A walk through the forest

Today I went to the forest near our house and felt a need to sit under the big tree in the middle of the forest. As I did so something told me to look at the tree. So I looked at it and at first, I couldn´t see it but then I found two letters carved into the tree like that:

I thought about why people would carve their names in the tree. Would it help them to stay together? Would it improve their love? Isn´t it something like a tattoo for a tree? And wouldn´t that mean that the tree would feel harmed? Does a tree have feelings? And if not, what would it be thinking about the people who do that?