Our guide, Ines, took us to see the great Ceiba tree*. We looked like ants at the trunk. It supported a whole ecosystem. There was a termite nest up there that must have been as big as three of us. It took about 15 minutes to slowly walk around the base of it. It was incredible, and I am honored that I got to see it. It was a tree that sowed love.
On our way back, we saw the sister tree of the ceiba. it had knots all over the trunk that were as big as my head. Ines told us that shamans came to this tree and prayed in front of it to curse people. In a few days, the people would die. The knots? The faces of the people it killed. And yes, they looked like faces that had soft material stretched over them. Cursing someone isn’t good for the shaman, either. It does no good for your soul to pray people dead.
Ines said not to touch it. So we all gave it a wide berth.
And yeah, I’m afraid of a tree. I think that’s a healthy thing.
*see “The Greak Kapok Tree,” by Lynne Cherry.