There is a legend in my village of a tree where wishes can come true. I remember first hearing the tale from my grandmother who told me the tree was blessed by an angel, at the time I believed it but now that I'm older I'm not so sure. Though now I have a reason to search after such a tree, now that I have children of my own.
After my wife and I were married we had our daughter not long after, she's an energetic child and has always been happy and healthy. Our son, however, has not been so lucky he was born with a rare condition one that makes it difficult to breathe. The doctor of our village told me he would get worse as he grew older. It's his fourth birthday soon and I'm scared it may be his last.
I spoke with my wife about the tree saying that if the stories are true then it could help our son. She agreed to let me search for it but made me promise to return before his birthday. I packed a few days rations along with a lantern among other things I deemed useful. As I said farewell to my family I entered the forest behind our home the same one the tree supposedly stood.
I left as early as I could however by the time I found the clearing I was guided by my lantern alone. This place felt different than the rest of the wood, an eerie mist hung about the base of the tree making navigating the roots difficult. As I carefully tread closer to the tree I saw many a message tied to its branches some with string others ribbons of different colours. I took out the contents of my bag searching for the message I had written. Once I found it I tied it to a branch with a piece of twine then I took to my knees to make a prayer.
"Guardian of the forest I beg of you help my son, let him breathe freely like the other children without pain."
As I finished my prayer I gathered my things and stood up to leave, though as I did I saw something, a ray of light shining through the branches. I felt warm in the otherwise cold forest and I heard a voice.
"I have heard your wish, your son will breathe without pain simply feed him the sap from my bark."
Awestruck I thanked the spirit barely able to speak. The light faded and as it did a glistening tear of sap began to roll down the bark. I grabbed my waterskin from my satchel and poured it on the roots of the tree so I could gather the sap. With that, a smile crossed my face glad that my grandmother had told me that tale and I left knowing that this would be my sons best birthday yet.
