Once upon a time there was a girl named Lena who had gone away to summer camp for the very first time.
Her parents had promised it would be the best adventure ever.
They talked about swimming in the lake and archery lessons and campfires with songs and marshmallows and new friends she hadn't met yet.
But Lena wasn't so sure.
She missed home.
She missed her room.
And she missed her stuffed cat, Elizabeth.
On her first day at camp, she tried her best to join in.
She played, capture the flag, made a lopsided friendship bracelet and ate macaroni in the dining hall.
But when the sun went down and the other kids were busy around the fire, Lena felt that restless feeling she always got when there was something waiting to be discovered.
So while the counselors sang silly songs and everyone clapped along, lena quietly slipped away into the woods and the forest was alive with night sounds.
She could hear crickets chirping and frogs croaking, and every now and then an owl would hoot from somewhere deep among the pines.
The air smelled like pine needles and the ground felt spongy beneath her shoes.
She told herself she would just take a short walk and then come right back.
But just as she got deep enough into the woods that she couldn't hear or see the main camp anymore, she noticed something strange.
Hanging from a massive oak tree was a rope ladder.
Its wooden rungs swayed gently in the breeze as if they were waiting for her.
What is this?
Lena thought.
Who put this here?
She looked up and saw that the rope ladder went way up high into the tree.
But as dusk was falling, she couldn't see what was at the top or what it led to.
So Lena glanced back toward camp, and the glow of the fire was far away by now.
Huh, should she climb it?
She hesitated for a minute.
What if it broke?
What if she got caught?
Man, was she even supposed to know about this?
But something inside her was telling her to go up.
So she grabbed the first rung, and then another, and...
And then hand over hand.
Foot after foot, Lena climbed higher and higher until the ground was just a blur of shadows far below.
The rope ladder creaked as she kept climbing higher.
And finally, finally, she pulled herself up onto a wide wooden platform hidden in the treetops.
And when she got to the top, her breath caught in her throat.
Lena looked around and all around her was what looked like a treehouse.
She got up and walked to the window of the treehouse and stretching out as far as she could see was a whole city full of treehouses.
Some were small and round, tucked snugly against thick trunks.
Others rose way up higher into the trees and they were all filled with the soft glow of lantern light.
She could see rope bridges swaying between them, crisscrossing throughout the treehouse city.
She could see kids zipping along ropes and swinging like monkeys, laughing as they soared from tree to tree.
And then she looked up and saw hammocks dangling from high above, swaying gently, with more kids curled up inside.
The whole place shimmered with life, like a secret world built into the branches.
Wow, Lena said, this is incredible!
And then someone landed on the platform beside her with a soft thump.
She turned her head to see that it was a boy about her age with messy hair and a shirt patched with pieces of cloth and all different colors.
And he looked at her and tilted his head and said, You're new.
I don't recognize you.
Uh, yeah, I guess I am, Lena said.
Wait, said the boy.
Did you find the rope ladder?
You're the first person to find it in, like, forever.
I'm Johnny.
Come on, I'll give you the tour.
And before she could answer, he grabbed a rope and swung out onto the nearest bridge.
Lena gulped but hurried after him.
She grabbed the next rope, looked down, and held her breath and then swung after him.
And when she got to the other side...
The bridge wobbled under her feet, but Johnny moved as if he'd been doing this his whole life.
Over here's our kitchen, he called, pointing to a big platform with iron pots hanging over small, carefully contained fires.
There were kids stirring stews with long spoons, while others passed around baskets of fruit.
They crossed into a hollowed-out trunk where books were stacked from the floor to the ceiling.
This is our library, he said.
You can borrow anything you like as long as you bring it back.
We have everything here.
Adventure stories, fairy tales, even books about the stars.
As they got further along.
Lena couldn't believe it when she saw the playground made of ropes and branches.
Kids swung on vines like swings and they slid down polished wooden chutes and they even balanced on narrow beams strung between the trees.
And Lena was amazed.
This wasn't just another camp activity or playground.
This was a whole other world.
Wow, I can't wait to tell my friends at camp about this, she said.
And the moment she said it, everything went quiet.
The laughter, the music, even the squeaking of the rope swing seemed to vanish.
Every child around her turned to look.
Johnny's smile faded.
His voice was firm now.
You can't tell anyone about this, he said.
Lena blinked.
Well, what do you mean?
No one can know about us, said Johnny.
But how is that possible with all your lights and games and singing?
How has nobody else discovered this already?
Oh, some kids do discover us, Johnny said.
But the funny thing is, once they do, none of them ever seem to want to go back.
Lena's throat went dry.
Am I allowed to go back?
Oh, yeah, you can, Johnny said. but only if you promise never to tell anyone.
We can trust you, right?
Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, Lena said.
The boy studied her for a moment, and then he nodded.
And with shaking hands, Lena grabbed a rope and swung all the way back down to the ground.
She could feel it in her stomach as she dropped through the cool night air.
And she landed softly on the forest floor as she clutched the rope in relief.
And when she looked up again, her heart skipped a beat because the rope was gone.
In her hands was just a vine.
And above her was no glowing city or lights.
There were no bridges, no hammocks.
Only the dark canopy leaves against the light of dawn.
It was like the treehouse city was never even there.
Or if it was, it was either too high up to see or it was totally invisible from the ground.
Lena slowly walked back toward the camp.
Her mind was spinning.
Had she just dreamed it all?
If it was all real, then where did it all disappear to?
She slipped into her cabin, crawled into bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin as she fell fast asleep.
But when she woke up the next morning, she found something under her pillow.
It was a folded-up note.
And she opened it with trembling hands and read what it said.
And it said, You climbed higher than most.
Come back when the moon is full.
But that's a story for another day.
