A Tree
Season of Slender
Minji stared out of her living room window while she waited for her date to arrive. Her lawn was covered in frost and she couldn’t help admiring how the grass sparkled under the light of the setting sun. She twirled a strand of her royal blue hair between her fingers as she examined her yard. A smile graced her delicate, pink lips when her eyes fell upon a tree. A slender, leafless tree that the crows gathered on.
Though seemingly destitute and morbid, Minji found this to be a beautiful site. There was something bewitching about the sharply angled branches and the shrill call of the crows. She was entranced by the scene until she noticed a slight movement. A movement from the tree. There was another shift and the crows flew away.
Minji stared intently at the tree. There was no way it could’ve moved. It was only a tree, after all. She gasped when the branches suddenly began to contort until they were in the form of an extremely slim person. She thought back to the stories her grandmother had told her of the faceless, slender man who punished all of the misbehaving children. That is what she was reminded of in this moment.
The tree seemed to lurch forward towards her window. She wanted to scream and run, but she was fixed in place. All she could do was stare in amazement and fear. The tree came forward again and Minji began to rapidly say prayers her grandmother had taught her, her breath fogging up the window. She saw the outline of a face right outside the window and her eyes widened.
A shiver went down her spine and she found that she was mobile again. Instead of trying to get away, Minji wiped the glass with the sleeve of her black trench coat. When she got clear sight out of the window again, there was the tree. It was just a tree. A slender, leafless tree that the crows gathered on.
Comments