The Wishlist

The Wish list - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Harry! Lincoln! Wait up will you!" Ten-year-old Emily called after the two boys. She should have been home hours ago but the boys were dragging her through the woods to the tree house. It was getting dark and she'd never admit it but she was getting scared. The two boys ahead of her finally stopped and looked back impatiently. The sticks and leaves beneath her sneakers crunched loudly with each step and made the silence of the darkening forest even more frightening for her. The long shadows of the trees began to creep along the forest floor.  When she finally caught up to Lincoln and Harry the three of them continued walking.

"So why do we have to go to the tree house tonight?" she tried to say innocently, not wanting to offend them. She knew they really wanted to go to the tree house and she really didn’t want to be the one to ruin their fun - but it was getting quite dark and she couldn't remember going this far this late at night. "We've just gotta to show you something - it'll take a second" Lincoln said. Even in the fading light she could still make out his broad smile. Emily knew this smile only too well and knew the boys were definitely up to something - they always were. 

"Last time you two showed me something.." she began but was cut off by Harry. 

"Trust us, you'll love it" He said with the same big smile on his face. However his words didn’t reassure her at all.

Emily loved the forest behind Lincoln's house, but Emily was no Tomboy. It was by chance her two best friends were boys that loved everything to do with dirt, sports and bugs. She hated bugs and especially dirt. She hated the dark and she stayed very clear of anything with a sports ball. She loved flowers, dancing and particularly singing. She was constantly at practices for this, that and the next thing. That was probably why the boys we so keen to get her out to the tree house. She'd been so busy all summer and they had finally gotten her to themselves. 

Through the long shadows and what was left of the sun shining through the trees, the tree house finally came into view. Despite her protests she was beginning to remember how beautiful the woods was in the sunset, even in the dark. However the tree house was much more beautiful than she had ever remembered it being. Last summer it had only had two walls and something that slightly resembled a roof but obviously the boys had been working on it.

"So this is what you two have been up to this summer" she laughed.

"Well we have to do something while you're at dance camp" Lincoln said smiling again. "Dad helped us with it" he added.

The remodeled tree house now had 4 decent walls with windows and a hole for the door. The roof was higher and a trap door leading from the rope ladder led from the ground to what looked like a balcony. Because of its height the tree house was  high enough to allow the light to break through the thick branches which meant there was small shards of light beaming across the tree house roof, through its windows and even onto its balcony. 

Once Emily got up inside it she saw the small shelf and an old rug the boys had put inside. It was definitely the best tree house she had ever seen. "Now do you see why we had to get you out here Em?" Harry said laughing. But Emily wasn't listening; she was too busy looking off the balcony into the distance. She had forgotten the view from the tree house. Even in the limited amount of light the valley was still as untouched and beautiful as ever.

Fifteen minutes later the boys had shown Emily everything new. Every nook and cranny had been explored however the light was now completely gone. 

"We better head back" Harry said, wondering about what his parents were going to say. 

"Yeah" Emily said, wondering the same thing. Slowly and regretfully they left the tree house, knowing for sure that they would be back the next day. They headed back through the forest, thankful it was a full moon and they could see a little bit. It was on their journey back - Lincoln in the lead - that they noticed a small glistening sparkle in the distance off their path. Emily saw it first and stopped too make sure it wasn't just her eyes tricking her. Soon the two boys looked and found the glistening and before they knew it they were following it. Emily wished she had never stopped, if only she had kept walking they wouldn’t be off their track and off to god knows where. What if the glisten was something dangerous? What if they couldn't find their way back? The glisten was quite a lot farther than they thought it would be, it just seemed to get farther away the closer they tried to get . Eventually it got bigger and bigger. Emily was getting nervous as she felt the boys get more excited. However secretly she was curious too.  Soon the ground became softer, she naturally looked down but it was too dark to see anything different. The closer they got the softer the ground became until suddenly they broke through the trees and bushes to discover a small lake, surrounded by soft light sand which explained why the dirt had become softer as they had approached.

The three kids stood in silence for a while, just looking at the glistening water. It was amazing how something so big could stay so hidden from them. The lake was silent apart from its quiet laps at the shore, as if it wanted to stay quiet and hidden forever. To Lincoln, Emily and Harry this made it exciting. They had a secret lake.

The next day they returned. Emily and Harry had come over as early as their parents had let them. It had taken them a while to find the lake but eventually they had retraced their steps from familiar rocks and trees. The lake was very different in the daytime. Its laps at the shore were louder and its water was bright blue and clear. To the left was several boulders sticking out of the water, making a path to the shore and to the right was a large babbling stream leading off somewhere.

"This is brilliant" Lincoln said happily "I wonder if we can swim here?"

"Well there’s only one way to find out" Harry replied and before Emily knew it the two boys had ripped their shirts off and jumped in the water.