Picture by kimi ga nozomu eien
"Is this tree new?" Mia asked, examining the large oak. "New?" Riley scoffed, "It's a massive tree, how would that be 'new'?" They both sat down at the base, leaning against the trunk, happy to be out of the sun. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Mia replied, resting her head on the bark and closing her eyes. The two sat there for a bit, just taking a break from life, even if for a moment. On the contrary, deep within the tree, Alex's mind roiled. He could feel the two girls leaning against him, their warmth seeping into his wood. He tried to beg for help, but they couldn't hear him. He refused to believe that this was his life now, but the witch didn't care what he wanted, and that's what led him to where he was now.
Alex, a vivid bird watcher, was minding his own business when the girl appeared, steam practically coming from her ears. "You like spying on girls!" She shouted, genuinely trembling with rage, "If you're gonna stand there looking at us, why not do it for another hundred years!" He was baffled by this woman, the unfounded rage that he was spying on her, and possibly others, had him in a state of shock. How do you tell someone so convinced of your misdeeds anything without angering her more? He tried to walk away, thinking that ignoring her was probably his best bet, but she grabbed onto his shoulders with both hands.
He turned to shove her away, but she pushed downward on him, her tiny body somehow making his feet sink into the ground. He dropped his binoculars in surprise, cringing when he heard them break, but his now anchored feet brought him back to what was happening. He could feel his toes extend outward, burrowing through the cool dirt, splitting off what felt like a thousand branches. He pulled at his legs, but they started to slow, a rough brown texture climbing up them. Fear overtook him as he realized what it was: bark. He tried to find the girl, panic in his eyes, but she was nowhere to be found, seemingly disappeared now that his fate had been set.
The bark crept up his legs, overtaking his hips and torso, forcing him higher and higher into the air as it changed him. He felt himself grow wider, more cylindrical, with each moment as the changes reached his shoulders. Without warning, his arms shot high into the sky as if he were celebrating. His biceps split into different boughs, reinforcing themselves against his torso-turned-trunk. These boughs split again into dozens of branches, encompassing a large area above his head. His fingers divided into hundreds of small twigs and leaves, leaving him with a full canopy in the sun.
He could feel the Sun's warmth against his leaves, a strange boost of energy as he started to photosynthesize against his rapidly slowing body. The changes finally reached his neck, forcing it wider and more uniform with the rest of his body. His mouth hardened into a knot on his trunk, his eyes simply disappearing beneath the wave of bark, a single sappy tear leaving just before. His hair vanished, no longer needed by his new body. Now, a tree, he could feel the nutrients in the soil through his roots, the insatiable thirst he felt in his mind. He could still breathe, albeit no longer with oxygen.
He tried to spot the witch who had done this to him from his new vantage point, but he couldn't find her. Two girls crested the hill, seeking shade from the harsh rays that Alex now ate through his leaves. One seemed suspicious about the tree, thinking it hadn't been there before, but the other pointed out how preposterous that idea was. Alex tried to talk to them, tried to get help, but his mind kept slowing, his supply of energy waning. Soon, he could hardly think, stuck in a perpetual slowness, all because of a misunderstanding.