Come with Me to the Willow Tree

The willow tree had long since symbolized new beginnings, new hope, and change. When people hoped to change for the better, they’d pray to Fosru and take a branch of this tree and keep it in their pocket, or on their mantle. As long as it was present in their lives in some way or another, it was said that they’d come to your aide in your self-betterment journey. When people built new buildings, it was commonplace to plant willow trees outside of its doors in order to usher in good luck.
Fosru had always found it odd that they and this tree were so connected. When they searched through their memories, they could never remember why they were hand in hand with willow trees. It seemed as though it had always been that way - maybe this was something that had been set before they’d come into existence. But, then again, that didn’t seem right either.
There was a willow tree on a certain hill far away from Firan. Its trunk was thick from age and its branches were just as thick. From a distance, all you could see was the vague form its branches created, a strange dome of light greens. The hill was surrounded by a field of tall grass that clearly wasn’t walked through often, for there were no pathways. But, Fosru couldn’t help but love it for that reason. It felt nice to be truly alone for once.
But then, there was that feeling as they approached the tree. They could never pin it down.
Was it apprehension?
Fear?
Relief?
It was strange. They’d closed themself off to emotion for the most part after realizing how trivial everything was and just how much their own emotions interfered with their decision-making. And yet, this tree grabbed a hold of their heart and gripped it until they finally felt something again. There was something familiar about it, as well, as if they’d been here before under different circumstances.
Truthfully, they hated it. They were the type to enjoy being in control of situations, particularly strange ones that they couldn’t understand. And yet, they kept coming back to this tree over and over again through the centuries.
If you looked into the distance, you could see the tall buildings of Upper Firan. They were vague silhouettes, faded shapes that amounted to nothing. If Fosru had never seen a city before, they were certain that they’d make the assumption that these things were mountains. They took a seat under the tree’s lofty branches and leaned their back against its trunk, closing their eyes. After only a few seconds, they felt a presence of some kind settle down on the other side of the trunk.
Strange. This person hadn’t made a single sound.
“Hope you don’t mind me sitting here! I couldn’t help but notice how lonely you looked.”
Their voice was gentle. It was calm, and somewhat deep. Fosru couldn’t help but feel at ease once they heard it. They kept their eyes closed, shifting their back against the tree trunk. Whoever this was, they clearly didn’t have a single mean bone in their body. It wouldn’t hurt to have them nearby, but it was a little annoying to have their alone time interrupted.
“... It’s fine,” they finally murmured.
“That’s swell, thanks!”
The other person shifted against the trunk, as if getting cozier. It seemed they’d be here for a while. Fosru couldn’t help but sigh. Maybe they’d be lucky and this person wouldn’t talk to them a whole lot, but that seemed to be asking a lot based on their disposition towards them. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the other person began to speak again.
“So, you come here often? I think I’ve seen you here before, but I’ve never said hi or anything.”
Ah, so other people appreciated this spot, too. So much for it being a Fosru-only space like they’d thought.
“I only come here when I need to get away from home.”
“Oh, I see,” the other person replied. “Where’s home, exactly?”
“Apologies if this is terribly rude, but does it matter?”
They had an accent. The more they spoke the clearer it became. But, Fosru couldn’t quite place it. It sounded so familiar, and yet they couldn’t figure out where they’d heard it. If they didn’t figure this out soon, they were going to be thinking about it for an eternity.
The person on the other side of the tree laughed. “I suppose it doesn’t! I’m mostly just surprised you didn’t say something along the lines of ‘Once justice bangs on your doors, you no longer have a home’.”
Fosru raised an eyebrow. “That ancient Euvimanite proverb? Not once have I thought about it in my years of living, true as it may be.”
They laughed again. “I guess you wouldn’t. Especially after what you did.”
The god’s blood froze, but they kept a straight face and breathed in deeply to ease their fast heartbeat. “What did I do, pray tell?” they inquired. Feigning innocence was their best bet in times like this, and if this person truly knew what they’d done, Fosru would definitely have blood on their hands by the end of the day.
“Don’t play dumb with me. We both know what you did… you killed everyone, didn’t you? You killed the Euvimanites, and then some others as well. And for what? Glory? Power? Your own gains?”
Their heart was beating out of their chest. No one had found them out in all the years since Yunvei’s death, so why now? Who…
“...am I, you’re probably wondering. Mind if I quote you? ‘Apologies if this is terribly rude, but does it matter?’”
This person’s calm voice was a stark contrast to Fosru, who was trying to keep themself calm. Normally, they were incredible under pressure. But this was another story. For some reason, they couldn’t string together a sentence. They felt frozen to their place on their side of the tree.
“I never knew that one person could commit so many atrocities… that it was possible to be this far gone. Frankly… I can’t believe that I ever allowed this to happen. I really was just a fool in the end, wasn’t I?” The person’s voice tensed up at the end, as if their throat was closing up from the things they were feeling.
Fosru heaved a breath inwards, trying not to let their emotions take the reigns. “All of those who died deserved it, and it will not matter in the long run. This world will not last much longer. It will soon restart and no one will remember anything here.”
The other person remained silent for a moment, as if trying to process what the god was saying. In the end, they could only say one sentence.
“You really are despicable.”
The wind blew the branches of the willow tree softly, scattering some of its small leaves. From the other side of the tree, it almost sounded like the other person was holding back tears.
“You don’t even realize all that you’ve done, do you? All that you left behind… People really cared about you. They worried about you.”
Those words drove a nail into Fosru’s heart as they focused their eyes into the distance, trying to place their own emotions.
“People miss you, you know. Won’t you give up on all of this and just come home and rest?”
They finally whipped around, trying to see just who had been talking to them this whole time. But, to their surprise, there was no one. The grass on the other side of the tree was flattened, showing that someone had indeed been sitting there. But they were completely gone. Fosru got to their feet, palms blazing with energy in case this person was still around.
But they had disappeared as quickly and quietly as they’d appeared, a phantom in the daylight.