As a child, the summer was always one of my favorite times. I would go to my Aunt Sharon’s house to play with my cousin Billy.

They had a lot of property. Behind, their house were these rolling hills. I loved going back there and sitting by the red tree.

I never could figure out why the leaves were always red but it was my favorite spot in the universe. I could go there and sit for hours. When I was near it, I’d escape into my own little world.

At the red tree, I had the greatest adventures. One minute I day I was on a pirate ship. One day I was playing baseball Yankee Stadium.

The red tree was where I escaped one world and entered another. I could be having the worst day but when I was around the red tree it didn’t matter.

For the first few months, I was the only one who knew about what happened at the red tree. One day, I decided that I would bring my friend Emma along with me.