“You had no right to enter her garden, damage her tree or remove the fruit.”

Ryan pointed toward the apples on his lawn.

“And she had the right to do this?”

“Placing items on another person’s property is not advisable,” Mira said.

“I’ll remove them,” I replied.

“After they have been documented,” she added.

By then, several neighbours had gathered nearby.

Mrs Patel from across the road stared at Ryan.

“You climbed into her garden in the middle of the night?”

Ryan ignored her.

Mira took out her phone.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Calling the police.”

His confidence vanished.

“That isn’t necessary.”

“You trespassed and damaged private property.”

“It was only a tree.”

“It was not your tree.”

When the officers arrived, Ryan changed his story several times. First, he said the apples had fallen naturally. Then he claimed he had entered my garden to clean them up. Finally, he insisted I had given him permission.

The video disproved every version.

An arborist inspected the tree later that day. Two branches had suffered serious damage, but the tree would survive.

Ryan was fined, ordered to pay the repair costs and assigned community service.

The judge appeared to have a sense of humour.

Ryan was sent to help maintain the public orchard in the town park.

For several Saturdays, he picked apples, cleared leaves and removed fallen fruit from the paths.

The first time I drove past and saw him carrying a basket, I laughed so hard that I had to pull over.

PART 3 — THE TREE SURPRISED ME

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