Luke was born in a big bustling City by the age of 10 he had grown accustomed to the busy streets and even busier people he thrived in the fast moving environment where there seemed to be an adventure waiting for him around every corner he cherished the quality time he spent doing things in the city with the people he loved sneaking out with his mother for a large slice of pizza at midnight or hopping on the subway with his father to catch a ball game on a sunny Sunday afternoon he l loved all of the traditions
and quirks of City Life as much as a young boy can he loved the yellow taxis and hot chocolate in cardboard cups he loved waking up to the music of the traffic and watching the day go by with the lights and sounds and what better way to wind up down for the evening than to eat takeout from Little cardboard containers while watching the city skyline transition from day to night when Luke became a big brother to Lila his first job was to read stories to her the two of them would snuggle up in a cozy
armchair by the big window in the living room it gave them a wide open front row view to the magical transformation of the city Luke read all of Lila's favorite stories to her as the city lights shimmered to life every evening together they watched as the neighboring buildings were illuminated by the glow of thousands of Windows as airplanes twinkled and glided across the sky above Luke and Lila would make a wish upon them like they were shooting stars then he'd watch his sister drift off to sleep in the crook of his arm [Music] his heart
would melt with love for her as she laid in her soft footy pajamas cuddling a stuffed animal he loved all of those nights reading to her and watching the pacifier in her mouth wiggle less and less as the story neared its conclusion until at last she was sound asleep now though Luke's parents wanted to move out of the city and enjoy a quieter more laidback life in the countryside Luke felt apprehensive about the changes to come City life was all he had ever known did the move mean that those years of wonderful memories were all
in the past now Luke questioned how his new life could measure up to the life that he had here what would Summers be like without the ball games and midnight Pizza although he wondered about it he tried his best to keep up a hopeful Spirit his parents promised him and Lila that their new house would be the most incredible place they had ever seen but Luke's heart was still reluctant as they drove out of the city and toward the vast and unknown Countryside he pressed his face against the window of the car and watched the
great towering buildings grow smaller and smaller behind them as they drove apartment blocks transformed to farmhouses Big signboards gave way to clusters of tall trees after hours of driving they pulled off the last Highway and onto a quiet Country [Music] Road lla had been dozing on Luke's shoulder since they got on the highway miles before nestled in her right arm was a soft Plush Unicorn she got for her sixth birthday last month Luke gently stroked the soft curls on her head to alert her of their arrival she turned her sleepy face up toward him and
squinted happily then Laya giggled excited for the new adventure Luke took a deep breath in and prepared himself for this new and yet unexplored chapter of Life the two children hopped out of the car in their new driveway they stretched their legs and looked up at their twostory country home it was an old farmhouse with a Fresh coat of white paint it had a handsome BL blue gray trim and a glossy denim blue front door the front lawn was recently cut in a crisscross pattern that reminded Luke of the grass on a baseball diamond Luke
closed his eyes and Drew in a long breath the scent here was different from what he was used to it was earthy and sweet with a floral touch the air felt refreshing and clean in his lungs there was a Simplicity to it that had a way of calming his nerves the house was set back from the lane it was bordered on all sides by grass which was dotted here and there with wild flowers Luke didn't know the names of any of them he'd have to learn he thought to [Music] himself two sets of large front
windows revealed a spacious empty home with nothing inside except for some old wood flooring and bare walls it reminded Luke of a blank canvas with nothing painted on it yet he liked that he might be able to help make it his own his parents began to unload boxes Luke and Lila pulled out their small suitcases and carried them inside Luke went back to the car and helped to carry in some pillows and blankets but everything else to move was too big for him to carry by himself while his parents kept unpacking Luke and Lila set
about exploring the new house he knew just where he wanted to start the big backyard living in the city backyards were hard to come by none of Luke's friends had one and neither did he and Lila they would often go outside to play on the balcony where his mother kept many of her potted plants they would always go to the park and play on the swing set there but what what he had always wanted more than anything else was a yard of his own and this house had one he took lyla's hand in his and
they ran around the side of the house there by the back door was a wooden gate Luke was just tall enough to unhook the brass latch and let them inside the door swung open with a rusty Creek and revealed an amazing view there surrounded by trees on all sides was the most incredible backyard Luke had ever dreamed of the trees marked the edge of the yard itself but because this was the country a small fence was all that stood between their yard and the nature behind it the lush green grass stretched all the way back
as far as the eye could see dozens of towering trees stood tall against the soft blue and white sky [Music] they rustled almost as if On Queue greeting the children as they entered the space for the first time their bushy branches provided welcoming patches of cool shade here and there throughout the yard next to him he heard Lila take a deep breath her Rosy little cheeks puffed up with happiness then she jumped for Joy the lawn area closest to the home was wide open with just a few trees sporadically spaced throughout it Luke followed his
line of sight further back and noticed that the density of the trees increased quite a bit near the edge of the yard obscuring some of his view tucked into the front corner of the lawn in a patch of shaded grass was a stone fire pit Luke thought it must be big enough for eight or even 10 people to sit around [Music] some Impressions and yellow grass suggested that perhaps a set of lawn furniture had been placed here at one point Luke detected the faintest scent of campfire smoke but could only assume it was his imagination
he took a seat on the edge of the fire pit as he continued to survey the area off to the right were two swings hanging from the arm of an oak tree they swayed back and forth with the [Music] breeze a wooden wind chime rattled from the porch that overlooked the yard beyond the fire pit and the swings was a large antique shed having grown up in the city Luke didn't know what you were supposed to do with sheds but he thought it would make a very nice Playhouse for him and Lila even further back
sat two more sprawling oak trees their trunks were sturdy and Tall with branches that intertwined as if the two trees were holding hands they were so big it was hard to see what was behind them as Luke was off exploring the yard Lila was busy inspecting the pair of blue swings pushing with one hand while tightly holding on to her toy unicorn with the other Luke kept one eye on his sister as he went to investigate the Twin [Music] Trees there was something peculiar about these trees and their intertwining branches he thought with a few
more steps Luke was close enough to see more detail he could just make out some type of structure suspended above the ground about 10 ft in the air what could it be he wondered perhaps it was a nest for a very large bird or maybe even a rocket ship that hadn't taken off yet he called for Lila to join him before he went any further when she reached his side he squeezed her little hand together they walked into the shade of the Twin Trees and caught their first glimpse of the carefully camouflaged Treehouse sitting on
top of the sturdy branches a tree house a real actual treeh house lla said with a gasp as she ran to the foot ladder at the base of the tree the ladder rungs were made from recycled pallet boards each painted a creamy speckled Brown that Blended so perfectly so invisibly into the trunk Luke caught up to her helping her climb carefully y up the bottom steps the ladder led to an opening in the floor of the Treehouse Luke gave Lyla a boost onto the wooden floor before crawling up himself inside they Rose to their feet
and brushed off some dirt from their [Music] knees the two children stood s silently in all as they took in The Wonder of their new Hideway at first glance it was a blur of amber colored wooden panels with dark brown knots broken up by windows on the south east and west sides thick beams of daylight poured diagonally down through the window on their [Music] right outside some branches with deep green leaves began to rustle once more as if to welcome the children to their new secret spot directly ahead of them the north side of the
Treehouse faced the rest of their backyard but whoever had built the Treehouse had cleverly obscured The View with a dark green curtain below the curtain was a cozy Nook with cushy seating and two plush Navy pillows on each side the shelving below it was lined with stacks of classic board games puzzle boxes and Tin cookie canisters Luke's hand glided along the smooth rustic wooden rail that enclosed around the opening in the floor the glossy handrail smelled pleasantly like pine oil and shined in the beams of sunlight coming in through the window he couldn't help but
notice that this place had been taken good care of this was clearly a special place to the people who'd lived here before Luke and Lila kneed on top of the cushioned seating in the nook it was just wide enough for the two children to stretch out together he and Lila lay back to see how much space they could take up looking up at the ceiling with the cushions behind him Luke imagined how perfect it would be to sit here with his journal and a pen and maybe a cup of hot chocolate back at his old
home in the city he would curl up by the window and look out at all the building buildings when he wrote in his [Music] journal here the view would be rather different but Luke suspected that he would still enjoy it very much above his head he noticed a thin ropey cord he reached up and pulled gently and watched as the curtain peeled back with a zipping sound to reveal an enormous window it was cut into the side of the Treehouse and gave him a bird's eyye view of the entire yard and back of the home
this was almost as good as the window in the city he thought it would do nicely looking out Luke's eyes darted from the large shed to the tree swings and then to the fire pit he turned to get a better view in other directions on the south side of the Treehouse was a little open room that jutted out on its own it was surrounded with double pained windows on three sides on the back wall was a built-in wooden desk and two small wooden chairs they were just the right size for him and [Music] Lila they
each took a seat and claimed their space in this corner of their little house on Lila's side of the desk next next to the window frame were some built-in shelves each shelf was stocked with supplies magazine holders were filled with lined paper construction paper and sticker booklets Lila inspected a series of cup holders filled with crayons markers rulers erasers and colored pencils too it was a treasure Trove for any child who liked to create artwork and used their vivid imagination on Luke's side he noticed a collection of binders one or 2 in thick lined neatly
on shelves above the desk was a large cork board with rainbow colored push pins neatly bordering the bottom of the frame rectangular Sun bleach spots suggested that papers were stuck on here at one point and then in the corner Luke noticed something special one lone Red Envelope was tacked to the board with four gold push [Music] pins in Black capital letters it read open me Luke plucked it from the corkboard and turned it over lyla's eyes widened at the sight of it she hopped into her brother's lap so they could inspect it [Music] together the
anticipation made the envelope seem electrically charged like magic dust would fall out when it opened laya's eyes were wide with the thrill of the unknown Luke was surprised that he could not recognize the handwriting it wasn't his mother's writing she had an elegant cursive and his father wrote him big block letters this handwriting was a neat print loose but legible the letter was short and simple it said welcome to the magic treeh house where your imagination can run wild Adventures await you here in this place where dreams are as big as you let them be
at the bottom of the letter Luke noticed a little downward Arrow he followed in the direction it was pointing and saw another Red Envelope taped to the floor beneath the desk the children ripped it open this one explained where to find a secret cubby hidden in the floorboards it would be the perfect place to stash special things like his journal Luke thought he didn't know who had built this treehouse and left the little red envelopes here but he said a silent thank you to whoever it was as he looked around he could see all the
potential it had he could put some of his books on the shelves and maybe bring in his telescope for stargazing at night it was truly a magical treehouse he realized [Music] while Luke was lost in thought lla had located a crank handle on the West End wall she began to turn it slowly counterclockwise the children watched as a ladder lowered onto the floor from a loft area above they climbed up the ladder and found themselves on a second floor that they hadn't even known was there in the middle of the floor space was a large
playmat covered in blankets and [Music] cushions together they plunged into the ocean of soft items giggling as they tumbled when they turned over onto their backs they gazed up at an Open Sky the roof was constructed completely out of glass with two sides leaning against each other and coming together in a slender Point Luke imagined sitting up here at night gazing through his telescope pointed up at the sky on the opposite side of the ladder entrance Lila saw a small circular door with a handle at the bottom she grasped the black rubber handle and turned
it carefully the door was a bit stubborn at first but eventually swung out and up 180° locking easily in place inside was completely dark Luke reached his hand in and felt around the opening the wall around the door's entrance was smooth seamless and solid he tapped it a bit with his right hand moving it from top to side to bottom the material was sleek and it echoed like a hollow drum it's a slide lla whispered as the realization dawned on her together the brother and sister swung their legs into sitting position with Lila perched on
Luke's lap then they pushed off and zoomed down the curving slide laughing all the way until Luke's feet landed on the lawn below Luke and Lila ran across the backyard to find their parents and tell them what they discovered inside The Farmhouse their mother and father were was sitting down at the kitchen table they just brought inside they'd done enough unpacking for the day their mother said it was time for dinner they didn't have any groceries yet but before they' left the apartment in the city she had packed up a picnic to go they took
the cooler out to the porch and lay a checkered blanket on the wooden floor the family sat down on it together and unpacked sandwiches snacks and cold drinks Luke and Lila loved the idea of having a picnic in their very own backyard it was something they'd never been able to do in the city as they ate the family thought up ideas forgetting to know their new neighbors fall weather was just around the corner maybe they would invite them for hot cocoa and toasted marshmallows at the fire pit or host a movie night Under the Stars
Luke wondered if any of the neighbors had children of their own that he could invite over to play and maybe if the neighbors were especially nice he and Lila could show them the tree house after they finished eating Luke asked his parents if he could go and take one last peek at it before bed they smiled happy he'd found something he loved in their new [Music] home Luke ran across the moonlit yard toward the Twin Trees in the distance up above a million stars twinkled in the sky he had never seen anything so beautiful there
was not a single airplane in sight he climbed the ladder to the Treehouse and then took the second door to the top floor there he lay back on the soft blankets and pillows and looked out through the glass window above even without his telescope it gave him a crystal clear view of the stars and planets out of the corner of his eye he saw a speck of light move across the sky could it be a real shooting star he [Music] wondered as if on Q it flashed brilliantly and then disappeared leaving the sky in an
even darker shade of night behind it Luke smiled thinking of all the new things he might see here in their new home in the [Music] country laying here he understood there would be new friendships to be [Music] made new memories with his [Music] family and a life as adventurous as any he'd ever had in the big [Music] city the difference now was that he and Lila would get to create their own world of Adventure beginning right here in this treehouse and how could life get any better than that their future was brimming with endless possibilities
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