Big Oak Tree
BY: MADDY
Images by Winta Assefa
It was a late-afternoon in the middle of July. It was the kind of day where the sun hung low in the sky, casting the world in a ray of golden light. It was one where you didn’t want it to end. My best friend, AJ, and I were gathered at our usual meetup spot. It was in the middle of a forest near our neighboring houses. Nothing was particularly special about this place, only the big oak tree cast in vines, flowers and small critters. You could see snails on small, tiny, half eaten leaves and pretty flowers like dandelions and lilies blooming as bright as ever, although the tree was the most notable of all. It was the kind you could imagine in a fairy tale– like Cinderella.
It had always been our secret space where all our early childhood adventures began. Everyday was something different. Whether we decided to chase frogs by the stream or play “camp” in small hidden areas found around the forest. However, this day felt different. We woke up with the determination to make something new. Something grand. Our goal essentially was to build the ultimate treehouse like a fortress that would be our safe haven. Looking back, we were just two kids with big imaginations. We had no tools, no blueprint, no plan essentially, but what we did have was an unbreakable belief that we could accomplish anything we put our minds to. And with that we set to work.
We started by grabbing old boards my best friend had in her garage and laid them down at the bottom of the tree to create a foundation. Then, we grabbed a bunch of blankets and cascaded them over the lowest branch on the tree to cover us from the blazing hot summer sun. We used nails, also found in my best friend’s garage, to keep the sheets from flying away. Her brother had to help with this part as I couldn’t exactly climb a tree; still can’t to this day.
As we worked, we shared our dreams of wild scenarios about the treehouse. What we could add to it and where we would find the materials. We even added a punctured tire from my old bike and nailed it to the trunk to create a makeshift flag, like a trademark that this was our special place. To finish off, we grabbed as much snacks as we could carry, more blankets and our favourite toys.
Once we were finished, we stood back and admired our work. We were so incredibly proud of ourselves. It was our biggest accomplishment and we couldn't have been happier. Although, looking back, the place was a junkyard. There was a bunch of trash laying around and it was quite close to a swampy river. To anyone else it looked like a haphazard mess, but to us it was a sanctuary.
I remember how the sunlight flickered through the sheets providing the feeling of serenity, or the smell of the earth, mixed with the faint scent of grass. Even her smile as I told the most abominable joke on earth. We would hang dreamcatchers and wind chimes made from trinkets found around the forest and our houses. We would whisper secret tales as the wind rustles through the leaves too. In this little makeshift treehouse in the woods, we weren’t just little girls, we were princesses, storytellers, adventurers, travellers. We were anything that we wanted to be.
Everyday we would meet in the early afternoon when the sun was shining its brightest, to the point we didn’t need to discuss what time to meetup, we just knew. In our safe haven, we would talk about everything: Our biggest dreams and what we wanted to be. Our biggest fears and if we would ever encounter them. There, with my best friend, nothing mattered. I didn't realize it at the time but this place was a reminder that happiness wasn’t always about the grand things in life or the perfect plan, sometimes it was about the little moments. The simple joys of friendships and overall imagination.
Years later, I would think back to this summer. I would think of the tree and what it has become. Has it weathered? Was it now the sanctuary of other 9 year olds with big imaginations? As more years pass, I wish I could go back to this time. Back to a time where my biggest problem in the world was the day ending and I having to leave my best friend and our fairytale tree. A time where the simplest things provided great feelings of euphoria, even it it wasn’t sparkly, clean and new.
At 17, drawing closer to adulthood, I feel the weight of growing up. The expectations, the choices and the uncertainty of what the future holds. Although I don’t talk to my best friend anymore and we grew apart, these memories will forever hold a special place in my heart. In the quiet moments, the thoughts of my best friend and our treehouse arise. That fairytale tree, with its scattered trash and smell of swamp water will forever be a part of me. Back then, everything was simple–safe. We were carefree and all that mattered to us was how big we could dream. The world felt so endless and full of possibilities. Now, with responsibilities piling up and when the stress becomes overbearing, these silly memories remind me who I am at my core. Curious, hopeful and full of dreams. Even as I get older and life grows more complicated, that same imaginative girl is still with me. As old as these memories are, I'm reminded that they will be just as beautiful as the day it happened, even if the person I shared them with is no longer by my side. So I hold it close, a quiet treasure that only belongs to me and her, frozen in the warmth of our childhood, before the storm of adulthood.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hii, my name is Maddy. I am 17 years old and in my final year of high school. As the weeks draw closer and closer to graduation, and my responsibilities such as post secondary start to creep up, I find myself thinking back to my childhood. I am not the greatest writer but I decided to share one of my closest memories and how it has impacted my life years later. It is to serve as a reminder that no matter how tough life gets sometimes, don’t forget about the simple things in life.
