The woods couldn’t Have been more peaceful as my feet dangled 20 feet off the ground. Just imagine a 8 year old boy that is petrified of heights 20 feet off the ground.

25 minutes earlier, I was on the ground staring up at a sleeping giant.

 

“That thing never ends. How do you plan on getting up it?” Caden (my best friend)

 

Wondered in amazement. as he looked up at the tree made us look like ants compared to its 30 feet of strong oak wood. This tree was the biggest and best climbing tree in the neighborhood and was conveniently placed right behind my house.  

“Honestly, I don’t have a plan to get up it. I just want to be able to say I have climbed the tree that only the best of the neighbors can get up. And I want to be one of the best and the youngest to climb that tree.” I said doubting that I would be able to hide the fact that inside it felt like butterflies were having a party in my stomach.

“ Let’s do this” I said, taking a huge leap off the stone wall surrounding my yard and landing on the lowest branch that looked like it would support my weight. Caden stood waiting to see if the branch would support my weight. The branch didn’t bend an inch. So Caden followed me onto the first branch but I was already up to the branch above.

5 or so branches later I was already going much faster then him and was on pace to beat him to the to the top of the tree about 2 minutes ahead of him.

A few cracked branches and 3 close calls with branches snapping under my weight and falling like rocks past Caden. But I was slowly (Well not really slowly, Cade was going Slowly) getting close to the top. Once I reached an opening to the leaves with a strong enough branch to sit on.

The view from the branch was a view from a movie. I sat down on the branch about two feet above me. The woods couldn’t have been more peaceful as my feet dangled 20 feet off the ground. Just imagine a 8 year old that is petrified of heights  20 feet off the ground.

“Help would be nice!” Caden yelled holding up his hand up for me to help him up.

“Wow, can’t even get up by yourself.” I said in a mocking tone.

“Fine” he said a little mad that I wouldn’t help him up.

After a few minutes of silently watching the leaves jump off branches like parashooters jump out of planes. Caden broke the silence and said “Can we get down from here? I don’t like it up here.”

“Fine” I said jumping down to a lower branch.

“Your crazy.”

“No I’m adventurous!”

“You jumped four branches.”

“Exactly, adventurous.”

“That’s just plain out stupid.”

“Ok whatever.” I said jumping further down.
A few jumps later I was around 15 branches below him and I slipped around to the other side of the tree in a perfect spot to get him back for throwing my shoes in the rain.   I waited and waited for the slowpoke to get down the tree. I heard him come whistling down going ever so slowly. It took him what felt like a hour but really only was about a minute or two.

Finally I heard him come down to the branch above me. I jumped out and made a sound that was as close to a bird that I could make.

“ahhh” Caden screamed as he stumbled back into the trunk of the tree. I flew down the rest of the tree hoping that caden wouldn’t realize it was me and thought it was some birds. But I almost was certain that he would know it was me.  I waited at the bottom of the tree for him to come down and scream at me. Soon enough he was on the last branch of the tree still looking around for the “birds” to come back.

“Did you see the birds? they scared me out of my mind and almost out of the tree.” Caden said

“You thought that was birds?” I said

“Yea, because they were.” He said confused

“No that was me idiot!” I said holding back laughter

“Why did you do that?” He said angrily

“To get you back from before.” I said laughing

“So you got me back by trying to kill me!” he screamed with anger

“If you say it like that then it sounds mean. But basically yea.” I said laughing out of my mind

“Only you Babs, only you. oh and I will get you back!” He said looking very mad.

From then on I have always go up to that same spot when I get mad.

Oh and by the way he did get me back by pushing me into a pricker bush on the way back and we have always played pranks on each other since then.