The Treehouse

The Treehouse

A Story for All Ages by Aaron McEmrys

Delivered to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, April 5, 2009

The old treehouse sat high up in a giant oak tree in an empty field. Nobody knew who had built it, or when. It was big. To get up to the treehouse from the ground you could either climb up a ladder made of wooden slats or you could carefully shimmy up a knotted rope that hung from one of the high branches – but only the bravest or most foolish kids tried to go up that way. The rope was so old and frayed that everybody knew it could snap at any moment.

In the many years that the treehouse had stood, it had been home to secret societies. The Midtown Mashers, the Mysterious Seven, and the Secret Spies had all held countless top secret meetings in that old house, passing messages in code, inventing secret handshakes and having thousands of epic, albeit imaginary, adventures.

But now the floorboards were rotten, the windows were broken and the roof looked as if it might cave in at any moment. Some kids still climbed up the shaky old ladder every now and then, but only to prove how brave they were or on a dare.

One day Michelle was playing in the field with her little brother, Benji. “Stay right here,” she said, “don’t you dare try to follow me.” And up she climbed, into the treehouse. It falling apart, really, but Michelle could see how with a little work and a new floor it could be awesome – the coolest place in the whole neighborhood.

She climbed carefully back down and took Benji home, her forehead furrowed with thought. The next day at school she gathered up all the kids who lived near the empty field. “I have a plan. If we all pitch in we can fix up the treehouse better than ever. We can do camp-outs and birthday parties and escape from all the irritating little kids and nosy parents who are too old or to chicken to climb the tree. Look, here is all my babysitting money. If we all put in what we have, my dad says he’ll take us to get all the stuff we’ll need and help us put in a new floor – what do you think?”

“I don’t know, it would be cool, but I’m saving up for a new video game.”

“That’s awesome – just let me know when you’re done and I will totally hang out!”

“I’m not gonna give you my allowance – it’s not even in my yard; it’s not my treehouse.”

“I know guys,” Michelle replied, “it’s not anybody’s tree – it’s for everybody, nobody has to own it. We’ll all share. Come on, who’s with me!”

But everybody just pushed their school lunch around on their plates and said nothing. Nobody wanted to help, and Michelle went home feeling very discouraged.

A few weeks later, Benji and Michelle were playing in the field again. Michelle was looking at a big furry caterpillar through her new magnifying glass. She watched as it patiently munched a big green leaf, when she heard Benji calling, “Look, Michelle, I’m a big kid now – look at me!” And there was her baby brother high up in the treehouse waving down at her proudly.

“Get down here this very instant Benjamin Franklin Horne!” she ordered in her sternest voice, just the way mom did when she was super mad.

“No, you come and get me!” Benji yelled back, making a funny face at her while dancing around in the way he knew annoyed her most.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and his eyes widened in surprise as the rotten floorboards gave way and Benji fell right through the floor, out of the tree and all the way down to the hard ground where he landed with a thumping crack. Michelle screamed so loud that all the kids in the neighborhood came running, only to find little Benji lying on the ground sobbing with pain.

Michelle cried as they drove to the doctor’s office, while Benji was curled up on mom’s lap with his thumb in his mouth, looking white as a sheet. The doctor said he had a broken collarbone, and that he’d have to stay home from school and keep his arm in a sling for a couple weeks.

The next day at school, Michelle sat all by herself at lunch. After a while, a whole bunch of kids came up and sat with her, but she wouldn’t even look at them. After school, Michelle walked home by herself, but all her friends stayed behind at the playground for a secret meeting.

Several days later, Michelle found a note in her locker, saying “Come to the big tree after school. Bring your brother, but tell no one. Signed, The Posse.”

Intrigued, Michelle and Benji waited until their mom was checking her email, and then snuck out the back door and headed over to the field.

The whole treehouse had been rebuilt! There was a sturdy new ladder climbing up the tree trunk to a beautiful red room with real glass windows and curtains and everything! Inside the treehouse there was a big warm rug on the floor and cool posters on the walls. There was even an old telescope for secret spying missions. The rope swing had been replaced with strong new rope and there was a pile of old mattresses on the ground so you could swing off the rope, fly through the air and then land with a big bounce! It was by far the coolest thing Michelle had ever seen!

Then all the neighborhood kids came out from their hiding places and Michelle saw some parents looking proud with their saws and hammers and toolboxes, and she realized that the kids had gotten together after all!

“I can’t believe it you guys, how did you do it?”

“You know, we all pitched in, just like you said. It is our treehouse – so we’ve gotta take care of it, right?”

The kids climbed up into their just-like-new treehouse to have the first ever-meeting of their new secret club – the Portland Posse, while, little Benji, who was not eager to try tree-climbing again anytime soon, just bounced up and down on the pile of mattresses pretending that he was an astronaut walking on the moon.