The Udara Tree

“Sit back and I’ll tell you a story.”

“Grandma, don’t you think I’m too old for this?” Felix whined, playfully. He’d just graduated from the University, and had decided to pay his old Grandma a visit. He had been fond of her folktales growing up, and had always looked forward to them. Judging by how he settled in to listen to her even with his faux complaints, he still did.

“You will want to hear this one, my son.” Granny assured.

“I’m all ears ma.”

Satisfied that her favourite and only grandson was listening, she began.

In this very land we stand on, there is one tree that stands the tallest in all the land. So tall that you can see it from any part of the village you are in, but the nearer you are to it, the shorter it becomes till it is barely above your head. It is under this tree that the curse began.

A noble lady, who had abandoned her family and all she had for a lover her people did not approve of, was standing face to face with him as he praised the features of another woman other than her. He mocked the ebony of her skin, and her weird, doe eyes. He mocked the limp in her step, and her short roundish form. And finally, declared her unfit for his status, commanding her to return to her people as he had nothing for her.

As the onlookers who had gathered, laughed and pointed fingers at the now jilted lady, she let out a cry that pierced the heavens, and under the Udara tree, placed a curse on the tree, the land and all surrounding it. As far as the Udara tree stood, anyone who from that moment stood under it , would have his most cherished relationship broken. And in the most unimaginably horrible way possible.

The man who’d jilted the noble lady withered to dust on the spot. Same with the onlookers. And the noble lady was said to have ran into the forest, never to be seen again. But the curse of the Udara tree stood, and even though its potency was rumoured to have been lost, no one dared test the validity of this rumour.

“Mama,” Felix started, bursting into laughter. “That’s the craziest story you’ve ever told yet. Thankfully, it’s a myth.”

Grandma gave him a dark look. “But it is not a myth, my son.”

An amused grin playing on his face, Felix stood up. “You’re saying that this Udara story is true.”

“I don’t know.” Grandma shrugged. “The tree is not very far from here. You can test it yourself.”

Felix stopped in his tracks and gazed at his Grandma, suddenly realizing that she was serious. Immediately, a barrage of thoughts began to flow in his head. With a smile that matched that of the woman before him, he thought to himself. How possible was it to invite Claudia over, and terminate the relationship that had plagued his adult years once and for all?

Jhymi🖤

Inspired by the Freewriter's Daily Prompt: Not a Myth

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