A lone willow bends by the silent pond, its branches tracing secrets on the water’s surface. An old fisherman sits beneath it, mending his net with gnarled hands. He speaks to the tree as if to an old friend, recounting tales of the silver carp that got away and the storm that stole his favorite hat. The wind rustles through the leaves, answering in sighs and whispers. Children sometimes come to hear the stories, their eyes wide with wonder at the tree that remembers everything. As twilight d...