The treehouse

I looked down from my treehouse and the rain fell hard. This would be the last time I would stand in this treehouse. Tomorrow I would be off to college and I was going to spend today in my favorite place, my safe space. I looked around and each spot was a reminder of my childhood. The pirate map I had drawn with Peter Watson that one summer day was still hanging up and I picked it up. As kids we had pretended to be pirates searching for lost treasures on deserted islands, my dad had even left  an “X” spot below the treehouse that was filled with treats. Peter was still my best friend and I would miss him but he was going to find his own adventures, he had joined the army and had deployed last week. I put the map down, and a tear ran down my face, I would miss the place. 

  My collection of comics were still stacked neatly on the shelf, I remembered Sandy pretending to be a superhero and protecting all those citizens below our secret hideout. We had created our own  superhero names and costumes. We would spend hours playing superhero and reading our favorite comics. Sandy was still around town but had decided to stay and take care of her mom, she had gotten a job at the local diner. She was so smart but her family came first before even her own happiness. She was planning on taking a few courses online and slowly earning  the art degree. 

  I sat down on the bench that had been built by my dad when I had turned ten years old, he had painted it pink and yellow and added a few of my favorite anime characters on it. It had faded but it was still really special to me, this was the last gift I would receive from him. He passed away a few months after my birthday. The day of the funeral I had hidden up here and cried, my sister had stayed with me until we had to leave. I looked and found his signature on the side next to my favorite Pokémon character. It was still hard for me to think about my dad without crying. 

  I shook my head and moved to look at the wall that head all my awards on it, mom had wanted them inside but I had begged to keep them in here, I even had my college acceptance letter up here. I wondered would I put my degree up here too? I laughed at myself and I heard a small knock on the wood. My mom was standing there with hot chocolate and pastries. I took the tears and helped her up, we had planned a last day picnic but the rain had made that impossible. Mom looked at me with her bright green eyes, she was always smiling but if you looked long enough you could see the tiredness and sadness in her eyes. She would never let you know that she was upset, I had her personality. 

  We made our picnic spot on the floor of the treehouse. The big blanket was soft against my legs, the picnic was fresh and mom had baked my favorite treats. We ate in silence and I enjoyed the company, having her here I didn’t feel as lost. I was going to miss my friends, and my treehouse but I was going to miss her most of all. When I told her how I felt she had joked that I was going a couple of hours away it wasn’t like I was moving to the moon. I had laughed because she was right, I wasn’t going to a different planet but I was still going to miss her. 

  I wanted to make this last day at my treehouse special and had planned something special for my mom. I made sure her eyes were closed as I brought out the sketch I had been working on for weeks. The sketch was of the treehouse and our family, dad was the angel who was watching over us. Peter had placed the sketch on a nice frame before he had left. The tears that ran down her face when I gave her the sketch. I had renamed the treehouse Johnathon’s corner after my dad. My mom wiped her eyes but the loss was still present in her eyes. After dad had passed, mom took over raising four kids by herself. My youngest brother was just a baby when our dad passed so he didn’t remember him. He would now become the owner of Johnathon’s Corner, mom was going to tell him tomorrow after I left. As the afternoon ended we made our way down the stairs. I stood and looked up at my treehouse, I was going to miss this place. Tears ran down my face as I walked away. I wasn’t just leaving behind a treehouse, I was leaving behind memories, family and friends. This was the last time for awhile that I would look at this treehouse.

  The next day mom and Jeremy took me to college and everyone cried as I was left alone. As the months went on mom would send me pictures of Jeremy in his new treehouse, he was always smiling. My college years went by quickly and I made many friends but home was always on my mind. 

  After graduation, my party was held below my treehouse. I looked up and felt my dad smiling down at us. My mom smiled every time someone mentioned the sketch that hung against the treehouse. Those afternoons spent in my treehouse helped mold me into the person I was today. Peter came to the party and he had grown to be a handsome young man, and he would be my husband and the father of our children one day In the future.

The first thing I would introduce to them would be a treehouse named Johnathon’s Corner.