The Whisper Tree

Reunions

Member 1: My friend told me he talked to someone who knew a guy that made the trip to the tree last weekend.

Member 2: Bullshit. You're four people removed from this. Did not happen at all.

Member 1: Whatever. I trust the guy. Said there wasn't a trail. Was a complete waste of time.

Member 3: Where did he get the trail information?

Member 1: He didn't tell me. Nobody ever shares that info with strangers.

Member 3: I wanted to see if he got it the same place I did.

Member 2: I'm sure you didn't go either.

Member 3: I did. It was...it was life-altering. I saw something special.

Member 1: What did you see?

Member 3: My future.

- Excerpt from a hiking forum discussion on "The Whisper Tree" (names have been removed for protection)

I thought about Ralph's request for the entire flight home. While he was adamant that no one should make the trip, he had let me see the passage in the book. Why bother showing me if he felt so strongly against anyone hiking there? It seemed to be a contraindication, but it also seemed to follow his code about everyone knowing history, warts and all. It felt like a test question, and I didn't have the foggiest idea of the answer.

When I got home, I decided to dive deeply into personal accounts from people who claimed to have been to the tree. Several dozen were sprinkled throughout the internet, and gathering every story took time. I printed them, read them all three times, and then made three piles of papers. One pile was for stories that seemed genuine, one for stories that seemed fake, and a pile with elements that seemed to belong to both categories.

After that, I kept track of elements that seemed to pop up in each story. Much of what I had already heard and what Ralph shared also showed up in most of the stories. Some whispers can be heard before you arrive at the tree. The tree was in a clearing surrounded by rocks. You could ask the tree a question, and it would whisper an answer into your ear. Those things were present in every story – even the ones that felt fake to me.

Some of the more fantastic ideas were that an angel would show up and grant the wish. Others said that a blood sacrifice would be required for the tree. One story said that you needed to sell your soul to the devil to get your wish granted. Another far-fetched idea floated in a few stories was that the wishes granted could force people to do things they wouldn't normally do. All of these were bunk, and I dismissed them out of hand.

The maybe pile was an exciting mish-mash of details. One was that the whole clearing was in a hidden cave. Another said that it was protected by a yeti. Someone said that Face In Rock was an actual face. Some said it spoke, and that's where the whispers came from. Some said the whispers were voices from all the previous hikers. Some people said they were told what their futures held. Some said they were given horrible premonitions. Some people said their families got hurt by unseen forces. Others said their family's prayers were answered.

At the end of my fact-finding mission, I was more informed but still at an impasse. For the next week, my thoughts were dominated by whether or not I should do the hike. Some days, I was all in on not doing it. Others, I couldn't wait to make the trek. My mind was being pulled apart by two different trains of thought, and I was afraid it would eventually just rip into two. I didn't know what to do.

The following Saturday, I was on a pleasant walk on a local trail when I had a crazy thought pop into my head. What if I called my outdoorsy ex, Joe, and got his opinion? I couldn't say why the hell Joe had come to my mind, but he had, and, in many ways, it made sense. Granted, it had been a while since I'd seen him, but I was sure he'd take my call. Plus, Joe was the one that got me into this world, so he'd understand where I was coming from. I'd wager he probably had heard about the Whisper Tree, too.