Dream Catchers

I threw my book bag on the back of the kitchen table and went up stairs to my room. I stripped out of my lacey skirt and frilly blouse and into a pair of ripped jean shorts and an old softball t-shirt. I slipped of my worn out tennis shoes and took off.

I looked down the driveway and no one was home. No surprise my mom is never home. She doesn't care where I am or even if I am alive. I ran down the hill behind our house and into the woods at the bottom of the hill.

I could easily navigate my way through these woods, maybe even blind folded. I have been coming here since 6th grade and I'm a freshman now. I walked through a patch of tall oak trees till I got to the creek. There wasn't a lot of water in it but still I'd tater stay dry. The creek had to be at least 6 feet wide so years ago I built a bridge to get across.

An old tree had fallen over before I even found this place and I brought a knife down and whittled away the top so it was flat enough to walk across. I quickly got across and continued to walk.

It was the beginning of autumn so the leaves were all shades of yellow, red, orange, and brown. The air was moist but it wasn't chilly yet. It was so quiet I could hear the sound of leave crunching under my feet.

A couple birds were chirping but not many. The light breeze rushed through cold enough to give me goosebumps but I didn't mind, I liked this weather.

I finally reached my destination. It was an old beat up tree house that visibly the weather had taken its toll on. It wasn't in a very high tree or well put together because I made it in sixth grade.

It was in a tree that branched out into three forks with planks of wood converting and much surface as possible. The walls were mad or boards or plywood and nails. I had my uncle help me build the walls so he sawed out windows and added bent nails to be used as hooks.

The roof wast worked on a lot mainly because the top of the tree converted it from the light rain that occasionally fell. It was made of a couple wood planks and an old tarp to seal off the small holes.

I climbed in the old rope ladder and made my way inside. The moist wood gave off a small scent that I've come to love. This place was my escape, y one place to be alone and do what ever I truly wanted without anyone knowing.

I have a lot of "friends" and even my closest ones don't know about this place. This place holds a lot of memories especially of my uncle. He was my best friend for the longest time and was the only one to this day to know about this treehouse. A couple weeks after I built it he had a heart attack in his sleep and passed.

It hurts to come here sometimes but it also can make me smile. I look at the ground and can see the younger me hiding behind a tree unaware my uncle is on the opposite side she is looking and is getting ready to scare her. I smile.

I look around the small room and see drawings everywhere that I drew of me and uncle Gregg. I missed him so much, and I knew he was always here watching my heart ache for his touch again. A stronger wind blew through the windows and I saw a small object hanging on the wall move.

Oh yeah. It was a small purple dream catcher he gave me a before he passed. He told me that I will always be in his dreams. It's hard to think that he's now dreaming and will be forever.