I said to Xylo, “Technology is advanced now. We can easily tell what’s under the locust tree. Xylo, you’ve done something wrong, and now you need to face the consequences.” He stared at me in confusion. “When did you find out about this?” I did not answer him and let him guess. Two strong men from the construction team roughly pulled Xylo away from the locust tree. The other workers started cutting it down. When Xylo saw one of them bring out an axe, saw, and ropes, he lost his cool and shouted, “Don’t touch Locust! Don’t cut her down! If anyone touches her, I’ll kill you!” He cried like he had lost the most important person in his life. The workers said mockingly, “He must be crazy. It’s just a tree. Why is he crying like he lost his parents?” “If he were normal, would he treat a tree like his wife?” “He looks fine, but how did he become so messed up?” Xylo did not care what they thought. He screamed, “Don’t hurt Locust! Don’t hurt her! She’s terrified of pain! If
On the first day I was reincarnated, my dad brought Xylo Green home for dinner. At this point, my parents were trying to set me up with him. The locust tree in the yard was blooming, with white flowers all over it since it was May. I could not help but think back to my past life. The tree always had strange, dried, yogurt-like liquid stuck to it. At first, no one in the family paid attention to it. Once, I told Xylo quite seriously, “This might be some mysterious secretion from insects.” He cared a lot for the tree. In summer, he watered it, and in winter, he brought out blankets to keep it warm. He would talk to the tree and share his feelings with it from time to time. He often said, “Locust, the moon is beautiful tonight. You should enjoy it.” He said the tree’s name with so much love as though it was his lover many lifetimes ago. At first, we did not think much of it. We even thought he was just a compassionate person. My dad once told me confidently, “Look how
Xylo was the perfect choice. But he joined our family not for me but for the tree! Xylo was shocked momentarily. He did not expect me to reject him. When he left, I noticed he shot one last reluctant glance at the locust tree in our yard. This tree had been there for decades. It had been there since the day I was born. It had witnessed my growth, and I had seen it bloom and fade through the seasons. Over time, I started to smell faintly of locust flowers. It could have remained a clean, untouched tree forever, but Xylo ruined it. After Xylo left, I stared at the sturdy tree for a while. It was hard to imagine someone falling in love with a tree to the extent of being intimate with it. In my past life, my dad cut down the locust tree in the yard because he wanted to plant vegetables. That night, Xylo killed me and my parents. He dismembered us and threw our bodies in the sewer. I had been reincarnated in this life, and my parents were still alive. But from the
I figured he must be overjoyed. At night, he could do horrible things to that locust tree. No, he could do it during the day too. He was that messed up. He might even spend the whole day with the tree to satisfy himself. He acted casual and said, “I was just thinking of moving. You really solved my problem. Thanks.” I pretended to be polite and said, “No need to thank me. I hope everything goes well for both of us. I hope you find someone you love, and I find mine too.” He acted disappointed and said, “I respect your decision. If we can’t be lovers, let’s just be friends.” I smiled softly and took out the rental contract from my bag. Since the contract needed it, I asked him for a copy of his ID. In my past life, I never looked at his ID, even when we got married. So, this time, I kept an eye on it. After signing the contract, Xylo quickly moved into my family’s old house. I quietly watched the footage on my phone from the hidden cameras I had secretly set up ar
I secretly hired bodyguards through a security company to protect my family. To my surprise, Xylo did not show up. The next day, I saw him on the surveillance camera. He was carrying a large bucket of blood to water the tree. As he watered it, he said, “Locust, here’s some extra nutrition for you. This is a man’s blood. I know you like women’s blood, but don’t worry, I’ll get some soon. You need your nutrients.” He then covered the blood with dirt. He took off his full-body suit and mask and smiled at the tree. His smile was as gentle as usual. He kissed the tree and said, “I love it when you act a little mad at me.” I shuddered as I watched this. It turned out he had killed again. I did not know who the victim was. From the video, I realized Xylo was an experienced killer. In my previous life, no one had noticed anything. I thought he was just doing crazy things because he hated my dad for cutting down the tree. I did not know he was already a monster. I had a
Xylo smiled. “Ma’am, it’s alright. I’m glad you’re fine. I’ll get the vaccine myself. It’s not that expensive.” The old lady kept saying he was a great person. He smiled happily at the praise. Later, our family took him to the hospital to get the rabies vaccine. While he was inside getting the shot, my parents and I waited outside. My mom seemed to soften a bit and whispered, “Xylo might just have a perversion. He’s still a kind person.” My dad agreed with her. I thought their change in thinking was dangerous. When we got home, I showed them the video of Xylo using human blood to water the locust tree. My parents were scared and wanted to report it to the police right away. I stopped them because I did not have any proof that he had killed anyone. It was not the right time yet. A few days later, Xylo visited again. He wanted to buy our old house. I heard that the house might be demolished soon, and the compensation for demolition would be substantial. I said t
“Thirteen years ago, I couldn’t protect you, and now, I still can’t. Locust, I’m so sorry! I’m useless!” As Xylo said that, he slapped himself hard, again and again. He did not hold back. He kept crying and saying, “Locust, trust me! Whoever hurts you, I won’t let them get away with it. I miss you. Please talk to me, okay?” The next day, the boy next door, Patrick, suddenly died. They said he fell into the river while playing. I knew Xylo had done it. I could not wait anymore. If I did, more innocent people would die, so I decided to act. I made a fake account and hid my IP address so Xylo could not find me. Then, I uploaded a video. It showed Xylo hugging the locust tree, kissing it, and saying gross things. The video went viral fast because Xylo was a good-looking lawyer, and the video itself was very weird. Soon, the news reached Xylo’s law firm. He was told to take a leave of absence and could not go back to work. Through the camera, I saw Xylo staring at his
Xylo pretended to go along with the police, but after they left, he cursed, “Idiots, you don’t understand anything!” Because of the incident, he rarely left the house and was dependent on food delivery for his meals. But most delivery drivers refused to deliver to him because the neighborhood was being demolished. Nearly everyone had moved out except for him. Another reason was that I posted more of his creepy videos online. I hid my IP address and uploaded them to international sites first. I wanted to embarrass him globally. The videos quickly spread on local platforms without me needing to do anything. Xylo became a constant trending topic. Eventually, his law firm called and told him he was fired. Xylo did not even try to defend himself. After hanging up, he laughed at himself. “What’s so wrong about loving a tree? I didn’t hurt anyone! Why are you all hurting us?” Since no one would deliver food to him, he had to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. Even
I said to Xylo, “Technology is advanced now. We can easily tell what’s under the locust tree. Xylo, you’ve done something wrong, and now you need to face the consequences.” He stared at me in confusion. “When did you find out about this?” I did not answer him and let him guess. Two strong men from the construction team roughly pulled Xylo away from the locust tree. The other workers started cutting it down. When Xylo saw one of them bring out an axe, saw, and ropes, he lost his cool and shouted, “Don’t touch Locust! Don’t cut her down! If anyone touches her, I’ll kill you!” He cried like he had lost the most important person in his life. The workers said mockingly, “He must be crazy. It’s just a tree. Why is he crying like he lost his parents?” “If he were normal, would he treat a tree like his wife?” “He looks fine, but how did he become so messed up?” Xylo did not care what they thought. He screamed, “Don’t hurt Locust! Don’t hurt her! She’s terrified of pain! If
The crane operator’s shout made all the workers on the ground rush up to the second floor to watch Xylo in the embarrassing situation. Xylo quickly grabbed some clothes and tried to put them on. A group of men laughed at him, and some even pulled out their phones to record him. “Mr. Green, what’s it like to be with a tree? Tell us about it.” “You’d be better off with a dog. Why a tree? This isn’t something a normal person would do.” “Wow, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. Did you ask the tree for its consent?” Xylo felt embarrassed by the mocking comments and silently put on his clothes. Later that night, he secretly prepared an axe, a machete, black clothes, gloves, and a mask. He planned to go out to kill people. I had a feeling he was going to hurt the workers who had made fun of him earlier. So, I called the police anonymously and told them that he might harm someone. The next day, the police brought him back. He did not succeed in whatever he was plan
Xylo pretended to go along with the police, but after they left, he cursed, “Idiots, you don’t understand anything!” Because of the incident, he rarely left the house and was dependent on food delivery for his meals. But most delivery drivers refused to deliver to him because the neighborhood was being demolished. Nearly everyone had moved out except for him. Another reason was that I posted more of his creepy videos online. I hid my IP address and uploaded them to international sites first. I wanted to embarrass him globally. The videos quickly spread on local platforms without me needing to do anything. Xylo became a constant trending topic. Eventually, his law firm called and told him he was fired. Xylo did not even try to defend himself. After hanging up, he laughed at himself. “What’s so wrong about loving a tree? I didn’t hurt anyone! Why are you all hurting us?” Since no one would deliver food to him, he had to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. Even
“Thirteen years ago, I couldn’t protect you, and now, I still can’t. Locust, I’m so sorry! I’m useless!” As Xylo said that, he slapped himself hard, again and again. He did not hold back. He kept crying and saying, “Locust, trust me! Whoever hurts you, I won’t let them get away with it. I miss you. Please talk to me, okay?” The next day, the boy next door, Patrick, suddenly died. They said he fell into the river while playing. I knew Xylo had done it. I could not wait anymore. If I did, more innocent people would die, so I decided to act. I made a fake account and hid my IP address so Xylo could not find me. Then, I uploaded a video. It showed Xylo hugging the locust tree, kissing it, and saying gross things. The video went viral fast because Xylo was a good-looking lawyer, and the video itself was very weird. Soon, the news reached Xylo’s law firm. He was told to take a leave of absence and could not go back to work. Through the camera, I saw Xylo staring at his
Xylo smiled. “Ma’am, it’s alright. I’m glad you’re fine. I’ll get the vaccine myself. It’s not that expensive.” The old lady kept saying he was a great person. He smiled happily at the praise. Later, our family took him to the hospital to get the rabies vaccine. While he was inside getting the shot, my parents and I waited outside. My mom seemed to soften a bit and whispered, “Xylo might just have a perversion. He’s still a kind person.” My dad agreed with her. I thought their change in thinking was dangerous. When we got home, I showed them the video of Xylo using human blood to water the locust tree. My parents were scared and wanted to report it to the police right away. I stopped them because I did not have any proof that he had killed anyone. It was not the right time yet. A few days later, Xylo visited again. He wanted to buy our old house. I heard that the house might be demolished soon, and the compensation for demolition would be substantial. I said t
I secretly hired bodyguards through a security company to protect my family. To my surprise, Xylo did not show up. The next day, I saw him on the surveillance camera. He was carrying a large bucket of blood to water the tree. As he watered it, he said, “Locust, here’s some extra nutrition for you. This is a man’s blood. I know you like women’s blood, but don’t worry, I’ll get some soon. You need your nutrients.” He then covered the blood with dirt. He took off his full-body suit and mask and smiled at the tree. His smile was as gentle as usual. He kissed the tree and said, “I love it when you act a little mad at me.” I shuddered as I watched this. It turned out he had killed again. I did not know who the victim was. From the video, I realized Xylo was an experienced killer. In my previous life, no one had noticed anything. I thought he was just doing crazy things because he hated my dad for cutting down the tree. I did not know he was already a monster. I had a
I figured he must be overjoyed. At night, he could do horrible things to that locust tree. No, he could do it during the day too. He was that messed up. He might even spend the whole day with the tree to satisfy himself. He acted casual and said, “I was just thinking of moving. You really solved my problem. Thanks.” I pretended to be polite and said, “No need to thank me. I hope everything goes well for both of us. I hope you find someone you love, and I find mine too.” He acted disappointed and said, “I respect your decision. If we can’t be lovers, let’s just be friends.” I smiled softly and took out the rental contract from my bag. Since the contract needed it, I asked him for a copy of his ID. In my past life, I never looked at his ID, even when we got married. So, this time, I kept an eye on it. After signing the contract, Xylo quickly moved into my family’s old house. I quietly watched the footage on my phone from the hidden cameras I had secretly set up ar
Xylo was the perfect choice. But he joined our family not for me but for the tree! Xylo was shocked momentarily. He did not expect me to reject him. When he left, I noticed he shot one last reluctant glance at the locust tree in our yard. This tree had been there for decades. It had been there since the day I was born. It had witnessed my growth, and I had seen it bloom and fade through the seasons. Over time, I started to smell faintly of locust flowers. It could have remained a clean, untouched tree forever, but Xylo ruined it. After Xylo left, I stared at the sturdy tree for a while. It was hard to imagine someone falling in love with a tree to the extent of being intimate with it. In my past life, my dad cut down the locust tree in the yard because he wanted to plant vegetables. That night, Xylo killed me and my parents. He dismembered us and threw our bodies in the sewer. I had been reincarnated in this life, and my parents were still alive. But from the
On the first day I was reincarnated, my dad brought Xylo Green home for dinner. At this point, my parents were trying to set me up with him. The locust tree in the yard was blooming, with white flowers all over it since it was May. I could not help but think back to my past life. The tree always had strange, dried, yogurt-like liquid stuck to it. At first, no one in the family paid attention to it. Once, I told Xylo quite seriously, “This might be some mysterious secretion from insects.” He cared a lot for the tree. In summer, he watered it, and in winter, he brought out blankets to keep it warm. He would talk to the tree and share his feelings with it from time to time. He often said, “Locust, the moon is beautiful tonight. You should enjoy it.” He said the tree’s name with so much love as though it was his lover many lifetimes ago. At first, we did not think much of it. We even thought he was just a compassionate person. My dad once told me confidently, “Look how