By the roadside between the villages of Konevo and Ust-Pochey stands a pine tree — and not just any pine, but the Pine: a two-hundred-year-old relict giant, entirely covered in human offerings. It is girdled with multicolored ribbons, soft toys hang from its branches, coins lie in the cracks of its bark, and even an old telephone handset has been fastened to the giant.
We asked the locals what kind of Tree it was. They answered:
“This is called the Tree of Love. Our brides and grooms come here on their wedding day. They leave gifts here — for a happy family life. Some also bring vows to it, like to a votive cross, asking for the fulfillment of wishes.”
People say this — but when asked why offerings are brought to this pine in particular, they do not answer. They only shrug their shoulders.
But one woman let something slip:
“They say a rusalka was seen there once — swaying in its branches.”
When exactly that was, she no longer knows. Very long ago, probably.
And here lies the secret of the Tree.
Perhaps centuries have passed since that encounter. Entire eras have changed, human thinking has changed, and people no longer believe in rusalkas — or perhaps simply prefer not to speak of them, so as not to be considered dark and superstitious. But the Pine has remained.
And so the Rusalka Tree became the Tree of Love. The rite of veneration continued — and people still bring it offerings. For a place where a Miracle once happened remains wondrous through generations, and a Door once opened may open again and again, granting otherworldly grace to the one who asks. One only needs to know where that place is.
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