It was the end of May, the air smelled of wet earth and young leaves after a night storm. In a park on the outskirts of the city, where a plane tree with spreading branches remembered the days when there were fewer people than birds, Ada, Julek and Basia met. Final exams were approaching, and instead of repeating dates and formulas, they chose a bench under the plane tree - the place where the best ideas were usually born. The plane tree itself had something ancient about it. Julek even claimed that in winter you could hear it whispering through the bark. That afternoon, however, they didn't feel like joking around. It had rained most of the day, but now the sun shone through from behind the clouds, dispersing the mist hovering over the lawn. Ada took a comic book out of her rucksack and started drawing something in her notebook. Julek, distracted, hovered around the bench, while Basia moved closer and closer to the roots of the plane tree, as if looking for something. At one point, Basia noticed something unusual: one of the tree's branches was casting a shadow in a completely unexpected direction. - Hey, look here! - she called out. - This branch... shouldn't the shadow be falling on the other side? Julek came up first. - Maybe it's because of the shape of the leaves? - He asked, but he knew it was just an excuse. The sun's ray moved across the bark and the shadow didn't move with it. They started to touch the bark where the shadow should end, but their hands encountered something .... soft? Basia slid her hand deeper and suddenly her hand disappeared, as if it had fallen into cool milk. She jerked back frightened. - This... this is not normal - she said quietly. Ada looked at them with her eyes wide open. - 'Do you think it's some kind of transition? Like in all those games or books? Julek looked at the strange phenomenon. - 'Why don't we try to go in there? - He chuckled, trying to sound brave. First they slid their hand in, then their head. Behind the bark, however, there was no darkness, only a blue glow that pulsed to the rhythm of a beating heart. They exchanged glances. Ada squeezed her notebook, Basia adjusted her rucksack and Julek swallowed his saliva. Then - almost simultaneously - they walked under the plane tree, crossing the light. They were surrounded by cool air and an unfamiliar sound that resembled music but had no melody. A path slowly emerged in front of them, meandering among silver trees and bright mists suspended in the air. Above the path loomed the silhouette of a tall figure, with eyes as brilliant as crystals. They stopped, feeling their heartbeats quicken. - 'We have been expecting you,' the figure spoke up, its voice echoing between the trees. For a moment, no one moved. They didn't know whether they should take a step forward or turn around and try to go back through the portal....