Wizard's Oak

Four mountaineers stood at the base of their adversary and assembled their gear, as if ready for battle.

“Let’s do it,” Laura said.

“Let’s do it,” the others repeated.

And with that said they took one step toward the incline and the march was on. Up along a gradual slope, its ease would soon grow more aggressive as its angle became progressively steeper before them. And it didn’t take long. It was a worthy challenge for those who were up to it. And they certainly seemed ready to be as they broke the damp morning earth with tread and pole to aid them in their ascent. Before long they could see a place that leveled off just ahead.

“We’ll stop to rest there a minute,” Eric pointed with his free hand.

“Sounds good to me,” another agreed.

After the brief stop, the four continued on their way. Surrounding them was a peculiar terrain; naked, bare just like a desert. Only instead of sand there was just soil and the occasional stone that jetted out of it. In front of them the mountain stood, waiting for them to conquer it, challenging them in confrontational silence. Its terrain, too, seemed peculiar in its distance. The four could not make out what lay on its face. As they got closer, they could see that a fine layer of mist clung to it on all sides, shrouding it in mystery. They would have to get closer, much closer to know for sure. But before this could take place, they had to conquer this first stretch.

“Okay,” Eric said. “Everyone take five minutes.”

The four stopped to rest on the first landing they had reached.

“What a strange mountain,” Linda said. “I can’t wait to see it up close.”

“We’ll get our chance,” Laura replied.

Five minutes went by quickly and the four were off once more. The incline before them now grew more gradual, granting the four a temporary leniency. But before long, that had ended. The trail they followed again grew steep and its terrain concerning. Stones soon grew to the size of boulders that balanced on but a few loose grains of soil, threatening to come roaring down on the four at any moment. They had to be careful. That was without stating. As they pushed on their sight grew very dim in the mist that had started to develop before them. As it enveloped the four, their sight became so limited that they couldn’t see what was beyond twenty feet ahead. Still, they knew they had much distance to cover and, as far as they knew, these unstable boulders seemed as though they would continue forever. They continued on for a couple more feet when one of the four stopped.

“What is it, Eric,” Linda asked.

“Shhh. Listen.”

All four stopped. The silence that surrounded them lasted but a second, and then fled to the sound of a distant cracking that seemed to echo from an unknown origin through the mist. It almost sounded like clapping. In front of them, out of the fog, a great dark object cut through.

“Look out,” Jonathan cried and pulled Laura backwards.

A great stone shot out of the mist and narrowly missed the two. The four stayed still, listening for more telltale sounds. But there came none.

“Jesus,” Eric said. “Did you see the size of that thing, and the speed? If it wasn’t for Jonathan here, it would have taken you with it.”

“I know,” Laura said. “Thank you, Jonathan. I really mean that.”

“No problem.”

From below the four could hear the boulder breaking against other rocks. Hollow, cracking sounds rose from violent collisions below.

“Let’s hope there’s no one else down there,” Eric stated.

“What do you think,” Linda asked. “Should we continue onwards or wait until this fog clears?”

“I think as long as we’re careful and quiet, we’ll be okay,” Jonathan replied.

“What do you guys think?”

“I’m feeling like a challenge and a bit like a daredevil,” Eric stated. “You only live once.”

“Well,” Laura said. “I’m not going to argue with insanity. Unless I’m some sort of disaster magnet, I think that the rest of my trek will be a safe one. Mountain already tried to kill me once. Maybe it’ll play fair and throw a challenge or two down you guy’s way.”

“That’s one way to think about it,” Laura said. “Let’s hope you’re right, or wrong. Whichever is safer.”

“Okay guys, no more talking until we’re clear of the mist and boulders,” Eric instructed.

The rest nodded and all four continued their ascent.

About an hour later they successfully cleared the boulders, but not the mist. In fact, the mist had grown deeper, thicker, allowing a visibility of about ten feet instead of twenty. About half an hour later they saw the first signs of life on the face of this desolate monument. They reached a landing that hosted tufts of wild grass that sprang up from torn pockets and deep ripples in the soil. When the four reached the top, they found themselves on sediment that felt hard as clay. Before them, stones lay like benches, inviting rest, and in the distance ahead of them were tall vertical silhouettes, resembling fence poles that seemed to reach to the heavens.

“Trees,” Laura elated. “I bet those are.”

She pointed to the distance to her left where they stood.

“I bet you’re right,” Jonathan said. “About damn time we saw something worth looking at on this mountain.”

“Oh, I’m sure there’ll be plenty more,” Eric replied.

It wasn’t long before they stood up and were off once again. They headed in the direction that Laura had pointed. Those strange slender objects before them now gave the faintest definition of trees. Trees that stood so tall their limbs were not visible for what seemed to be miles above them. Their bark was of such a strange texture that they had to examine it closely. For it rippled with deep crevasses and contoured canyons like that of a fir’s, but when touched, was smooth and flat like that of a birch’s. But its color was like that of neither and was the most mysterious of the trees’ features. The color of its bark was black. It almost looked charred. Every tree looked as though they had succumbed to fire. But the trees appeared too healthy for that. They weren’t broken, cracked, or weakened at all. Having been hiking many times before, the four knew what a forest that had fallen prey to fire looked like. And it wasn’t this.

“What kind of tree do you think this is, Eric,” Linda asked.

“I’m not sure,” Eric replied. “It looks like an old fir of some sort. Maybe Douglas. But the texture, and the color… I can’t tell you for sure. In all my experience of hiking and research I have never seen anything like it.”

“Unprecedented,” Jonathan asked.

“Perhaps. Without a field guide, who could be sure.”

“I’ve got a camera,” Linda stated. “We could take a picture and when we get home, can look it up or take it to an expert.”

“Good idea,” Eric said. “We should be taking pictures anyway.”

Linda placed her backpack down and rifled through it, eventually she found her camera.

She got up close to a nearby tree and snapped a couple of pictures. Then she turned to the others.

“Group shot,” she called out enthusiastically.

The three got together and threw on their biggest, goofiest grins to match her enthusiasm.

She snapped a couple of shots as each changed poses.

“Do you have a timer on that thing,” Jonathan asked? “You should be in a couple too, Mrs. Ansel Adams.”

“Okay,” Linda replied. “Just let me set it and angle it like so.” She pushed a couple of buttons and placed it on a nearby log. Linda shot over to the rest of the group and they all froze in a more genuinely sincere pose. A few seconds went by and then the flash went off.

“Perfect,” Linda said and ran towards the camera. “I can’t wait to get these developed!”

“Right now, I can’t wait to get to the top of this mountain,” Eric said.

“Let’s go.”

The four continued through the strange forest shrouded by an even stranger mist, forging on in their battle against nature itself, yet no doubt at the mercy of the very elements on which they relied. Every step they took seemed to pose a new challenge as they were presented with more unfamiliar terrain, thicker trees and newly emerging underbrush hosting thorns and thistles that snagged their clothes in an attempt to ensnare the four travelers. But they broke through. It would take more than thistles and thorn to keep them from conquering this mountain. Determined to break free, Eric pushed on ahead of the rest and disappeared into the mist.

“Eric, don’t get too far ahead. We can’t see you,” Laura called out.

“Stay where you are and we’ll catch up.”

Laura called out again.

“Eric? Did you hear me?”

There was no answer. The three pushed on with quicker strides.

“Eric, can you answer me?” Laura sounded concerned.

“What the hell is he doing,” Jonathan scorned. “We’re gonna lose him and that asshole’s got the map.”

Linda jabbed Jonathan.

“Jerk.”

“What,” he replied. “Without the map, we’re all screwed. I’m thinking of the group here.”

Linda looked at him discontently.

“Nevermind the arguing, you two,” Laura butt in. “Let’s just catch up to him.”

It wasn’t long before they did.

Laura ran up to him and placed her hand roughly on his shoulder.

“Eric, why the hell did you…run…a…way…”

Her scolding ceased when she caught sight of what he was looking at. Like him, she became transfixed on what lay before her. It was so much so that she didn’t even feel the tug on her shoulder by Linda or her name called out by Jonathan. And as soon as they saw what the other two had, their states became much the same.

“What the hell is that,” Jonathan muttered, staring like the others.

There was no answer.

Finally someone spoke up.

“I don’t know.”

All four stood there, watching, listening and examining the possibility of what it was that stood before them. From this distance, it was too hard to tell. Something that was grounded in the earth, but also reached several stories in the sky, broken open in segments, with pieces of it littered on the ground close-by. Dozens of these things resembling one another in horrific decay, yet preserved in time, waiting to be discovered.

And the four knew they had to investigate closer, they had to know what these things that stood before them were. They swallowed hard, looked at each other, then stepped forward into the clearing that contained them. As they got closer, the objects became more defined, even enough to take on familiar shapes. Eventually they gave up their secrets and confessed as to what they once were.

Buildings.

What appeared to be shops, restaurants, and homes now lay broken, torn and crumbling on the cold earth they were built upon. Where windows once reflected the commotion of the outside streets, great vacant spaces now stood in intact parts of the structures, an empty shell of a former life.

The four stood in awe as great trees, like many they had passed before, shot up from the centers of these barely recognizable structures. And still much bigger ones now almost fully devouring others.

“What is this place,” Laura asked.

“I don’t know,” Eric replied. “But it must be centuries old. Just look at the architecture and how nature has since taken it over. An intervention decades in the making.”

“No kidding,” Jonathan replied. “Some of these trees must be at least a hundred years or more old. And they’re planted firmly, growing out of them.”

Linda snapped some more photos.

The four continued on into the maze of structures and trees. Occasionally they would peer into a space in a building’s walls to see what treasures the forest left untouched for others to salvage. But there were none. At least, none present that didn’t require digging for. As they walked, the mist seemed to clear and, in parts, rays of sunlight broke through the canopies and illuminated the floor before them like spotlights on a stage. Their feet now touched moss that blanketed the wet soil. It was a pleasant change. Time went by and the four knew they had to move on, but the fascination of such a discovery kept them there. The mountain, they convinced themselves, would always be there. This place might not. Therefore, they made time and explored further. The more they explored, the more time seemed to evade them, seemingly standing still as if preserving this moment they shared with the ancient architectures before them. As they explored each structure, each appeared the same, almost duplicate in form. Each individual, signature trait seemed to have vanished or had been swallowed by the forest that consumed them. And as the four sought to find evidence of this place’s name, origins, and age they only came upon disappointment. She hid her secrets well. It was upon the deep exploration of one of these houses that the four heard something strange on the roof above, as if a million fists had been brought down to pummel them.

“What the…,” Jonathan wiped his forehead and looked up, surprised.

He looked down at his finger, which was wet from water that had dripped onto his forehead from a crack in the floor above them.

“What’s wrong, Jonathan,” Eric asked.

“I got dripped on.” He showed Eric his wet finger.

Eric looked up. As he did, water splashed on his cheek.

“Shit, me too.” He wiped it off. “It must be raining.”

“That’s one hell of a downpour. Just listen to it.”

The four tilted their heads up to the rain that poured around down upon the forest around them. For a minute they listened, and then the four went upstairs to get a closer look. Outside they could barely see the forest beyond the downpour. It was nearly one solid sheet, and its impact felt louder than thunder. It came down so hard and furious that it appeared to tear holes in the moss that covered the forest floor. The four just watched in silence until Jonathan spoke.

“So, what shall we do? Hike and get soaked, or stay here and wait it out?”

“What do you think,” Laura said sarcastically.

“Well,” Eric said. “We have enough provisions to last days, and there is plenty of shelter. I say wait it out. It should let up soon anyways”

“Good call,” Laura said. “Just look at it go.”

The four stood there at the window and looked out into the rain.