A beech tree stands creaking, groaning, but never moving. Even when the wind blows, the branches do not stir. It is barren of leaves, all days of the year.
Some say it once was alive, that it basked viridian in the spring, offered shade in the summer, and had leaves that turned to warm copper in the fall. But it has changed over the years. It was given a new purpose, a new name.
The Whipping Tree.