The Battle of the Treehouse

“Are you sure it’s safe up here?” Hazel asked.

The four of them were standing in the dusty, leaf-infested treehouse, glancing around and shifting awkwardly. It had been quite a while since the older siblings had visited their playhouse and Hazel had never visited at all. She was only twelve, the baby of the family by nearly eight years. Olivia, Liam, and Aron had all went off to college and left her behind with only her imagination to play with. The kids down the block were good for bike riding or the occasional game of street basketball, but their imaginations were sorely lacking.

“Even if it’s not, the fall probably wouldn’t kill you,” Aron answered.

Liam scoffed and hit his older brother in a scolding sort of way. “Don’t worry, Haze,” he said to her, “the boards are sturdy.” He bounced up and down for emphasis.

Hazel smiled. She had a soft spot for Liam since he was the closest to her in age and he was always patient with her, even when she was being a baby.

“Sure, the boards are fine, but what about the monsters?” Olivia asked. She was sitting on one of the window seals, her worn sneakers scraping against the dusty floor as she swung her legs back and forth. Hazel felt a rush of fear, but she pushed it aside. Monsters weren’t real. She hadn’t believed in them since she was seven, when Olivia convinced her she had a zombie living in her closet.

“Oh yeah, all the evil beasts we used to slay from our mighty fortress,” Aron said with a loud laugh. Memories clouded his eyes and he made his way to a wooden box in the corner. He removed the lid and took out three swords. Well, they weren’t real swords. In fact, they seemed to be made of the same dull wood as the treehouse itself.

“I can’t believe dad kept these up here,” Olivia said. The swinging of her legs stopped. A dark shadow fell upon the four siblings as they thought about their father and the nasty divorce.

“I’m glad he’s moving away,” Hazel said. Her words were shaky, and she was afraid to voice them, but it felt like she didn’t have a choice. “He doesn’t care about us.”

She expected one of them to scold her, but they just hung their heads.

“Me too,” Liam said after a painfully long pause, “but let’s not think about him today. Let’s think about adventure!” He strode over to Aron and picked up one of the wooden swords. Olivia grinned and joined them, leaving Hazel to watch from the middle of the treehouse. The suffocating heat of the summer day pressed in on her and she wished she had opted for shorts instead of jeans.

“What’s the mission today, boys?” Olivia asked, lifting the longest sword into the air and giving it a test swipe. The handle of the imitation sword had been colored red and rainbow jewels scattered down the wooden blade.

“I think I’m feeling…” Aron said as he rubbed his chin, “zombies today.”

Hazel’s heart leapt and Liam must’ve seen the distress on her face because he said, “what about skeletons instead?”

Aron seemed disappointed for a second, but he relented.

Liam gave Hazel a knowing smile. “No mess, just a pile of bones,” he said. She giggled at his tone, finally drawing closer to her older siblings. Evil skeletons and zombies weren’t real, she knew that, but even the thought of fake zombies closing in on the treehouse made her uneasy.

“Let’s get it started!” Liam declared. He hoisted one of the wooden swords into the air and it started to glow a faint, unearthly green. While Hazel’s mouth hung open in disbelief, the wood transformed into polished steel. The lopsided handle, colored an ugly shade of yellow, morphed into a perfect, golden hilt. Her brother, with his rather scrawny frame and unkempt hair, almost looked like a brave knight.

“How did you do that!?” Hazel demanded; her voice pitched high in disbelief. This must be a dream, she thought, there’s no way that just happened.

Liam chuckled and gave her a wide grin. Memories and mischief twinkled in his brown eyes. “Imagination, of course!” he said.

She shook her head and looked to Olivia and Aron for an explanation, but they both had real swords hanging by their sides too. There was no trace of the homemade, wooden toys with the marker detailing. Hazel was about to bombard her siblings with a million questions, but a rattling sound from the other side of the treehouse made her blood run cold. She didn’t want to turn but she had to.

It was a skeleton alright. Not really what you might find under a person’s skin, more of a cartoon version. It was shorter, the bones were thicker, and the skull wasn’t as realistic as Hazel feared. On its head sat a dented, iron helmet and it held a short sword in one hand as it eyed the four siblings. Before the invader could even take three steps forward, Olivia let out a war cry, dashed across the treehouse, and cut off his head. Her blade caught one of the sun’s rays and the steel shone brilliantly as the skeleton fell to pieces before her.

“I still got it!” she said, laughing as she tied her dark hair into a bun. She took off her jacket, fastened it around her waist, and rolled her shoulders. Olivia had always been the thrill seeker of the group so out of all of Hazel’s siblings, it was easiest to believe her sister was some great warrior.

It was quiet for a few, eerie seconds before an entire wave of rattling bones sounded below them. Olivia beamed as Hazel tucked herself into a corner. She wanted to be brave but this whole thing was so sudden and so insane that she had lost her bearings entirely. When her older siblings made their rare visits from college, she would insist she could withstand any scary movie they wanted to watch. She’d sit there, with the blanket pulled up to her chin and sometimes up to her eyes, and suffer through it. Hazel liked the movies, but they also gave her racing thoughts and nightmares. She’d never tell, though.

As a line of skeletons started to climb the ladder, Liam turned to her.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “I was afraid too when I was younger, but they won’t hurt you. Their weapons will bounce right off! It’s just for fun, Haze, like a video game.”

She considered his words for a moment, rocking back and forth on her feet. Olivia and Aron were stationed around the entrance to the treehouse, cutting down skeletons as they appeared and laughing like fiends.

“But I don’t have a weapon,” Hazel said.

Liam rubbed his chin and made a “hhmm” sound. Then he smiled and handed her his sword. She hesitated as he offered the weapon to her, afraid she wouldn’t be able to lift it, much less chop down a skeleton. As it passed to her hand, however, she was surprised to find it as light as its wooden counterpart might’ve been. She was still staring at the sword, flabbergasted, when Liam reached behind his back and drew forth a bow. It was crafted from a glossy, red wood and the string was a solid gold.

“How did you do that!?” Hazel demanded for the second time that day.

“My imagination, I told you,” Liam said. He tapped her forehead to emphasize his point but retracted his hand before she had time to swat it away.

As the sound of sword on bone and the jubilant cries of Aron and Olivia echoed through the treehouse, Liam reached behind his back once more and brought forth a golden arrow. As he took aim out of one of the crudely cut windows, Hazel scrambled forward so she could get a full view of what was about to happen. The sword was still hanging in her right hand, but she was too scared to use it yet.

Outside, the yard was swarming with skeletons. They climbed the trees next to theirs, stormed the ladder in continuous waves, and shot arrows of their own at the treehouse. Their aim was absolutely horrid, but Hazel stood to the side of the open window anyway, just in case.

“Watch this,” Liam said with a wink and a mischievous grin. He took aim at a skeleton perched on a high branch across from him. In a flash of gold, the arrow found its mark and the creature plummeted to the ground, taking out two of his buddies along the way.

Hazel shifted from foot to foot. “Are you sure it doesn’t hurt them?” she asked.

Liam scoffed, letting two more arrows fly in rapid succession. “They’re not real Haze, I already told you that.”

But they looked very real. Some of them even had little outfits on.

“Look out!” Olivia shouted at the same time Aron said, “one got through!”

Hazel turned, her grip tightening on her sword before she even laid eyes on the skeleton. He was already missing a leg, but he hopped towards her with steadfast determination, his dagger held forward. She debated for only a few seconds before hoisting her weapon in the air and cutting off his boney head. It was way easier than she anticipated. The bones fell to the floor, the skull landing on top with a sharp thud.

“Good going!” Olivia called, giving her a thumbs up, “we’ll reclaim these lands yet!”

Hazel giggled and a sense of pride flooded over her. She didn’t have to worry about doing the wrong thing or disappointing anyone, not here. She could just have fun and forget about the divorce and the sharp words and having to pick a parent. Skeletons were breaking through her sibling’s defenses, so she hurried over to them, slashing with triumphant cries. She never missed, cutting down her enemies as if she’d been training her entire life for this.

As she fought alongside her siblings, Hazel noticed something about the way they wielded their weapons. There was a hard crease on Aron’s forehead as his sword sliced through the intruders. Olivia’s war cries were full of a pain too realistic to be directed towards imaginary skeletons. Liam scowled deeply and set his jaw as he shot out the window, his gentle nature melting away for the moment. It was the hurt and anger they didn’t talk about that invigorated them now, and Hazel was no exception. As she fought on, she put everything she had into defeating the intruders. When her sword found the mark, she felt a sense of relief. A sense of moving forward.

The skeletons kept pouring in, heavier and heavier, but the four siblings fought gallantly and defeated them all, leaving bones scattered across the dusty floor of the treehouse. By the end, Hazel was sweating and nearing exhaustion, but the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. She always thought of herself as weak, but today she possessed the strength of a hundred soldiers.

“Guess that about wraps it up, good job crew!” Olivia declared when all the skeletons had been dealt with.

The three older siblings exchanged a look and started laughing, some inside joke that Hazel only kind of got. They were allowed to be kids for just one more day, before they had to go back to school and jobs and responsibilities.

“We should probably head down, dad needs help inside,” Aron said.

Liam scoffed and shook his head. “Let him struggle on his own.” But they all knew the words were hollow. Their dad was a terrible person, but he had suffered a heart attack less than a month ago and needed their help. Plus, the sooner they offered a hand, the sooner he’d be gone.

Olivia, Aron, and Liam deposited their weapons in the small box and headed towards the ladder, laughing and joking with one another. Hazel watched them for a second, baffled at what had just happened. She tightened her grip on the handle of her sword, but it felt different. When she looked down, she saw that the gleaming steel had transformed back into old, splintery wood. Her brows knitted together, and she made an incredulous sound.

Liam, waiting to take his turn down the ladder, laughed at her. “I told you it was just your imagination,” he said.