The Myth of Penrod and the Seeing Tree

“We wanted to hear a story!” The child exclaimed. The rest of the group of children nodded emphatically. “We heard you would if we asked...”
The old halfling glared from under his overgrown white eyebrows “Asked and refilled my cup. The asking is optional, but I require the refilling,” he said, shaking his empty tankard. One of the serving women going past plucked it from his hand, and lightly slapped him on the arm.
“Just tell them a story, Greyfoot. We all know you’re dying to anyway,” she said, laughing.
“Fine, fine. What story would you like to hear, hmm?” He waggled his eyebrows at them.
“We wanted to hear the one about Penrod,” the youngest said.
“Mmm, Penrod and the Tree of Seeing, a fine tale. Well then, let's begin...”

Penrod was a young man living in the port town of Obrok, long before it became the mighty city that we know today. He was desperately in love with Belamia, a girl he had known for as long as he had lived. He bought her flowers and gifts and sang songs to her under her window at night. Much to the great annoyance of her father. He could not sway her, however.
“Penrod,” she would say to him, “You are my friend but I simply do not love you in that way.” She would smile sadly at him, but her words would not sway him.
“Oh my dearest Belamia, just tell me what to do to make you mine. I would do anything you asked,” he cried up at her window.
When he said things like this, she would close her window to him for Belamia did not like talk of being made someones. She also had told him what she wanted, and that was for him to stop. Tonight, tired as she was of his constant attentions, she answered him once and for all.
“Penrod, your future is not with me. You need to discover it for yourself. Go out into the world and live a little. You’ll soon forget me.”
At this, she closed her window and drew the curtains.
Penrod stood in the darkness for a moment thinking on her words. Then he grinned widely and completely misunderstood what she had meant.
“Yes! Yes, I understand, my love. I need to learn about my future and travel. So I will go to the Island of Hetia and eat from the Tree of Seeing. Its fruit able to give a glimpse into a person’s future. To see how I am to woo you. Thank you for your words.”
With this, he dashed off towards the docks to find a ship that would take him to the fabled island.
Finding a Captain that knew of the Island’s location and a ship going that direction was no simple task but powered by his great, albeit misguided, love Penrod persevered and soon found himself upon the waves. Sailing to his destination.
The journey was hard for Penrod, who had worked nowhere but his father’s scribing shop. The physical labour required to sail upon the sea was entirely new to him, but he kept Belamia’s face firmly lodged in his mind and kept working.
Days turned into weeks, which turned into months before they sighted an island. This was to be the first of many trials Penrod would have to face before reaching the Tree of Seeing, but he…

“My Da says you always add these trials, to make your stories take more time, so you get more booze,” said one child, interrupting him. “He says we could spread what comes out of your mouth on fields to make flowers grow. My Da says…”
Anger flashing in his eyes. The old halfling looked down at the child. “Let me tell you something about ‘Your Da’, he...”
This time, a loud cough interrupted him. He looked to the side and saw the serving girl looking at him disapprovingly.
“Well, uh, he might be right. Lets just skip all that, eh?” He said, reconsidering his words. “Hmm, where was I, oh yes…”

After many trials and hard sailing, they sighted the island of Hetia on the horizon. The captain of the ship gave Penrod a small boat to go ashore with. Neither him, nor his crew would set foot near the island. They said the gods cursed it, and that it was horrible luck for a sailing man to land there.
Penrod rowed ashore alone. The months at sea had prepared him well, and he didn’t find the task as unsurmountable as he would have before. As he drew close to the island, he could see a figure standing on the beach. It looked like they were waiting for him to arrive.
As he pulled the boat out of the water onto the beach, the man approached him.
“Ah, my old friend Penrod. How good it is to see you.” said the strange figure. He had unkempt hair and a mismatched set of clothing, the colours all clashing.
“You know my name? How is this, we have never met?” Penrod said.
“What? Oh no we have. You came here one day to eat a peach off the tree. You told me of your unrequited love, Belamia…” The stranger’s voice trailed off. “Didn’t you?”
“That day is today, my odd companion. I come to eat a peach from the tree. I must find out how to win my fair lady’s love. How did you know all of that already?”
Muttering to himself, the man turned and started walking back up the beach towards the tree line. He turned back once and waved for Penrod to follow.
“I am the keeper of the tree and guardian of this island.” The man told him once they had arrived at his house. “I am to tell you, you can go up to the tree and take 2 peaches. Any more and you risk… problems.” The man, named Aleno, said with his eyes tightly shut.
“Problems, like what? How long have you been here, Aleno? It seems very lonely.”
“How long? A week maybe, possibly a year. Potentially forever. It becomes hard to keep track when you have eaten of the tree as much as I have. I would offer you dinner and a place to stay but you never accept it.”
The way the man knew so much unnerved Penrod, who just wanted to get his peach and start the return journey. Back to his love, Belamia, who must miss him.
So off he set, climbing the island towards the summit where the tree was. Atop a hill in a clearing. The last light of the day just catching the leaves and making them shine an emerald brilliance.
He reached up into the branches and plucked down the ripest looking fruit he could see. Full and soft, a faint fuzz covered it. Raising it to his nose, he inhaled a fresh, fragrant scent. Mouth watering, he took a bite. Juice running down his chin. He didn’t taste the sweet flesh of the fruit, though. His eyes were already elsewhere.
He was back in Obrok, walking down the street towards Belamia’s house. Flowers in one hand and trinkets he had brought back from far away for her in his other. He felt confident this time she would be his. He was no longer a boy, but now a man. Muscles toned from months at sea, skin bronzed from the sun.
Today was his day.
Turning the corner, he saw her house. He saw her garden. And he saw the bunting and decorations hanging from all the trees. Saw her in a wonderful-looking dress, standing in front of a crowd of people, kissing a man in a traditional wedding suit. His stomach dropped out of him as he dropped the flowers to the road. He gaped at her. Looking towards the crowd in delight, she saw him standing there. Her face fell, and she gave him a sad smile and turned back to her new husband.
Suddenly he was back on the island, with the peach half way from his mouth. The fruit in his mouth tasted sour in his grief.
He fell to his knees and wept. For he knew that this was the truth. Penrod had recognised the man she had married, always fooling himself into thinking he was his rival for her affections. He was simply just the man she chose.
It was at this moment Penrod finally accepted that Belamia was never to be his.
Looking down at the half eaten peach in his hand, he felt lost. Penrod didn’t know what to do, didn’t know where to go. He knew he couldn’t go back to Obrok. There was truly nothing for him there now.
Raising the fruit to his lips, he took another bite.
This time he saw a place he didn’t recognise, a splendid hall draped in finery. He saw a beautiful woman sitting in a gilded chair. He saw himself sitting next to her, dressed in clothes the like he had never seen before. She looked at him the way he had only ever looked at Belamia, and he returned the expression.
This time when he came back to himself, he was smiling. He ran down the hill towards the house of Aleno. He gathered the man up in a great hug and spun him around in his joy.
“This part never gets old friend Penrod. I am always happy to see you come down from the tree. I have prepared dinner for us this time.” Aleno said.
In the morning Penrod left the island, waving to Aleno, who stood on the beach. He rejoined the sailors who asked him about the island and what he had seen. Then they set off to find the woman and place Penrod has seen.
Penrod never thought about Belamia again.

The children were quiet when the old halfling stopped speaking and took a long pull of his ale.
“Well?” one of them said. “Did he find the woman in his vision?”
“Yeah!” said another. “What happened after that?”
The old man finished his drink and looked at them all. “After? What do you mean after? That’s the story. Anything that might have come after is another story for another time. Now leave an old man in peace.”