Base for a Day

I lifelessly sprawled across my front lawn, occasionally rolling around in an effort to get as much dead grass in my hair as possible. I'm not quite sure why exactly my heart was filled with a sense of triumph whenever I felt all those wild strands sticking out of my hair. I guess I have a somewhat masochistic, rogue side that feeds on my mother's harsh scolding.

Today, my brother ditched me to go to his friend's house. He's two years my senior, a ninth grader, and despite his cocky attitude towards me I believe myself to be his intellectual superior. We've always been pretty close siblings but he ruthlessly cuts off all ties with me the moment his friends appear.

They go to their "secret base" almost every single day to play. It's not really a secret, though, because practically every kid in the neighborhood knows about it. Only people a part of my brother's friend group can hang out there-- if anyone else is spotted dawdling around that area, my brother and his friends would bark and chase after them for a few days before smugly sauntering back. It's ridiculous.

I was connected to them as the adorable younger sister of one of their crew members and yet they don't even permit me entry, the reason being an advanced ninth-grader term for cooties. I don't even know. The only thing that separates me from others is that I can stand in the area, just not directly inside the base.

Did I mention? The base is just a stupid tree house. An ugly, old, dilapidated, crawling-with-bugs tree house.

I sat up from the grass. My brother wasn't at the tree house like he usually was, nor was he at home. Would this not be the perfect time for me to go raid that despicable place?

The tree house was nearby, located at the edge of a lush green park. It was just a big, wooden cube sitting amidst some branches and there was a ladder dangling from the entrance. One of my brother's buddies slapped on a piece of paper onto the trunk, which was labeled, "PROPERTY OF THE SHADOW HUNTERS!! DON'T TRESPASS!!" A stupid tree house went with a stupid group name. Someone even drew an eye on the tree trunk using what I believe was a black sharpie. This was cruel plant vandalism.

I scanned the park for a bit, ensuring that no one I was familiar with was nearby, else they'd definitely tattle on me. Although I've cursed the tree house many times in my heart before, I couldn't help but feel strangely excited at the thought of disobeying my brother. It was like I was about to embark on a path of no return.

I swiftly climbed up the latter, the latter that had always been so near yet so far from me. I crawled inside and behold, it was a small, cramped space surrounded by wooden walls. There wasn't any ceiling but it still looked wonderful. During this summer, this cool tree house was heavenly. I could feel a slight breeze gently passing by, as if to caress my face. The leaves rustled gently, and I was enveloped by the large shadow of the tree, the sunlight peeking between the branches as if to warmly say, "Hello, trespasser!"

Empty snack bags and candy wrappers were the only thing that ruined the scenery. My brother's friends were absolute slobs and didn't bother cleaning up after themselves. If they were going to leave something behind, couldn't they at least leave an intact snack in consideration for any intruding siblings?

I shoved them to the side, burying them in the gap between the floor and the wall. What did my brother's friends do here besides eat? Did they talk about girls, day dream, or play creative games? Or perhaps all of them?

There wasn't much in the tree house but with enough imagination, it could become a splendid palace, my future manor, my throne.

I stood up and gazed out through the entrance like an immortal that had already seen everything. I could see my house down the street, the occasional cars that passed through my quiet neighborhood and the mountains far off in the distance.

I found myself dozing off a bit when a voice came from below me.

"Can I come up too?"

It was a young girl who looked no older than 7. In her arms was a small, golden puppy with its tongue sticking out. A pretty, brunette woman who I assumed was her mother stood a few feet away, smiling at me a little apologetically.

I wasn't sure how to respond. Should I refuse, saying this wasn't my tree house, or let her become my partner in crime?

In the end, I decided to let her join me. Anyway, even if my brother did catch us red-handed, it's not like he could just take revenge on a girl this small, right? I was the only one who had anything to lose in this matter.

"Of course," I said graciously.

I leapt down and intended to scoop her up into my arms but she was still holding onto the dog. They both looked at me with wide eyes, eerily similar.

"Can I bring my puppy too?" she pleaded.

I was a little speechless. What to do? I looked at the girl's mother again but she was already busy on her phone, sparing us only half of her attention.

Looking at her expectant eyes, I hesitated a little before giving in.

"Okay!"

I carefully held her puppy in one hand and struggled to climb up the ladder without dropping it. After placing it in the tree house, a small part of me regretted not chucking it in from the get-go.

"What's your name?" I managed to grunt out as I lifted her up to the entrance.

"Lily." She happily laughed as her dog came up to her face and started licking her after she climbed into the tree house.

"That's a pretty name. My name is Pika, like Pikachu in Pokemon."

Lily smiled and sincerely praised, "I like your name so much!"

At that moment, I felt like I had never been so proud of my name before.

"Thank you," I responded shyly. The only sibling I had was my older brother so this older sister vibe I was emanating was really quite novel.

"Ah, Pipi! No!" Lily cried out all of a sudden.

I shifted my gaze and witnessed the dog squatting, taking a dump in the corner of the tree house.

"..."

"..."

I could almost see the dog release a satisfied sigh as it walked back to its owner and rested its head against her lap.

Ahh, man, what was I thinking? Perhaps I'll cook this dog to compensate my poor brother.

"I'm sorry," Lily started sobbing really hard and my frozen heart had already melted a little.

"It's alright, the tree house doesn't belong to me anyway," I said reassuringly.

Lily's mother heard her crying and brought her and the puppy down from the tree house. Before she could give me any venomous glares, I quickly explained to her what happened and then she apologized profusely before taking out a tissue to clean up the feces.

"Miss, don't worry about it, I'll do it," I said, taking the tissue from her hands.

She apologized to me for the fourth time before turning to leave with her daughter and pet. Before they entered their car, Lily shouted out to me.

"Pika, lets play together next time!! We'll play Pokemon!!"

I smiled helplessly as I waved at her, which she apparently took as confirmation as she stopped crying and returned the gesture.

I climbed back up the tree house and the stench of dog poop assaulted my nostrils the moment my head popped up at the entrance. I deliberated for a bit before righteously deciding that this was my brother's friends' retribution for not allowing me to enter the tree house. I headed back home, using the tissue to blow my nose instead of cleaning up the poop.

The next day, my brother came back home in the late afternoon howling in fury. He was venting to me about how some animal managed to get into their tree house and mark its ownership over what was supposed to be their territory. All I responded with was a lazy, knowing smile.