David was excited – they’d never been to the Tree Museum before.

They’d spent the morning playing at the park – swinging on the ropes and frames, the dust on their suits sparkling in the eerie sunlight filtering through the dark clouds swirling overhead. But it had grown cold very quickly, and the radio had said that there were acid storms coming, so staying outside wasn’t an option. Muttering about the cost, his Dad had bundled them into the old stone building.

The building was a rich green colour – “such an unnatural colour”, David thought. A huge hall, lined with dark brown twisted poles, covered in thousands of plastic shapes, like deformed hands, all green, yellow and brown. Trees – said the sign next to them, each with weird names – Beech, Elm, Oak. David watched as the curator turned the switch on the far wall, starting giant fans blowing, making the trees shake and sigh. David shivered at the sight, secretly glad that these giant, sinister creatures had long ago been banished from the earth.