Somber

Chapter 1: Old Tales and Legends.

Dedicated to @GemmaStar

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Chapter 1: Old Tales and Legends.

Skye's POV

"If you look to your right, you will see another cluster of Willow trees. These Weeping Willows age around 50 to 60 years according to our dendrologist," I said outloud to my touring group.

I was leading 18 people through the "Willow Grove" Forest. It has been a week since I started, and to say I found this job to be the most boring one I have ever taken would be an understatement. But it paid well and didn't take much effort. There was absolutely nothing but trees in the forest. God knows the only reason there's a tour agency for the grove is because people wanted to figure out the enigma of why people end up dead or missing when they visit here. They can be my guest, for I only care about getting paid for walking and talking; activities I quite enjoy any day.

I stood aside as people snapped pictures of the trees and took an even breath, my nose catching all the scents of my surroundings. I could smell the earth, the scent of spring flowers that the wind carried to me and - "What a waste of time". I froze at the words that echoed in my head.

For a few seconds I stood there as if my feet had been rooted to the ground, waiting to hear something else, but I never did. I relaxed, while my eyes scanned over my tour group, counting them in the process. 18. Good, I hadn't lost anyone and the tour is almost over.

"Alright everyone, follow me. I'm going to introduce you to Weeper," I announced. Everyone started moving slowly as I lead but I kept a close eye on each of them, making sure no one got left behind.

As we entered a clearing, I smiled and turned around. "I present to you, Weeper. He is the oldest Weeping Willow here in Willow Grove. Our specialist has identified him to be about 150 years old. You can tell by his width that this fellow has been here for a long time and it's not going anywhere. Not that we want it to," I said with a smile.

People started taking pictures of it and a young boy around 8 years old, left the security of his mother's hand and stepped closer. "Why is it called Weeper? The other trees don't have names," he asked.

My smile turned wider at his question and nodded, "You're right, he's the only one with a name because he is very special. The legend goes that a long time ago, a creature, half man, half beast was cast from his Realm and thrown off on Earth. When he woke up he was surrounded by vast lands of nothing, here in this very lands, before it was called Willow Grove. The earth was infertile and nothing could be grown in it. The creature didn't like it. The place was as different to where he had come from as it could be, and he wanted to make this new foreign place, look more like home. They said he found witches, magical people who could control negative and positive energy to put a curse or grant people's wishes for the right price. The creature asked these witches to make this land fertile; let the trees grow and the flowers bloom. The witches said it would be done, but a price had to be paid. The creature agreed, without asking for the price. What he didn't know is that to create life, you first need to exchange a life. The creature agreed unknowingly and when the witches worked their magic, the creature's life was used to create this very forest. It is said that as the creature's life was exchanged, his very soul was poured into this land and the spot where he was standing while it all happened was where the very first Willow Tree was born. I've been told Weeper is the last tree that possesses a bit of the creature's soul, which is why it will live longer than any other tree in this world." As I finished my story, the boy looked at the old tree in wonder.

"That doesn't explain why it's called Weeper," the boy finally said, glancing at me with his soft brown eyes.

I smiled, "Well, the legend says that as the creature's life was poured into these lands and ripped away from his body and essence, he wept. Our ancestors took it on themselves to name all of the Willow Trees that they felt had a bit of the creature's soul," I explained.

They boy still looked unconvinced, "How would they know if it had part of the creature's soul in it?" he questioned. I knelt down in front of the boy.

"Because at night, when the sky is darkest, you can hear weeping coming from deep within the tree. Old men say that the weeping are the echoes of cries the creature made while his soul was taken away," I said. The boy finally stopped asking questions and stared at the tree with new found awe. A glance at the boy's mother told me she was unhappy about my storytelling to her son, but hey, he asked, and I answered.

After this, I led my group back to the forest's entrance, where I answered some more questions and then parted ways.

I made my way into the office, and saw my new friend, Jessica, laying on the carpeted floor. I raised an eyebrow and sat down on the floor next to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

She turned her pale face to look at me, her brown thick hair just spread around her face.

"I hate this job," she whined.

I laughed at her theatricals and shrugged, "It's not that bad. All you have to do it's keep them occupied and make sure no one gets out of your sight," I reasoned.

"That's an elaborate way to say babysitting," she muttered grumpily.

"Nothing wrong with that, Jess. At least you have a job," I reasoned. This changed her outlook and she nodded slowly.

"You're right. I'm lucky to have a job. But I still hate it. I'm 20 and you're 21, we are young women. We cannot waste our youth like this," she said dramatically. I knew where she was going with this even before she did.

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked, regretting it almost instantly.

"I heard about this new night club, called Somber. It's the hottest place in town. Apparently it's full of hot sexy men and cheap fancy drinks," she gushed. I rolled my eyes.

"What else did you hear?" I asked mockingly. She didn't catch the sarcasm in my voice.

"I heard the owner is really young and crazy hot," she continued unfazed by my attitude.

"So you gonna hook up with the owner too?" I asked.

She laughed, "Hey, only if he offers to buy me some drinks first," she said with a wink. I laughed with her and shook my head.

"You are hopeless," I said with a sigh.

"Hopelessly desperate for some fun! Please say you will come with me?!" She was now begging, something I hated.

"Fine, fine. But don't beg," I said, annoyed.

"Yay! Okay! We are gonna have so much fun tonight!" she yelped.

I tried to force a smile for her benefit, but a bad feeling was crawling up on my skin, and I noticed all the hair in my arms were standing up.

Suddenly, I knew I would regret agreeing to go to "Somber".

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A/N: There's the first chapter! There's a picture of Jessica at the side. Hope you liked the chapter and do not hesitate on commenting your thoughts and also voting :)

Announcements: I will not be updating any of my stories this next week because of the holidays. I will be spending time with my family, celebrating Christmas and taking a break from writing since I haven't taken a break since like April. Anyways, I hope you guys understand and don't get mad at me. The week after this one my updating will resume as normal.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Stay Awesome \m/

-Liz