The trees were taller than she remembered.
Their branches spread farther across the sky, and their leaves moved gently in the afternoon breeze. The fence appeared to have been repaired in several places. A small sign stood near the entrance, and the surrounding area looked tidier than she expected.
The road itself seemed strangely ordinary.
That ordinary appearance affected her more than she anticipated.
For years, she had imagined the place as though it had been frozen at the moment of the accident. In her mind, it existed outside the passage of time, permanently associated with what had happened there.
She had not consciously believed that the physical world would remain unchanged. She knew that weather, maintenance, and the passing seasons would alter the landscape.
But emotionally, the place had become something different from an ordinary location.
It had become a symbol.
Whenever she thought of it, she did not picture the trees growing, the fence being repaired, or people passing through the area on their way to somewhere else. She pictured the event that had changed her life.
