When Lena found the note under her pillow, she tucked it in her pocket so no one could see.
As the day passed, all Lena could think about were the unforgettable things she had discovered in the treehouse city.
And later that night, she looked up into the sky and she saw it.
It was a full moon.
That's when she knew it was her time to return.
And when Lena saw her chance, she slipped away from the other campers singing songs around the campfire and snuck back out to the forest.
And there, in the same place she had seen it before, was the rope ladder swaying in the gentle breeze of the night.
Her heart pounded as she climbed, the forest below fading into the shadows.
And this time, when she got back to the top, she saw the same boy waiting for her.
You came back, Johnny said with a smile, though his eyes carried something deeper, almost serious.
Everyone else thought I was crazy for putting that rope ladder out there.
I almost started to believe them because nobody ever came up it.
But then you showed up here, he said.
You mean that was your idea to put that rope ladder there?
Lena asked.
Well, sure it was, he said.
He led her to the tallest platform where dozens of kids had gathered in the lantern light.
The air buzzed with energy as the city itself was holding its breath for something.
Not every kid can see the ladder, Johnny said.
Only the ones who are searching for something.
Lena swallowed hard.
But why me?
I don't know.
Have you been searching for something?
Does your heart feel restless?
Because this place, as he swept his arm out over the bridges and hammocks and glowing tree houses this place exists for kids like you.
We don't just play here.
We discover who we really are.
Every kid you see here was just like you at one point or another.
We're all dreamers.
All of us were searching for something.
When we found this place and lena looked around, some kids were painting under the moonlight, others were playing music that drifted through the branches, and she noticed more now out throughout the city.
Every person she saw was a kid.
There were no grown-ups anywhere, and lena asked johnny, are there any adults who live here, you know, like teachers or parents or anything here?
Johnny said no way.
The only people you'll find here are kids just like us.
That's part of what makes it so magical.
Grown-ups all stop believing in things.
They just work and eat and sleep and they don't really play, at least not like we do here.
This place is for dreamers, remember.
That's the whole reason why you found this place.
Lena started to realize how special this place really was, and it wasn't a place for just anyone.
Only the right kind of person could even find it.
And then lena looked down at her watch and she realized how late it was.
Hey johnny, i should get back to camp.
It's getting really late, suit yourself, said johnny.
So Lena climbed back down the rope ladder and made her way back to the campfire.
But it was late.
All of her friends were already in bed and she could see some of the camp counselors out by the campfire talking with each other.
So she snuck up behind them to listen to what they were saying.
This Friday is when it all starts, said one of them.
So uh, how long do you think it's gonna take to take all the trees down and make way for the new camp expansion?
Eh, probably about a week.
That big oak tree is gonna be a whole lot of work to chop down.
That big boy is quite the doozy.
Wait a minute.
Big oak tree?
Lena thought to herself.
That's the gateway to the Treehouse City.
They're gonna take down all the trees and destroy that magical place.
Lena quickly climbed a tree to get a better look at what they were all talking about.
And when she got to the top of the nearest tree she could see the plans they were looking at on a giant piece of paper.
And sure enough, later that week, they were going to come in and cut down the entire treehouse city.
But that's a story for another day.
Thank you.
