Would You Stand Beneath a Bleeding Tree?

They say there’s a tree deep in the woods… that no one will stand beneath.

Not because it’s dead. But because it’s grieving. Its bark is split

and blackened. Like something clawed its way out from inside. Every night,

red sap leaks from the trunk. Slow. Thick. It looks like blood.

Locals say the tree grew over a mass grave. Roots twisting through bone.

Drinking what was left behind. When the wind moves through its branches, it doesn’t sound

like leaves. It sounds like crying. People who linger too long feel hands brushing their ankles.

Fingertips reaching from the soil. Like something beneath the ground is trying to climb