PROMPT: A group of friends discover an old tree house that looks like different time periods each time they go inside
“It’s okay Tina. She’s in a better place, now,” the sixteen-year-old’s mother patted her head, comforting the sobbing girl. But her voice too, was caught up in sorrow. It did little to comfort the crying girl.
“Here you go,” Tina looked up to see one of her older cousins holding out an envelop to her.
“What is that?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
“A letter. From Grandma. She wrote one for all of us,” he mumbled in a soft voice. “And Tina…? We are all in this together, okay? You can lean on us all you want.” His words sent her into another fit of sobs before she took the letter from his hands.
After the funeral was over, Tina sat down in her room and carefully took out the letter from the envelope.
'Dear Adventurer,’ the letter started. A tiny laugh escaped the young girl as she read the dorky greeting. ‘You have just received the map to Kolpit’s hideout.’ Kolpit? It was her grandma’s codename in all the treasure hunts they played with her as children. ‘Follow the map for a new exciting adventure, Love, Grandma.’
Tina’s eyes lit up after reading the letter. “What did she leave behind?” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed an already packed duffel bag that she always kept in case of her grandmother’s erratic and most often whimsical travel plans.
She grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen and pasted a note of her absence on the fridge. With that she set off to look for her grandmother’s hideout.
As soon as she opened the door, however, she saw all her friends gathered in front of it. She had completely forgotten how they had volunteered to give her company after the strenuous day. One look at the duffel bag slung across her back and they started glaring at her with concerned eyes.
“You are not going alone,” Jake said, his black hair almost covered half of his face as he stared Tina down with his brown eyes.
‘Concern was evident on his face’, Tina thought. ‘Nope. He probably thought I would get myself killed if I left alone.’
“But you haven’t packed anything, and I am in a hurry so…”
“Who says we didn’t pack anything. We knew you would be itching for something like this after Captain Kolpit returned to the dust. We know you too well, Tina. And... there's no way she would go without a bang.” Samantha punched Tina’s arm and then slung it across her shoulders.
“So, what’s the lead, baby captain?” Kevin asked as his dark blue eyes impatiently looked at his watch. Tina wasn’t even offended by his distorted sense of humor anymore.
Tina shook her head as if she didn’t know what to do with her friends, but she could also see how excited they were for their adventure. She held Samantha and Jake’s hand and gave them a huge grin. “She left me a map. Maybe she left something for me there…”
Tina’s three friends wrapped the girl in a tight hug. And they set on for another adventure.
~~~
The path to the location was far too easy for them. All they had to do was climb up a hill and they reached the specified location in about three hours. Tina looked around. Chills ran down her spine as she took in her surroundings. It had been nothing but trees and grasses uphill, but the summit hoisted a huge garden, filled with exotic flowers her grandmother had introduced her to as a child. How could all these flowers survive in a place like this? Whoever planted the garden must have had a knack for making pretty things because the flowers were planted in rows that followed the colours of the rainbow all the way from red to violet and to red again forming a full circle. There was a pebbled path in the middle of the greenish flowers leading to a huge elm tree at the center of the garden. And a tiny, but cozy looking treehouse built on its branches.
“Damn. Captain Kolpit sure was something, huh?” Jake mumbled as his eyes fixed on the treehouse. Tina took in a deep breath and the scents of the countless flowers wafted through the air, seeming pleasant despite the variety. Calming her nerves, she took her first step toward the treehouse and her friends followed after.
The four of them climbed up to the tree house and much like how it looked from the outside, it was incredibly cozy, with four beanbags, mats, a variety of adventuring gear… and a minifridge. That worked. Without Electricity.
They dropped their bags on the wooden floors and sat down on the bean bags.
“This place is beautiful and all but… that’s it?” Kevin mumbled.
“Yeah. I agree. This doesn’t look like a Captain Kolpit surprise. They usually have much more… flair, you know?” Samantha said as she sipped some fruit juice, she had somehow taken from the minifridge without the rest of them noticing.
“Well. She did-” Jake’s opinion was cut short. A wave of nausea hit Tina and she could see that her friends felt it too. She rolled over from the beanbag and onto the wooden floor as she curled into herself and clutched her head, trying to ease a splitting headache.
As it slowly receded, she saw her friends slowly recovering from similar symptoms. “What just happened?” Tina mumbled, massaging her forehead. She looked at Samantha as she rushed to the tiny window and hurled whatever she had eaten during the funeral. Tina looked at the boys who mirrored her terrified expression.
“Uhm… guys?” Samantha said. The three looked in her direction. She was no longer bent over. Her body seemed as stiff as a wooden plank. “The flower garden’s gone.” The boys and Tina shared shocked expressions and rushed to the window. Their eyes widened as their eyes settled on the scenery outside. They were in the middle of a city. Carriages roamed the stoned streets and the architecture was far different from what they were used to.
Fear, excitement, curiosity and nervousness, different emotions gripped the four, but all of them remembered that old story Tina’s Grandmother had told them when they were much younger. A tale that they had loved at the time, but slowly lost belief in its existence. The story of…
“The Timeline Treehouse!” the four echoed.
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