Fifteen year old Sonya was walking in the forest behind her house downthe dirt paths with her headphones on, trying to escape the reality of herparents fighting. She continued walking for a few moments until shereaches the tall stocky tree she hangs out on, she slips her hand intothe rough holes into the tree dodging the twisting branches on her wayto the top, she reaches for the thick log near the top, it usually has afew books, and a blanket being held up buy 4 weak wooden planksmoments away from crumbling, but today there was something elsethere. As her head popped up to the platform she almost fell when shesaw a girl there, not much younger than her, possibly 14? Wearing apink, blue, and white baby doll style dress, she was holding a smallknife carving something in the side of the tree. “Who are you? What areyou doing in my tree?” Sonya barked at her. The girl stumbles anddrops the knife to the wood planks. In a startled voice she says “oh! I’mso sorry I did not know this was anyone’s!” Sonya takes off herheadphones to hear her “you think that this is naturally occurring?”Sonya says in a sarcastic tone. The girl looks around seeing the booksand blankets. “Yeah I guess you're right.” She giggles as she says it“would it be okay if we share? I know it’s yours but we could becomefriends!” She says as she tilts her head to one side trying to convinceSonya “yeah whatever but what are you doing?” Sonya questions thegirl and she turns her head in view of the side of the trunk seeing acarving of a bird skeleton in the bark “oh sorry for that, I should haveasked for permission.” The girl says “no it’s okay, it’s beautiful.” Sonyastudies it for a few seconds. The girl did it perfectly, every bone is in theperfect place. She didn’t even know it was possible to make a piece ofbark seem so life-like. It was beautiful, yet haunting, how it made itseem like it was a real bird skeleton. “What was your name?” Sonyaasked “it’s Delilah, yours?” The girl said “Sonya.”
