THE TREE OF DAYS............

THE TREE OF DAYS…………….

“That’s him over there I tell you”…
“Your nuts,, he doesn’t look anything like him”…
“I don’t even know why you guys bother,, there’s no such
person or tree”…
“There is I tell you…my brother-in-laws cousin saw it for himself and I’m telling you that old man knows where it is…he’s the only one who knows where it is”….
“Oh,, yeah well if your brother-in law saw it,, why doesn’t he know where it is”…
“It was my brother-in-laws cousin”…
“Whatever…he’s lying”…
“He said he was blindfolded when he went there,, that’s why”…
“Well,, what did he tell you?...did he see the future?”...
“Yeah,, that’s what he said,, he said he could see himself
walking down the road and he could see a pouch that was in the grass…that’s where he got the money for his new wagon”…
“I’ll bet he just stole the money”…
“If your so sure that old man can lead us to the tree of days,,
why don’t you go over there and ask him?... So we can see our future”…
“Go on its was your idea,, I’d like to know my future… maybe I can win some money gambling because I’ll know what the cards are”…
“Hey yeah… go ask him…we could make a lot of money”…

(Glimman,, takes a long drink from his cup of warm ale to gather his courage…and with an unsure look about him,, he
goes over to the old mans table)…
“Are you Hastenfoe?”,, asks Glimman in a barely audible voice…
(Glimman,, looks back at his friends for encouragement)
“Who?...never heard of him?...leave me be”…
“Your him,, I know you are”…
“Leave me be,, I tell you,, or I’ll have the keep throw you out on your ear”…
“Do you know where the tree of days is?”...
“The what?”...
“My friends and I want to see it,, we want to know what our future is….we can pay”…
“What?...what can you peasants pay?...how much?”...
“We have money,, we all do…we’ve just sold our grain at the market”…
“I don’t believe you,, show me”…
(Glimman,, opens a small leather pouch and lays a
gold coin on the table)…
“See”…
“It will cost you more than that if I take you to the tree of days”...
“I knew it,, I knew it…you are him…how much?...
When can we go?”...
“The three of you want to go together?”...
“Yes,, that’s right”…
“Very well,, I will lead you to the tree of days…
Each of you pay me 1 gold coin now and when
we return here,, you will each give me 3 more gold coins”…
“That’s a lot of money,, it will be almost all we have”…
“Do you what to see your future or not?...only I can lead you there and only I can show you the secret”…
“What secret?”...
“The secret of the tree of days...how to see your future of course…even if you knew where the tree was,, I’m the only one who can show you how to see into the future”…
“This had better not be a trick old man”…
“It is no trick…besides there are three of you,, and I am just an old man”…
“Wait here,, I will talk to my friends”…
(Glimman,, returns to his friends at their nearby table…
Each of them has been watching and listening carefully)
“He’s Hastenfoe,, alright…and he will take us to the tree were we can see our futures”…
“When,, and how much?”...
“I suppose he could take us tomorrow and he wants
1 gold coin each now and 3 each when we return”…
“4 gold coins each!!!...its too much…I can not afford so much,, I have lenders to pay”…
“Me too…it is too much”…
“Think of the money we can make by knowing what the future is going to be…we could wager on everything,, anything”…
“How far into the future will we see?...did he say?...
Just to see what happens tomorrow,, its not worth it”…
“Ask him how far into the future…and tell him we will give him 3 gold coins now and 6 gold coins when we return… that’s all”….
(Glimman,, talks again with Hastenfoe and tries to explain his friends concerns and then returns to his table)…
“He says his price is firm and can not be changed,, it is what he always charges…he says we will be able to see at least
30 days into the future…but he can not say if we will be able to see anymore than that”…
“Very well then,, give him his 3 coins and tell him we will
meet him at the stables early tomorrow morning”…

(The morning sun was just rising over the lowland hills when
Glimman and his two friends arrived at the stable… Hastenfoe was already there waiting for them)…
“Hurry up will you,, we should have left an hour ago…get your horses”…
“We don’t have any horses,, we just have our mules and our wagons”…
“Leave the wagons here,, hurry up”…
“How long will it take to get there?”...
“It takes as long as it takes”…
(The first days journey was thru the Southern farmlands,,
Glimman knew most of the towns and villages along the way
and the riding was not to difficult…on the morning of the
2nd day Hastenfoe blindfolded all three men and tied their mules together to form a long train with his horse leading the way…Glimman and his friends couldn’t tell which way they were headed or even if they may have been traveling in circles or perhaps they were being led Northward over the same trail they had just traveled…at night the campfire was
started well after the sun had set… Hastenfoe was very mindful not to let anyone know where they were and he gave them no hints to where he was leading them…it was before mid-day on the 4th day that the caravan halted… Hastenfoe helped the three men down from their mules and undid their blindfolds)...
“Are we there?”... Glimman asked excitedly…
“Not yet,, we have about a half days journey into the forest”…
“We will walk from here,, leave your mules here”…
(Hastenfoe lead his horse thru the forest brambles and thickets…A pathway only he could follow,, for he had been down this path many times before)…
(The suns rays were just beginning to flicker thru the forest limbs from the West,, when Hastenfoe and his followers finally stopped… there before them was the largest tree that Glimman and his friends had ever seen…20 men reaching finger tip to finger tip could not reach round the trunk…its limbs and branches seemed to defy gravity itself they were so massive it seemed that their very weight,, breadth and length should make them fall to the ground…the bark was black as night and as rough as jagged stones…and yet there were few leaves on any of the branches or limbs…the tree of days rose from the ground on what appeared to be large root legs that bend and curled as if to grab hold of the land and never let it go)…
“This is it right?...damn,, that’s the biggest tree I’ve ever seen…it must be over a thousand years old”…
“Yes,, this is the tree of days”…
“What do we do now?...when will we be able to see our futures?”...
“Soon,, your future will be here soon…lets make a campfire first and have something to eat…evening is the best time to view the future”…
(The campfire was prepared and the evenings meal of stew,, flour biscuits and tankards of ale were consumed)…
“What about our futures now old man?”...
“We are here,, when can we see them?”...
“You can see your futures now if you wish…
Each of you fill your tankard half full of water and ale…
Glimman you go first…break off a piece of tree bark and place it in your drink…no,, no don’t use your knife…just ask the tree of days to let you have a piece of bark…that’s it…now place it in your drink”…
“You two,, do the same”…
(All three seekers of the future now watched and waited as their tree bark slowly dissolved in the ale)
“Now what?”...
“Who wants to be first to see their future?”...
(I do clamored Krest)…
“Very well then…just drink your ale,, all of it,, and you will
see visions of your future before you”…
(Krest was at first wary of the tankard of ale but as he took
the first swallow he found that he could not stop and drank it all as if he was a man in the desert)…
“I,, I…can see things,, there’s my house and my wife…
there’s Bertum stealing my mules reigns again…
I can see”………..
(And so it went thru the night as each man drank his portion of ale,, and saw his future…some were happy with what they saw and sometimes they were confused by the images before them…then as the ale and the anxiety of the journey melted away before the campfire,, each of the three seekers feel to sleep)…
(As the three men slept and dreamed of a bountiful future,, Hastenfoe,, slit the throats of each man one at time)…
(He then placed each body against the tree of days,, and watched as the tree slowly enveloped their bodies into its massive trunk)…
“I have brought you three more…how many is that now?”...
“You have brought me 317,, you still owe me 183 more before our bargain is fulfilled…you wanted eternal life and this I have given to you…you will live until your debt is paid to me”…
“When I made that bargain with you,, I was an old man,,
I am still an old man,, I will always be an old man…I wanted
to have my youth again…and live forever as a young man,, not as I was when we made that bargain”…
“You said nothing of being returned to your youth,, you merely said you wanted to live forever,, and that is what I gave you…I have been kind in allowing you to alter our bargain,, by letting you feed me with these stupid seekers of the future…you have merely to finish with 183 more and I will release you…your future is known to you,, it is only up to you on how long it takes to reach the end”…

(A tale of caution for the traveler thru life… remember that the future is not written,, and that even if it were,, perhaps the
person standing next to you,, could be part of your future for
good or for evil,, or perhaps his future is your doom)………