Narrator's POV
"There are moments where I wish of things"
Inside of a large forest right at the center of it, a single small sprout came out of the ground, growing a little under the light of the sun and soft breeze that passed through the place.
"There are also moments where I don't"
After some time, dark clouds started to cover the light of the sun before rain started to fall making some droplets fall on the small leaves of the sprout gently dropping down before reaching the ground beneath.
"And sometimes I hear wishes that are not my own"
At a long distance, a river flowed freely while some fish continued swimming without paying attention to the rain hitting the water.
"Food, children, survival...those wishes are not mine, and yet I can hear them"
As the river continued flowing, dragging small stones, branches and leaves, the little green sprout grew a little taller as it heard the wishes of the animals all across the forest.
"I can hear their wishes, can someone hear mine?"
The unnatural growth speed of the little sprout was accompanied by a gentle golden glow, but after a few seconds it stopped alongside with the growth.
After hours of rain, the clouds started to part and let the light of the sun shine through, the light fell on the sprout again but a small shadow stopped the sun from shining on the plant.
"I was wondering what that voice was"
A young boy squatted down to stare at the little green sprout, he had short messy green hair and a pair of brown eyes that remained locked on the small plant, he wore a simple pair of shorts and a dirty slightly worn out shirt with his body and clothes somewhat damp due to the rain that had stopped a little while ago.
"I didn't know plants could talk" The young boy smiled a little.
"...what?"
"You...are a plant aren't you?" He tilted his head.
"I am...are you a plant?"
"No...should I be?"
"I don't think so, I think it'd be worrying if a plant looked like you"
"I'm not that ugly..."
"Ah no I didn't mean—"
"Haha! I'm just teasing you" the little boy laughed softly before standing up.
"I see, what's your name?"
"None!"
"Your name is "None"? That's a little cruel..."
"No no, I don't have a name" he quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.
"That's worse"
"Well, why don't you give me a name then?" The boy beamed down at the little sprout.
"I don't think I'd be good at giving names"
"Hmmm~ is it weird to talk to plants?" A hand moved to his chin tapping it softly. "My village kicked me off because they thought I was weird, they kept calling me Druid or something like that"
"That doesn't sound bad really, I didn't know there was a village nearby"
"It's been far away~ and well, maybe I can call myself that" The now named Druid smiled. "And what about you?"
"I don't think I need a name myself, I'm just a plant"
"Have some faith in yourself~ I have a feeling you'll be a very pretty tree one day"
"If you say so, Druid"
...
Years passed, and the sprout had grown into a decently sized sapling, the many leaves flowing softly with the breeze of spring season, and at some distance, The Druid, now having grown at a teenage age, was laying on the grass staring up at the clouds.
"You seem awfully comfortable"
"I am~ I saw a pair of bears coming out of their cave today, winter just finished a week ago so they were a little hungry, I gave them some extra food I had gathered in case something like that happened" The Druid said with a calm smile.
"They didn't eat you?"
"I think they planned it but in the end they didn't"
"This entire forest is your home, I don't think anything here would hurt you"
The ground close to the Druid rose up slightly, a small root of the Tree came out and gave a pat to the top of his head, somewhat dirtying the boy's green hair with some of the dirt underneath the grass.
"Hey! I'll have to go take another bath now..."
"You haven't bathed in 3 days, you're starting to smell"
"How can you know? You don't have a nose"
"I don't need one, I can feel your bad smell in my roots"
"Uwee~ that's so mean~" He whined lowly before standing up. "Fine~ I'll go take a bath in the river"
"Don't get slapped by a fish again"
"Those fishes were rude!" The Druid groaned as he started to walk away.
"Druid, wait"
"Hmmm? What is it?" He briefly stopped walking to look back at the sapling.
"You already know, I can hear the wishes of living beings but I...I never heard any wish from you, why is that?"
"....maybe because I don't have any wish, I don't think there's anything in the world that I want so intently as to wish for it" A soft smile slowly formed on his face. "I...think I already have everything I need and want right here in this forest, after all, this is my home isn't?"
The Tree didn't say anything else as the boy walked away from the clearing in the direction of the river, the wind blowed a little making the leaves of the sapling sway slightly, a golden glow forming around it for a few seconds letting it grow slightly taller before stopping.
"Yeah...I guess it is"
.....
"I'm baaaaack~"
Another few years later, The Druid, now as a young adult, calmly walked into the clearing from between a few trees, his eyes immediately locked onto The Tree which had now grown almost entirely, the trunk was thick, the roots were deeply embedded underneath the grass and the thousands of leaves had a few berries accompanying them in the branches.
"Did they leave safely?
"Yeah~ your roots knocked out the attackers, the merchants are taking them away to collect a bounty" He walked towards the Tree and sat down on the grass. "I guided them through the forest so they're away already"
"I see...that's good, they seemed very scared, I could hear them wishing for someone to save them"
"And you responded~" The Druid mused with a smile. "You're like that one woman they spoke about"
"A woman?"
"Yeah! While I was guiding them, we spoke a little, they told me a few stories on the way, supposedly, there's a woman out there that can fulfill people's wishes with food!"
"That has to be just a fake story"
"I don't know, they looked pretty convinced about that hahaha" Turning around he rested his back on the Tree's trunk. "They also spoke about a few other things...the Green Glow, the Red Sea, the Golden Clouds, the Silver Mist and the Purple Moon, but the story of that Chef was definitely the one that got my attention"
"Because that woman can fulfill wishes with food?"
"Yeah! But apparently it comes with pretty crazy conditions"
"Like what?"
"If I remember correctly, they speak of her making a salad that gives you abs if you eat it while standing on one foot, making chicken noises and in your underwear all at once"
"....what?"
"That's what I said! It sounds crazy, but incredibly fun to watch, I'd pay to see something like that haha!"
"Yeah I do feel like you would"
"But It does make me wonder if that woman is really doing good things for people" The Druid got himself comfortable closing his eyes. "If she can really fulfill people's wishes with food, do those wishes have any meaning at all?"
"I don't think I understand..."
"You can hear people's wishes, if you heard someone wishing for a pretty gem, what do you think it'd be better for them? Letting them wander around looking for said gem, or giving it to them in a silver platter?"
"...I don't know"
"I don't either!" He beamed with a smile. "I don't think it's a question so easily answered, and I don't think anyone other than oneself should answer that, no one should have total power over people's wishes"
"Maybe that's why it has conditions? It's not total power...perhaps those conditions are simply to give them a way to back off from the silver platter if they're halfway already, they can just not fulfill those conditions and have their wishes be fulfilled in their own ways"
"Maybe~ that'd make that woman a somewhat wiser person, or maybe she just likes messing with people!"
"If that were the case she'd be a very evil woman"
"But an amusing evil woman!"
"For some reason I feel like you two would be very good friends..."
"Perhaps~ but anyways" His smile turned softer as he opened his eyes to look up at the branches of the tree. "What about you?"
"What?"
"You said that there are moments where you yourself wish of things, would you want them fulfilled as well?"
"I don't think it's that simple, my wishes are...not something I can easily explain, I can never find the words for them, they just are what I feel"
"I see I see~ you're just shy~ I can see your branches turning red"
"If I ever find the words to describe my wishes, I'll let you know so you stop the teasing, besides, my branches can't change color"
"I'm just teasing you~"
"But...there is a wish I do want to be fulfilled"
"Hmmm? What is it? You want me to tie a bow around your trunk?"
"I wish for you to always remain in a place you can callHome"
"...that's so cute~"
"Shut up"
"Are you crying?"
"I don't have eyes, I can't cry"
"You're totally crying!"
.....
Another year passed in a flash, The Druid was calmly sleeping on the grass, his arms bent behind his head using them as a pillow, while the Tree, now bigger and with some golden leaves, still remained rooted on the same spot it had been all this time.
"Druid, wake up"
The green-haired young man opened his brown eyes hearing the Tree talk, he sat up and let out a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.
"What is it? I was taking a nap..."
"There's some people in the forest"
"Are they in danger? I can go guide them their way" He said fully standing up.
"It's not that, both of them feel...weird, like if none of them were entirely here, they're coming directly here"
"Right to the middle of the forest?"
"Yes, they're close, stay close to me, if they're dangerous I'll protect you"
"Okay...but let me do the talking" The Druids said giving a few steps closer to the Tree.
"I doubt they'd hear me anyways"
The Druid heard a twig snapping under someone's boot, turning around he saw the silhouette of two young men walking into the clearing.
The first one wore black clothes that carefully hid his body, though most pieces of clothing showed stitches of multiple sewings from apparently different kinds of damages, he pulled down the hood, showing the messy black hair and green eyes that looked at the clearing somewhat uneasy.
The second one also wore dark clothes, but unlike the first one, he seemed perfectly fine regarding the state of his clean and neat clothes, though his silver eyes stared at the large Tree before looking down at the Druid.
"This place makes me feel weird..." The Undead voiced out in a low tone.
"Bear with it for now" The Messenger spoke back blankly.
Stepping forward, The Messenger's silver eyes scanned the Druid for a second, his eyes narrowed for a second before a heavy sigh came out of him, then, he stared directly at the Tree.
"No need to worry, we're not here to cause any trouble" He announced openly.
"What do you two want then?" The Druid asked a little wary.
The sound of something falling on the grass made the two of them perk up, and looking back, The Messenger was fully able to see The Undead completely asleep on the floor, face down on the ground.
"...That wasn't me"
"I know, don't worry" The green-haired young man whispered to the Tree behind him.
"As you can see..." The Messenger started to speak.
Walking towards his asleep companion, The Messenger flipped him around, forcing him face up on the grass before his hand grabbed a hold of The Undead's hood before dragging him closer to the Druid and the Tree, stopping at some distance.
"We just wish to rest"
★ ★ ★