Forest Park

This urban forest consists of a variety of trees, each bearing different fruit.

About Forest Park

Its branches are full of stories.

Forest Park isn't the original name of an urban forest occupying more than a mile at the old edge of the city, where most of the businesses have closed, and most of the apartments have burned. The original name was Smythe Park, but no one calls it that anymore except a few persistent bureaucrats who don't have the funding to make the name stick. Besides, there's a debate over whether the municipality any longer really owns it, since it has neglected all management of the place, or whether it has reverted to control of the state - which wants even less to do with it. After the trees took it over, and everything grew wild, the skater kids started calling it Forest Park. The name worked and then, after the kids left, and finally even the homeless started to leave, the name finally just stuck. No one cared enough to change it.

The Clearing and other Features: The park has an oddly lit clearing, some kind of lair under the old fountain that connects with a drainage tunnel that doesn't seem to lead anywhere, a crumbling statue of a lady who may be an oracle, two untouched benches (the only ones left), a stone monolith that was there before the park was constructed, and a pond that goes from rank on some days to sweet smelling but green on others.

The Trees: This urban forest consists of, among other things, a variety of trees, where stories dangle for those who want them. A number of the trees have names, much like headstones in a cemetery. Some say it was vandalism, carving those words in the trunks, and blame the kids or a crazy homeless person rumoured to still live in Forest Park. But others point out that the cuts are too natural, and seem to follow the grain too closely, almost as if the writing was part of the trees' natural (or unnatural) growth.

  • The Tree of Breaking is said to have hands and, if you sit under its branches, you may feel it lightly touching you.
  • The Tree of Solitude is rumoured to be hollow and is sometimes, therefore, called "The Tree of Secrets".
  • The Tree of Neglect is sometimes perceived as having eyes and is home to all sorts of abandoned things, caught in the branches.
  • The Tree of Grief which has footholds like stair steps, and The Tree of Regret, which is supposed to conceal a door, are The Twin Trees.
  • No one has ever slept under The Tree of Desolation without waking in screams.
  • The Tree of Misfortune is difficult to find, though people look for it to make wishes. Sometimes they stand and just ask in the dark, without knowing where the question goes. If what one wants comes true at all, the price is always unintended results.

The Other Trees

The Forest is rumoured to contain numerous other trees, though most these are unconfirmed, and some are quite humourous, when being described. Collecting various anecdotes, one can gather the possible, if dubious, existence of:

  • Tree of Disappointment
  • The Tree of Vexation
  • The Tree of Thwarting
  • The Tree of Failure
  • The Tree of Foiling
  • The Tree of Grievance
  • The Tree of Irritation
  • The Tree of Obstruction
  • The Tree of Setbacks
  • The Tree of Annoyance
  • The Tree of Condemnation
  • The Tree of Parting
  • The Tree of Discomfiture
  • The Tree of Dissatisfaction
  • The Tree of Resentment
  • The Tree of Chagrin
  • The Tree of Dismay
  • The Tree of Worry
  • The Tree of Frustration
  • The Tree of Shame
  • The Tree of Impediment
  • The Tree of Trouble
  • The Tree of Nakedness
  • The Tree of Falling
  • The Tree of Calamity
  • The Tree of Folly
  • The Tree of Humiliation
  • The Tree of Hindrance
  • The Tree of Impediment
  • The Tree of Rejection
  • The Tree of Constraint
  • The Tree of Dread
  • The Tree of Apprehension
  • The Tree of Unease
  • The Tree of Tombs
  • The Tree of Dying
  • The Tree of Consternation
  • The Tree of Hopelessness
  • The Tree of Malcontent
  • The Tree of Scandal
  • 'The Tree of Odium
  • The Tree of Treachery
  • The Tree of Obloquy
  • The Tree of Opprobrium
  • The Tree of Acceptance
  • The Tree of Respite
  • The Tree of Friendship
  • The Tree of Overcoming

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