The Tree-House Tragedy

Stephan was beginning to have qualms about his adventure for the first time. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time to run away to London, until his mother made that all-important decision. But standing on the platform of the train station, he was beginning to have second thoughts. About six months ago, his mother had triplets, which now required all of her attention. His father was in the marines, and he would be living in Spain for the next year, with no prospect of returning home before that. Now, Pamela, Stephan's mother, was making the all-important decision of whether to send Stephan to live with his grandparents for the next year. Stephan knew his family weren't exactly well off, and couldn't afford to feed four children each day. Stephan didn't mind his grandparents, in fact he loved them very much, but both his parents were at war with his mother's parents, and Stephan knew all too well that if he moved in with his grandparents, he would hardly ever be able to visit his family, and-

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the train pulling up to the station. It was decision time, at last. He took a last, long, undecided look around, and then jumped on to the train. Before he had time to reverse his decision, the guard had blown his whistle, and they were off! There was no going back now... Stephan found a seat in a quiet corner of the carriage and sat down. He was sure he would never, ever be able to get to sleep with all that was going on in his mind. He knew that he was going to be causing his mother a lot of pain, and he didn't want that to influence her decision, but he was absolutely sick and tired of being argued about, as if he wasn't in the room to hear it! It was as if he were a piece of furniture that both his mother wanted for the parlour, and his grandparents wanted for their antique shop. And... and... and...

Stephan awoke with a jump. How on earth could he have fallen asleep at a time like this? What had he been thinking? Just then, the conductor strode confidently down the aisle, announcing the station at London. Stephan felt the train pull up to the station. Here he was! Stephan really felt that his adventure was beginning at last!

Stephan had decided to run away to London when he first saw the triplets in the hospital. He had known there was no way his family would be able to feed them all on his father's meagre income, and he was right. He had carefully planned his adventure over three months, and had every detail perfected. He was going to stay in an abandoned tree house, deep in the midst of a little known park. He had brought a warm sleeping bag, plenty of clothes and food, and as much money as had been in his bank account. He quickly made his way to the tree house. When Stephan reached the tree that the tree house was perched in, he quickly scaled it, and was soon at the top. It was just as Stephan remembered it, and nothing had changed, which was good, and judging by the amount of dust in the place, no one had been near it for the past year! Stephan laid out his bundle of things, and set to work making the tree house fit to live in. Then he made some sandwiches. It seemed a very long time since breakfast!

When Stephan awoke the next morning, he couldn't think where in the world he was. Then he remembered: he had run away to London! He made himself some more sandwiches, and put them in his pocket. Then, he got dressed and quickly shinned down the tree. He walked to the nearby new agent, and bought a newspaper. He noticed the newspaper giving him a rather odd look, as if he had recognised him, but wasn't sure where he knew him from. When Stephan reached the tree, he thoughtfully propped himself up, and began to flick through the newspaper, until he got to the 'missing persons' section. He scanned it quickly. Nothing there about him, thank goodness! Stephan passed the rest of the day in London's famous art museum, and had a great time. He glanced sharply at the newsagent owner, each time he passed, but the shopkeeper kept his eyes down each time Stephan passed. When he reached his tree, Stephan managed to cook some pasta with an enormous flask, which he had filled with boiling water from the tea and coffee machine at the museum. Then he snuggled down into his sleeping bag, and quickly drifted to sleep...

The next morning, Stephan felt quite sticky, so he decided to take his bathing suit, and go off to the nearby swimming pool for the morning. He brought a bagel with some cream cheese that he munched on the way. He had a lovely time at the pool, swimming underwater the entire length of the pool! Afterwards, when he had gotten out and dried his hair and set off home to his tree house, he remembered the unfriendly behaviour of the shopkeeper. Stephan didn't really want to go back into the shop and be glowered at by the man, but it was the only newsagent within walking distance, and Stephan didn't want to spend any of his precious money on a bus. When Stephan walked in, the man was standing with his back to the door, fiddling with the radio. He seemed to be trying to turn it off, but couldn't quite manage. When he heard Stephan's footsteps, he wheeled around.

'Hello', he said. Stephan looked on in amazement. The man had absolutely glowered at him yesterday, and now he was smiling at him like he was his grandson!

'Hello', Stephan said cautiously.

The man replied with a hearty 'Beautiful day, isn't it? It's a shame I'm cooped up in here all day... Wait a minute, you were in here yesterday, weren't you?'.

'Err... yes', Stephan ventured. He didn't want to remind the man of his foul mood yesterday, lest it should come back.

'Mmmm...', the man replied. 'Listen, son, I was in a rotten mood yesterday, and I'm sorry if I offended you by it. What's your name, by the way?'

'Oh, that's quite all right, sir. My name is Stephan', the owner of the name said. He was feeling quite warmed to the man. It was amazing the difference a smile could make!

'Stephan, you said your name was..?', the shopkeeper said slowly, as if deep in thought. 'Hmmm... Very interesting...'

Stephan began to feel alarmed. Could this great big, meaty man know him? He sincerely hoped not. That would ruin his plans completely... And what on earth was the man doing now? He appeared to be scrutinizing him: his hair, his clothes, his face. Then, quite suddenly, he raised his right hand up in the air, and whistled. It must have been some sort of signal, because almost immediately a woman appeared in the doorway. His mother! What on earth was she doing here? Just then, the radio, which had been playing some awful pop song, changed to a news bulletin. Stephan listened eagerly, anything to stop him from thinking about this dreadful dilemma he now found himself in...

'... and a young boy, Stephan Mullens, appears to have run away from his Sussex home. He is of medium height, with brown hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing jeans and a red hoodie. Contact the following number if you see this boy..'

Stephan listened in horror. He had completely forgotten about news broadcasts! That must have been where the man recognised him from, and why he was glaring at him so yesterday! And-

His mother broke into his train of thought.

'Stephan, I think you need to come with me...'