toll, the girl was left with a strange hollow feeling, she was afraid.

                A wild frenzy birthed of confusion and fear sent her flying to her feet only to come stumbling back down. The second attempt went more successfully than the first, but now it was the unseen objects that surrounded her that raised a new obstacle. Step by step found her tripping over an exposed root from the tree, kicking a formless rock that lingered in the dark mist that shrouded her sight, and then there came something else.

                “Pardon me!” yelled the voice. “You had best watch where you are going girl!”

                The voice was stern and strong, it scared her as it emerged from the surrounding darkness, “I…I am sorry. I do not know where I am going.” Her words quickly turned to tears, “I do not know where I am.”

                The stranger’s tone took a sudden turn, which only wrought the girl's heart with a new fear, all as if something was out of place behind its projected calm, “Do not be afraid young one. You are safe here with me. Tell me, what is your name? Surely a creature as beautiful as you must belong somewhere? Perhaps you fell from the top of the tree? Or perhaps you are here for me?”

                The girl could feel the eerie presence of the creature growing closer with each breath. If that had not been enough to petrify the lost child, the feeling of its hand brushing along her naked skin sent an unshakable chill through her body. It felt wrong and out of place, it was not the same smooth feeling that came when she brushed past her own skin. The creature felt fury and rough as the edges of what felt like tiny claws danced across her back. There was more hidden beyond its touch, it was as if the girl could feel its intentions hiding beneath the surface of its actions, and none of them promised a favourable outcome for the lost soul.

                As the creature continued to circle her, she answered unable to hide her fears, “I do not know what my name is...or why I am here. Please…just please stop…I am afraid….”

                Without a moment’s hesitation the creature recoiled, “You have a right to fear me child. I am hideous and do not belong in the world from once you came. Yet you, in all your beauty and splendour, have found your way to the bottom of the tree, and this is no place for a creature as innocent as you. This is where the unwanted and condemned are left abandoned to their own devices. There is no law here, save the law of survival.”

                All of it was filled with a senselessness which seemed only to confuse the girl all the more, “Please, I do not know what to do.”

                “Ah,” the sound of its scuttling furry legs had suddenly ceased. “Do any of us truly know the nature of our lives? I have lived amongst the leaves of this tree for many years now and I still do not know. Let me introduce myself, I am Arach the Spider. And if I am correct, you do not have a name. Then what should I call you?”