The Treehouse

Dawn stared out of her window of her home, watching the day transform into evening. The blue in the sky began to change colors, the colors of coming evening. The blue haired girl loved to see the changes in the sky and would often watch.

"Dawn?"

Five year old Dawn turned her attention away from the window at the sound of her mother's voice. She put her gaze on the entrance into her room and saw her mother standing there watching her with a smile.

"Yes, mommy?" Dawn asked curiously, blinking.

"Why don't you go play outside?" Her mother, Johanna suggested. "I'm starting on supper. I'll get you when it's ready." She said.

A cute smile found its way onto little Dawn's face and she ran over to her parent, hugging her legs. "Yay! Thanks, mommy!" She commented cheerily, quickly releasing her afterwards.

Johanna released a laugh. "You're welcome, dear."

Giving her mother one last smile, Dawn turned and headed out of her room to go outside and play. When she got outside, it was nice and quiet. She and her mother lived way out next to a forest. Their house was small and surrounded by grass and other pretty plants. Their land was decorated with nature and tranquility, which Dawn loved.

Humming delightfully, little Dawn skipped along the grass, picking flowers and gently putting them inside a basket she had taken from the kitchen before she left her abode. The little girl was planning on making a flower bracelet for her mom. She always enjoyed making pretty things for her.

Plucking a daisy from the ground, Dawn began to hear something unusual. Looking up, her eyes met the forest. Her mother always warned her of the forest. She told her to never go into it for reasons that were unknown to her. Dawn assumed that it was dangerous and she never disobeyed her mother by going into the forest, but she was always curious as to what was in there.

The unusual sound had immediately captured the child's interest. It sounded like someone was hammering something against wood. Curiosity getting the best of her, Dawn glanced back at her house before heading into the forest, completely going against her mother's wishes.

Mommy won't know. Dawn thought as she pushed a branch out of the way, staring up in awe at the many trees that now towered over her. Mommy won't find out. The little girl was amazed at how large the forest was and how many trees were currently present.

Green grass was all over the ground and various colorful flowers that Dawn had not witnessed before were growing from the ground in different spots. Some trees held apples and other fruits that Dawn couldn't get the name of. Large rocks randomly laid about in certain areas and lots of bushes could be found here and there. Dawn could even see small animals and had tried to chase one, a squirrel. It got away though, but Dawn had fun chasing it.

Giggling cheerfully, Dawn trekked over to a blueberry bush. Without hesitation she picked one and plopped it into her mouth, unaware if the berry was poisonous or not. The taste of the berry made the young girl hum in delight. She picked a few more and stuffed them into her mouth and then grabbed a couple more to take with her.

It was then that she heard the noise again. It sounded very close now. Mouth now covered in blueberry juice, Dawn started skipping towards the noise, chewing on one of the blueberries that she had taken with her. When she reached her destination, she stopped and almost dropped her basket of flowers at what she saw.

One of the trees that made up the forest had a large treehouse on it! There was a boy with plum colored hair standing at the bottom of the tree. He looked to be about seven years old. The boy was holding a hammer in his hand and had a frown coloring his facial features.

Dawn wasn't so surprised about the boy's appearance, but she was more surprised about the treehouse. The female had never seen a treehouse in real life before. She had only read stories about them and her mother had told her about them as well. Dawn always wanted to see a treehouse and actually be in one. It was so exciting to be seeing one right now! A large smile spread across her blueberry juice covered mouth and she resisted the urge to squeal in elation.

Obviously sensing something amiss, the boy turned his head and his eyes met with Dawn's. He seemed to be astonished for a few minutes, but his frown quickly returned and it deepened instantly. His grip on his hammer tightened and the male became incredibly wary of the girl.

"Who are you?" He wanted to know. "What are you doing here?"

Dawn jollily skipped over to him and stopped in front of him, her eyes never leaving the large treehouse above. "I'm Dawn!" She caterwauled joyously, excitement evident in her tone. "Who are you?" Finally her gaze moved back to him instead of being on the treehouse.

"Paul." The boy replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Paul!" Dawn giggled, now putting her attention back on the treehouse. "Is that your treehouse? Did you build it?"

The boy, Paul, eyed the girl warily. "Yeah."

Dawn clapped her hands cheerfully, letting out a shriek of pure excitement. "Oh! That's great! Can I go inside your treehouse, please? I promise I won't break anything!" She exclaimed jovially. "I've never been in a treehouse before!"

"No." Paul flatly answered.

Dawn's happy look faltered and her hands dropped to her sides. "H-Huh?"

"I said no," Paul responded, glowering at the girl. "Now go away."

Immense disappointment smacked into little Dawn, almost making her fall to the ground. Sadness crawled onto her features and she was now totally unhappy. "Please?" She begged, tears appearing in her eyes. "I've always wanted to go inside a treehouse!"

"No means no, brat." The seven year old boy spat out, finding her to be annoying.

Dawn wasn't used to hearing someone call her a name and the tears finally broke free. They slid down her cheeks and her body started shaking with sobs. Her hands flew to her eyes and she covered them, bowing her head as she wept.

Paul was starting to feel bad as he watched Dawn cry. He turned his head and looked up at his treehouse. Looking back at Dawn, he came to a decision, sighing in frustration. "Fine, fine! Stop crying! You can come inside my treehouse!"

Dawn immediately stopped crying and her face brightened up. "I can?!" She squealed.

Paul sighed. "Yes."

"Yay!" Dawn dropped her basket of flowers and hurried on up to the treehouse, climbing up the ladder that was connected to it. Once she made it up there, she looked around at the empty treehouse, grinning widely. Paul soon joined her in the treehouse, hammer still in hand.

"Don't mess up anything." Paul grumbled, getting comfortable next to one of the windows in the treehouse.

"No need to worry!" Dawn retorted gleefully, crawling around in the treehouse. Paul started to notice that she was getting blueberry stains on the wood, but he refrained from yelling at the girl.

After a moment of exploring the treehouse, Dawn went over and sat down next to the plum colored hair boy. He felt uncomfortable with her sitting so close, but he enjoyed the company. He didn't get much company out in the forest that he lived in with his brother.

"This is nice." Dawn decided, shutting her eyes.

Paul blinked a few times before slightly agreeing.

It was strange, but nice.