THE TREE OF SOULS

THE TREE OF SOULS

A long time ago, when the grass was still green and the clouds were still clean, there was a flourishing village in the outskirts of Athens. It was believed that due the people’s devotion to god, the village flourished throughout the year, even in freezing winters. The village was situated on a beautiful plateau. It had an eye-catching lake in the midst of the village.

All was well. But there was a hidden secret that the people had forgotten about. There once lived a young lass called May in the village who was cursed by the great Greek God Apollo. Apollo, the God of Sun and Music, had loved her dearly. She was extremely beautiful and had a rather sweet voice. She was tall and slender. Her face was fair with blue eyes and flushy pink cheeks. Her hair was really long and blond with streaks of chestnut brown hair. She looked pretty impressive.

 In love, Apollo asked her hand but she rejected him as she longed for the attention of the Greed God of sea, Poseidon. Apollo flew into a terrible rage and cursed May that:-

‘For you dare to reject the greatest of all,

You shall become hysterical.’

‘For you dare to reject the greatest of all,

You shall see near future.’

‘For you dare to reject the greatest of all,

May you lead an eternal life

And face the pangs of my heart break.’

Time passed…. May grew old…Her beauty and splendor started to fade, and so did the memory of this incident. People started believing that she was a messenger of Apollo. So they used to take her suggestions and consult her if a problem occurred. They had completely forgotten about the curse.

One fine winter morning, a young lad tumbled upon the roots of a gigantic oak tree. As he strained to see what was up there, he saw a range of flowers. One  suddenly fell on the boy’s hands. He examined the flower. The magnificent flower looked like the setting sun from the inside, but the shade of the petals was pinkish red. The flower looked almost like a lotus on tree. The lad was taken by surprise by the beauty that beheld the flower. He smelled it. It smelt as if all the flowers of the world had given their fragrance to it. Delighted, the lad ran to his mother in a single breath.

His mother almost  fainted by the glamour of the flower. She asked: “Where did you find it?” The lad replied, “On the outskirts of village, Ma. On a neglected Oak tree.”His mother gathered the residents and the young boy took them to the tree.

As soon as the villagers saw the flowers, they gasped in amazement. A florist suggested. “This tree is too high to reach.” “We will have to cut it to reach the flower. Someone said. Everyone agreed except May. She said, “Please don’t cut this tree. The tree is dedicated to Artemis, the Greek Goddess of Moon and Hunting. You must not anger the Goddess.

“What will Artemis do if we cut it?” fumed the florist. “I can see near future. If we cut this tree, Artemis will slay us all,” snapped May. “What proof do you have that you can see near future?”  She suddenly lost control over herself and slapped the florist had on his face. The people gathered there, locked May in a dungeon, proclaiming that she was mad.

Axes and blades were sharpened. Arrows were polished. Dancers and musicians were hired. Delicacies were prepared. While all these occasions took place, May sorted out an idea to escape. She fatally wounded a guard, stole the keys and freed herself.

She reached the outskirts of the village. But alas, the tree had already been cut and the people were rejoicing. May roared in anger. But was it her voice?!?! Artemis spoke instead of May.

“As the people of this village dare to dishonor me

By cutting my sacred tree,

May the disgraceful people of this village wither away just as my flowers will!”

May regained consciousness. When she realized what had happened, she dragged her wretched old body as quickly as she could and fled from the village. All the people were startled for some time, but they continued to revelry.

Finally when they started plucking the mesmerizing flowers from the tree, they discovered that May was telling the truth. As soon as the flowers were plucked from the tree, they started withering. They turned into a ghastly black, as if they were some remains of a dead animal. Children started crying, the women screamed. Men fought and old folks fainted. In fear the people bolted back to their homes and banged the doors shut.

The village now wore a deserted look. After the seventh sunset a strange malady swept the village. One by one the people started to wither away. Slowly and gradually, the village withered away and so did the memories. The empty houses stood there, waiting for people to come.

One fine day king Minos chanced upon this deserted village. The eerie stillness of the village made Minos realize that he had set foot on a cursed land. So for the well-being of his kingdom he built a huge wall surrounding the village and forbid the residents of his empire to linger near it.

Behind the walls, lay the cursed village which had once flourished. The dead tree remained there, solemn and still, when the stump of the tree made way for a sapling.

Written by- Kanisha and Mugdha 9 I

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