Ancient One

Written for Crispina’s Crimson’s Creative
Challenge #077. I chose Pic #3.
Here’s where the image took me.

Deep in the forgotten corner of Stony Hollow Woods, locals know not to walk past the Ancient One after dark.

It started with missing hikers. Then a postman. Then, incredibly, a Jehovah’s Witness …. which, honestly, nobody investigated too hard.

The tree’s roots don’t just drink water. They reach. That sinuous, pale limb curling along the mossy ground? That’s not a root. Ask anyone brave enough to look closely what it resembles, and watch their face go white.

The moss keeps everything soft. Quiet. Inviting.

“Come rest,” the Ancient One seems to whisper, its bark groaning like an empty stomach. “Sit. Stay.”

The forest floor is purple and black …. the bruised colors of digestion.

Botanists who’ve studied it agree …. those are not normal growth patterns.

They also agree on another thing.

They’re never going back.

NAR©2026

This is “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #077

^{Everything seen here was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}