The Bodhi Tree

The Bodhi Tree existed in the depths of the Gardens of the Strange and Wonderful House.

Description

Nature

The Bodhi Tree had an intelligence of its own, or at least a “presence”. It seemed capable of perceiving much more of the world around it than what could be “seen” from the base of its trunk; when he touched its bark and briefly got a glimpse of its perspective, one visitor saw continents slowly changing shapes. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Tree)

Physical appearance

The Bodhi Tree was “immense”, sporting “giant gnarled roots” large enough to sit on. Its bark was “soft and flexible”, but with, underneath that softness, a “hardness, a refusal to be broken” which evoked strength of will. The trunk stood “straight and tall as true virtue”, with wide branches which “split into smaller ones tipped with giant leathery leaves that turned the sunlight into a kaleidoscope of patterns on the soft green”. Beyond even the warm, soft light which surrounded the Tree as a result, it seemed to emanate an aura of peacefulness. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Tree)

History

Early history

The Bodhi Tree seemed to be incalculably ancient, remembering the shifts in the shapes of continents. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Tree)

At some point, Sid spent a week in the Tree's shade, deep in thought. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: A Return to Innocence)

The Master of the House's visit

After he stomped off into the Gardens, the Master of the House (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator) was enticed by Sid into taking a tour of the Gardens with him by the promise of having tea in the shade of the Tree at the end of the tour. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 2))

After seeing many other sights, the two found themselves in a landscape which the visitor believed to be “in China, or Japan”, to which Sid replied that “all three are correct, depending on your perspective”. The visitor suddenly felt calmer and realised that in the distance, he could now glimpse the “towering form” of the Bodhi Tree. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Acccursed Springs))

Sid left him to take the last few steps alone. Though briefly suspicious, he was won over by the aura of peace that surrounded the Tree, and agreed, kicking off his shoes to finish the journey alone. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: A Return to Innocence) As he approached the Tree, he was overcome with a surge of emotion and cried out all his buried feelings of “unworthiness, self-hate and guilt”. When had no further tears to shed, feeling a new man, he asked if it was “always like that”, but found Sid out of earshot. He felt at peace and increasingly certain that he feels not just good, but great — “fully rested, at peace, and ready for anything”: ready to “change the world”. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Pain of Rebirth) He paused at last to consider the huge, beautiful Tree itself, and reached out to brush a hand against its barks; as he did so, he felt the Tree's ageless mind briefly touching his own, getting a glimpse of the Tree's timeless perspective on the universe. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Tree)

Finding Sid again, he was given the choice of whether to stay by the Bodhi Tree's side indefinitely, or to return to his normal life, at the cost of the humdrum complications of everyday life slowly chipping away at his enlightenment until he'd all but forget what he had really found here. He found the choice unfair, (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Wake to Dream Again) and, an incalculably amounts of times over, returned to the Tree before seeking Sid out again, being offered the choice again without remembering it was not for the first time, and again returning to the Tree. At last, he realised how many times he had repeated the pattern, and, complimenting Sid's patience, said he was ready to return. Sid reminded him of his true identity by telling him that “the Manor await[ed] its Lord”, and his memories and lust for life came crashing back into his mind like a storm. Grinning, he headed home from his “vacation”, once again on “the infinity kick”. He playfully remarked that the end of his vacation was only the beginning of the, by now, very tired Sid's. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator)

Other events

Climbing the sound of chimes in the Courtyard to pluck a leaf from the Bodhi Tree, and then consuming that leaf, was one of the steps in the complex ritual needed to gain access to the Vault of the Strange and Wonderful House. This was carried out by Frank the Janitor on at least one occasion. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Vault)

When they made their way through the Gardens to reach the backyard, the Guardian of the Ink Wells and her friend Treefrog passed “a giant tree”. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Teleporting Beach)

The Bodhi Son

At some point, a man came to lie between the roots of the Tree. He never moved or aged, although his blue eyes were wide open. He became known as “the Bodhi Son”, and a superstitious old woman started a tradition of placing candle-prayers at his feet. Over time, this developed into a full religion, with a cathedral of wood and stone being carefully built in the shade of the Tree, with the Bodhi Son lying in the narthex. Eventually, a fire broke out, burning down the cathedral and the Tree itself, but the Bodhi Son was unharmed, crying in his sleep as his face covered with soot. In the instant when the Bodhi Tree finally died, he blinked as he awoke. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer blue, but green like the Tree's leaves had been. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Son)