Say My Name

They said the tree at the edge of Hollow Woods was older than the town itself.
Its bark was rough and scorched, as if struck by lightning not once but many times, yet it never fell.
A strange darkness stretched around it, cold and unnatural, it felt alive, as if it watched.
No birds nested in it. No leaves ever fell.

Etched deep into the bark were letters in an ancient curling script.

The group of eight stood in the shadow of the tree, some felt a cold presence, the letters on the bark glowed faintly.
“You have to say it fast five times” Sezu whispered, eyes locked on the runes.
“Shade, Shade, Shade, Shad, Shade” they incanted.

Only three returned that evening. None of them ever spoke again.

---

Enatha was not one to believe in ghost stories, but mysteries ? Mysteries were her obsession.

Curious from the recent disappearance of five teens. She studied every rumor but the strange fact was no one could recall the written script on the tree, only how it sounded.

One rainy afternoon, while everyone huddled indoors, Enatha quietly slipped out of the town.
Lightning split the sky as she entered the woods.

She stood before the tree, brushed her fingers across the bark in search of the words.
It was faint, but still there.

“Shade” she murmured “Shade…..”

Her eyes widened.
It was not a word.
It was an anagram.
A name.

The moment she spoke it aloud, the wind died. Rain froze mid air, each drop hung like broken glass. The world turned silent, as if holding its breath.

From beneath the old roots, the earth split open like a wound and from it rose a pale figure cloaked in shadow and ash, eyes smoldering with fire.

“You called” he grumbled “Few say my name, Few say it right”

Enatha stumbled back “Who are you?”

“I am the darkness you fear, the end you await, the the king under your world”

He studied her, amused “You saw past the fear, you saw the mystery. There is great wisdom in you”

Enatha heart raced “What happens now?”

The old god tilted his head, amused “That depends, will you go back and forget or stay and become part of the root to the underworld?”

Before Enatha could answer. Lightening struck the tree with a deafening crack.

The storm resumed, rain slammed against the earth, the world moved again.

Enatha stood alone beneath the tree, the carving was gone, the bark was smooth.

She walked home in silence.

And never spoke of the tree again.