Episode 1

While I was at my desk, going over some subjects, I overheard a group of girls talking about a tree, which appeared to be magical, with leaves of a bluish hue, on the banks of the Relva River. I wondered if this could be the same tree my mother had told me about years ago. The thing is, this tree was located on our property, on private land. This made me question why that girl was there.

I never really believed in magic stories. I was quite skeptical about all of that. However, something about that conversation piqued my interest. One of them was recounting that she had witnessed a ritual being performed at that location during the early hours of the morning. The others questioned her as to why she was there at that hour. After all, it was an isolated place, there isn't much to see besides the landscape, but during the early hours of the morning, it was certainly quite unusual.

"It doesn't matter what I was doing there. What really matters is that it was quite strange to witness those women dressed in white, holding candles and dancing around the tree. I'm sure that tree is magical. The scene gave me goosebumps and, to this day, when I remember what was happening there, I get the same feeling. It felt like the song was being etched into my soul."

"You're being very superstitious. In a few days, there will probably be a video on the internet with these same characteristics. It's quite possible that you were filming something for a specific purpose."

"I can assure you there was no one filming. They were just dancing and singing a song I had never heard before, in a language I'd never heard spoken. And the tree seemed to glow."

At that moment, the teacher walked in and everyone fell silent, returning to their seats. However, that situation continued to occupy my thoughts. What if this tree really was magical? If it could actually grant wishes? All I needed was one opportunity. And I would be willing to risk everything for it, including my own freedom, knowing that this was the possible consequence if I was caught.

My father would confine me to the house, and I would only be allowed to leave on my wedding day. I wondered why I had to be the firstborn. It would all have been so different if it were my sister. She was excited about the idea of my father choosing a suitor for her, which could only happen after my marriage, according to another idiotic rule.

My sister was, in this case, counting the days until I got married as soon as possible. My family had an endless list of rules, and even though we are in such an advanced century, some of them remain unchanged, some are remarkably archaic.

We are part of a closed organization, in which members marry each other. There is no direct kinship between couples, eliminating any possibility of consanguineous marriage. However, this is still a deeply archaic tradition. From birth, the firstborn child was promised to someone chosen by the leaders of the organization. Even when we reach adulthood, we are not free to break this commitment, as this would bring dishonor to our family and put them at risk of being expelled from the organization.

I never agreed with this practice, however, to refuse the husband chosen by the organization would represent the destruction of all that my family knew. Furthermore, it would mean losing everything we have achieved so far.

The boy I was promised to I barely knew. Although he had never treated me badly, I longed for a marriage based on love. I wanted to be with someone by choice and not because of some idiotic agreement that had been made at the time of my birth.

I wanted to experience the butterflies in my stomach, the feeling of sweaty hands, the shiver down my spine, and the constant longing to be near someone, the way the books I secretly read described. I didn't want to just lie in a bed and give myself to a husband who had not been my choice.

I craved that fire, that passion, the urgency you only feel when you're close to someone you love. However, with each passing day, that seemed to be getting further and further away from me, and I was beginning to lose hope...until I heard that conversation.

I've never had any friends. I was known as a model student, labeled by the other students as a "nerd", for not mixing. I was forbidden from forming bonds with people who were not within our circle, and friendship was considered one of those forbidden bonds. To this day, I don't understand what it is they wanted to hide so much.

After dinner, I waited until everyone was asleep. However, as I got ready to leave, I noticed my mother saying goodbye to my father, wearing a long white dress. I waited until my father entered his room, and set out towards that magical tree. I was surprised to see an entourage of women dressed just like my mother, holding lit candles and following the same direction I was headed.

I kept my distance to avoid being discovered. It was a considerable walk and there were countless women, singing a song in soft voices that, as the girl in my class mentioned, seemed to touch the soul. However, it was a language I didn't understand, something I never knew my mother spoke.

After a few hours there, singing that song, they blew out their candles and went back to their homes. Only then, when I was sure they were well away, did I approach that tree and admire it up close. I searched my heart for the one wish I hoped to have fulfilled and spoke it out loud. However, nothing actually happened, no sign of a gust of wind as I expected, no rustling of leaves, nothing out of the ordinary.

I was deeply disappointed to have risked so much in vain, and my disappointment was such that I ended up not paying attention to the roots of the tree. I tripped and, to avoid falling into the river, I leaned against its trunk, feeling an overwhelming energy draining me. I tried to pull away, but the more I resisted, the more intense this energy became, until finally, I was dragged into darkness.

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