Forbidden Territories

Chapter 13: The Yellow Treehouse

At first, I thought he was kidding. I rerouted my gaze from the treehouse and set it on Zach. He was watching me carefully, standing a few feet away so I could have my space. A chuckle escaped me, waiting for him to laugh or something but it never came. Instead, he kept watching me with those worried eyes and my chuckle died down. 

"What do you mean, Zach?" I asked him, my voice laced with demand. 

His chest rose with a deep breath, his hands stuffed inside his pockets. He looked at the ground and slightly kicked a rock that was on the floor, among the grass. He really gave an impression of just a little boy at that moment. 

"Zach!" I snapped, trying to get his attention. 

A sigh left his lips, his mismatched eyes once again on me. "Please, don't freak out just yet, okay? Go into the treehouse. See if you remember anything," he requested, his voice filled with a plea. 

I was growing so frustrated I stomped my feet against the ground for a moment. A huff parted my lips simultaneously, a glare tossed in his direction. But he looked genuinely remorseful. Did it really turn out that the only person I still trusted was also hiding something from me? Enough with the secrecy! Nothing I would find out could make all of this worse. Zach seemed to be on my side through everything that's been going on. He was the one asking me the real questions without an ulterior motive behind them. At least it looked like that. Until that very moment. I didn't know whether to throw something at him or do as he asked and go inside the yellow treehouse. 

My head was spinning, I just wanted to wake up from this mess that somehow became my life. I exhaled and ran my fingers through my blonde hair. He didn't speak again and I couldn't out of sheer fury I felt. I looked back at the treehouse and my feet made up my mind for me. I started walking across the meadow towards it, eventually hearing Zach's heavy steps behind me. I didn't look at him, not until I reached the ladder leading inside the treehouse. I hovered my hand next to it but refrained from touching the woodwork. 

"What is this, Zach?" I asked again and his sad eyes looked at me. 

"You and Maya played here when you were kids," he answered and looked up at the treehouse. The sun above the forest lit up half of his face. 

"And?" 

"And I saw you paint it. I didn't mean to go through your things the other day, I'm sorry. But I saw your painting and asked your sister about it. I figured it might help," he added and set his eyes on me. 

I paused, blinking. "Wait, that's all?" I asked, confusion vivid in my tone. 

He nodded his head. 

"Why would Maya tell you about this? She doesn't even like you." 

He watched me for a second then shrugged. "Maybe it's that nurse." 

I wasn't fully believing it but he had no reason to lie to me so far, right? Why would he start now? I wasn't sure if his answer was the full truth but the one thing I did know was that I've been here before for a fact. You don't just dream about places like this to realize that they might exist. I was sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me but there was only one way to find out. I didn't know what happened in this treehouse but the feeling was bittersweet. Maybe Zach truly was just trying to help. 

Facing the ladder once again, I began climbing upwards. I entered the inside of the treehouse and got up to my feet, taking a look around. The place looked clean like someone had been here recently. There was no dust or dirt on the couch pushed into a corner nor the blankets laying on top. There were two chairs on the edge by the window made out of real glass. It didn't look like some backyard-made treehouse. It was firm, waterproof, and clean inside.