by Joel R. Hunt

Becoming a man had been harder in my grandfather’s youth, or so he delighted in telling me. The Sacred Forest was wild and overgrown. A boy needed to battle dangerous beasts, avoid poisonous plants, ascend the Ancestor Stone and carve off a piece to present to the tribe.

Only then would he become a man.

Now, the path was well trodden, the beasts tame, the flora dying. My forefathers had braved a treacherous journey so that mine would be safe.

I was grateful.

Until I came to the centre of the forest.

There was no Ancestor Stone left to carve.

Joel R. Hunt

Joel R Hunt is a writer from the UK who dabbles in the darker aspects of life, particularly through horror, science fiction and the supernatural.
He has been published in a number of short story anthologies and hopes to have released his own anthology later this year.
twitter.com/JoelRHunt1