Every city has places most people don’t even know exist. Not because they’re hidden. People simply don’t pay much attention to them.
In my hometown’s city park, for example, there’s a small grove of willow trees. In broad daylight, people often walk through it — some walking their dogs, others just passing by. Everything is perfectly ordinary.
Except for the trees themselves.
They grow in unusual shapes — their trunks bend in the most unexpected directions, while their branches intertwine overhead, forming a dense canopy.
You stand there, and at first, nothing seems out of the ordinary. It simply gets quieter. Gradually, the hum of traffic, people’s voices, and barking dogs begin to fade away. It feels as though everything left outside has drifted somewhere very far away. Even the light seems different here — soft, grey, and almost unreal.
You look up and suddenly see a night sky studded with stars.
Perhaps that’s how fairy tales begin. You come to a place most people barely notice — and discover that the familiar world has another side.