text: I remember the day i met them like it was yesterday. It was a hot summer day, i was 15 and visiting my grandmother in the countryside. I was mowing my grandmother's lawn when i saw a tall, blue tree in the distance. Trees are not usually blue and neither were they that large. The tree seemed like it was growing as i got farther from it while i was mowing the far west side of my grandmother's lawn. Curious, i made a note to myself to go explore that area with the tree after i finish mowing the lawn. When i finally finished, it was 3pm in the afternoon. Perfect for exploring. I asked my grandmother if i could go explore the east part of town and she let me. Off i went with a backpack filled with snack bars and water bottles. The east side of the town was a thin forest, barely thick. enough to be called a forest. Weirdly enough, with each step i took towards the tree the smaller it looked, i barely managed to find my way to the tree as it got smaller than the trees around me. I arrived at 4:30pm, the view was honestly breathtaking. There was a small pond, around 2 meters wide and filled with fish that i've never seen before. The blue tree i saw earlier in the day was at the center of the pond, reduced to the size of a toddler. I took off my backpack and stepped inside the pond to take a closer look at the tree. As soon as i was close enough to touch the tree i suddenly found myself back at the pond side next to my backpack. "The tree likes you, interesting." I looked around but couldn't see anyone. "Hello?" I called count. There was no answer, i didnt know what i was expecting i was going to call it a day and leave until an apple was thrown onto my head. "Up here, genius." I looked up at the trees and saw a person sitting on one of the branches "uhm, who are you" i asked. They didnt answer me and instead slid down the side of the tree and faced me eye to eye. They pointed at the tree and said "If you wernt luck you would've drowned." surprised, i asked TheM "what do you mean?" They shook their head and said "come on, lets get out of here." I reluctantly followed them back out of the forest. "Take this" They said and handed me a worn out jacket. "Bring it to the house right next door to you grandma's" "What?" The pushed me away from them and the next thing i knew, they were gone. With nothing else to do, i went back to my grandma's but before i went in i remembered i still had the jacket so i knocked on the neighbors door. "Hi, its the neighbor from next door." They opened the door and i was surprised to see that he wasn't the person that gave me the jacket. "How can i help ya" he asked. I gave him the jacket and his eyes went wide. "Where did you get this?" 'a person gave it to me" "wwho?" "i dunno, they were gone before i could ask" He invited me in for a cup of tea and we hit it off well. "And that kids, is how i met your father" "Whatt, motherr it cant end like that, who's the person that gave you the jacket, why did they give you a jacket, why was there a blue tree that got smaller as you went towards it and bigger as you went further from it, how did you return back to the pond side and-" "Whoa one question at a time sweetie, i have answers for them all" "okay.. so wwho gave you that jacket?" "I found out a few years later that the person who gave me the jacket was a teen that drowned in the pond before i arrived there." "How did they give you the jacket then?" "I actually dont know, maybe my mind tricked me into thinking they gave me the jacket but in reality i found it and it was too much for my brain to handle" "ok.. why was there a blue tree that changed size?" "There were actually 2 trees, the bigger tree was at the far back of the forest and it didnt actually change size, the trees were blue Spruce trees, i can get us one if you want." "no thanks. ok but why did you get the jacket?" "I honestly dont know, maybe it was the least traumatic thing i could've carried back with me" "How did you return back to the pond side then?" "I think i have a theory that i never really went into the pond as i was dry when i returned to the pond side, it probably was just my imagination that merged with my memories. It also could have something to do with the fact that i might have seen a drowned person and my brain couldnt handle the stress" " why did you knock on father's door, if there wasn't a person that told you to, why did you decide to knock on his door?" "I like to think that it was fate." "ok, last question, why did father not freak out when you handed him a soaked jacket of a missing girl?" "Because father was the one who drowned them." "What?!" "Nothing, now eat your breakfast and go off to school hun. The bus is outside already" "ok-" She picked up her packed lunch box and put on her backpack. Off she went and into the school bus. I waved goodbye to my daughter, i was about to go inside when i saw them on the bus, looking right into my eyes and making a terrifying grin. They had a knife and pointed it at my daughter. Goodbye they mouthed and the bus drove away.