The Moment I Finally Decided
I stood there for a long second, weighing the idea.
Twenty years of wondering had led to this moment — the quiet choice between leaving the mystery alone or finally uncovering what the tree had been hiding.
Elena looked at me and nodded. “If you’re going to do it,” she said, “you might as well do it today.”
More neighbors had gathered by then, drawn in by nothing more than curiosity and a strange-looking tree.
I took a deep breath and stepped closer.
That’s when someone called out from across the street — and everything suddenly felt very real.