The Tree of Insanity

Short Story

It all started when that old mansion caught on fire. That's what started the death and madness. You see, the Willson family was normal until that day. Mrs. Willson was in the kitchen, cooking away for her daughter, Ashlyn's, tenth birthday. All of a sudden, Mr. Willson came crashing inside the back door holding a hurt and bloody hand. This distracted Mrs. Willson, of course seeing your husband bleeding and hurt would steal your attention. But, what wasn't smart was leaving the stove on with his bloody towel laying close. They rushed off to clean his wounds. He had gotten cut on part of the car he was fixing. Suddenly, a fire had started and they only had time to rush out, along with their daughter. But one person didn't make it out alive. A son, a brother, was lost that day. A young boy, by the name of Carson, was only six when he died. Mr. and Mrs. Willson blamed themselves every day for the next year, until they committed suicide by hanging themselves from an old tree in the woods behind their house. Now, you must be wondering what happened to Ashlyn. She got sent to an orphanage, but that didn't stop her from visiting the tree.

Everyday since her parents passed away she visited the old tree where they took their lives. She would sit under the tree and draw pictures of her family, back when she still had one. At first this was about as normal as her visits got. Drawing and drawing, she remembered the good times, a perfectly healthy way to get out feelings. But what started to happen is that she would talk to the pictures.
One day, about six months after the incident, Ashlyn went to the tree. She sat down, the wind whipping her coal black hair in her face. She ran her petite hand across her pale forehead pushing strands behind her ear. Ashlyn pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing. She first drew her parents, tall and thin in front of the tree she was currently sitting under. Next, her brother, who's death started all this madness. Lastly, she added herself to the picture. She drew her small frame, long hair, and her big, dull, grey eyes that once shone a bright blue. Now the whispers began.
"Mommy, do you like my picture?" She held her book up to the tree. "Carson likes it, don't you bud?" She then nodded her head. A crack sounded behind her, and she giggled. "Carson stop playing, come here." She continued talking, nodding, and giggling.
The girls in the orphanage believed Ashlyn was going crazy, so the next day one girl followed her. The girl, 11 years old, new something weird was going on so she hid behind a tree and listened. The girl's name was Emilia. Emilia glanced around to try and get a closer look. All she heard were Ashlyn's faint whispers. Curiosity got the best of Emilia and made her come back every day for the next two weeks just to listen to Ashlyn talk to her deceased family. Emilia knew something weird was going on but mentioned nothing to anybody. She became obsessed with this daily activity. Her feet crunched in the late Autumn afternoon as Emilia followed Ashlyn and Ashlyn started to cry.
"Mommy, don't be mad at me, I can't join you yet." She looked up at the tree. "I need the perfect time." She gave out a giggle and glanced around. This startled Emilia, she couldn't let Ashlyn kill herself. So she kept going, this time for a different reason.
But, a month later it happened. Emilia arrived at the scene as she was hanging the rope. She tied it to the tree.
"I'm going to join you, Mommy and Daddy." She whispered. Emilia started to run forward, screaming for her to wait. And time stopped. She felt like she was moving in slow motion when a force held her back. A hoarse voice whispered in Emilia's ear.
"Let her go. Let her go." The voice said. Emilia screamed as Ashlyn's body dropped lifeless, dead. She looked around for any sign of who held her back but saw no one.
But this was only the beginning. Every five years the cycle repeated itself, a new girl slipping into insanity and hanging themselves on that very tree. Their death witnessed by an innocent soul. An innocent person who wanted to save them, held back by the ghost of Ashlyn's mother. Her mother wanted revenge. Revenge on the person who started the fire, but he was never caught. As a result of that, all people try to stay away from the tree but every five years curiosity get the best of someone and they make a big mistake.