Zekila was sent to the Crossroads in an attempt to dilute her powers. There was a problem, and her affinity for fruit trees took over, wrapped around her, and transformed her into what she loved.

She watched the years pass through her leaves and branches, and when a young shifter with partridge wings starts to hang out in her vicinity, she finds out that after all the years of watching the shifters come and go, she can still find a man attractive and want to be with him.

He visits her for a few weeks until the longest night of the year. He dresses her tree up and wishes her the best of the season, and in the darkness, she emerges from the trunk of the tree that had held her safe.

New day, new year, time to start again.