The Treehouse
#1 of Short Stories
The Treehouse
Jason dashed excitedly through the kitchen towards the back door. A cheerful smile beamed from his little face.
"Mum, I'm going out to play in mine and Dad's treehouse, yea?" he cried out.
"Hold on a minute!" she called after him from her seat at the dining table, setting her pen down atop a pile of paperwork she was working through. "It's cold outside, put yer jacket on."
Oblivious to his mother's request, he opened the door wildly and threw himself outside into the garden.
"That boy, gets more and more like his father everyday." she sighed.
The little grey wolf raced as fast as his legs could carry him down the garden path, tail swaying in the blustery, winter wind.
"Don't be long Jason," yelled his mother, now stood in the doorway. "We need to leave soon okay?"
"No worries Mum!" he answered, looking back over his shoulder.
Jason continued his sprint. His destination was the oak tree that sat at the bottom of the garden. Sat atop one of its boughs was a small, bright blue treehouse that he and his father had spent most of that summer gone building together. It was the pup's favourite thing in the whole world.
A loud cheer echoed around the garden as Jason leapt onto a tyre swing that hung down from amongst the branches. He felt himself slowly drifting off into a daydream as he swung back and forth.
The warm sun beat down from the clear blue summer sky. Jason was hanging onto the swing his father had set up that morning. "Dad, when we finish can we paint it blue? 'cos I like blue ya see." he called out.
His father stopped cutting through a piece of lumber and set his saw down atop the bench he was working at. "Sure, I don't see why not, this is your treehouse we're building after all."
"Nuh-uh" he replied, shaking his head. "It's ours!"
His father looked up to him with a grin and nodded. "Yeah, Our treehouse Jace." He wiped the sweat from his brow and motioned toward the house "Shall we go get summin' to drink? I'm gasping."
"Yeah ok." the little wolf replied, leaping off of the tyre to the ground.
Jason snapped suddenly back into the present with a thoughtful gaze etched across his face. He remembered just how much fun it had been spending his summer holiday in the garden with his father, building, playing. They were days that he'd treasure forever.
The pup jumped down from the swing and jogged off towards a wooden ladder that extended up towards the treehouse proper. He hopped on and climbed up carefully, mindful of the strengthening crosswind blowing past. Once at the top, he proceeded to push open a trapdoor above him that led up inside.
He stretched up and began peering up through the opening to admire his father's craftsmanship. Despite it's modest size, it was quite spacious. There was enough room for a small wolf and his father to fit and play within at least. Jason had lately made the treehouse more of a refuge however. He'd go there alone to think and to dream, rather than play like back in the summer. The wind gusted strongly through a small window opening in the wall opposite as the boy pulled himself up from the ladder. The thump of wood on wood sounded from outside as tree branches rattled against the outside. Jason couldn't help feel a little unsettled as he began to move cautiously towards the middle of the room. The place certainly wasn't as welcoming during bad weather such as this, a little scary even he thought as he tucked his white-tipped tail between his legs. Undeterred, he bravely carried on to the centre and laid himself down on the floor, resting his head on his hands. As the little wolf closed his eyes he began to fantasise once more.
"Come on Dad, hurry up," yelled Jason. His tail wagged excitedly as he looked down out of the trapdoor opening towards his father. "You can go faster than that Dad, c'mon!"
"Okay, okay give me a minute Jace," came the reply, slightly breathless, as the adult wolf slowly climbed the ladder. "My legs aren't quite as nimble as yours are."
Upon reaching the top, Jason's father poked his head through the opening. The smell of cut wood and fresh paint filled his nostrils as he took a quick look around. He turned his head left as he felt a small, hard object lightly strike the side of his head .
Jason was sat on the floor, hiding his hands behind his back as he watched on with a smirk. "At last, you made it. I thought you'd given up or something."
"Yeah, yeah, I made it you cheeky little..." he answered with a slight grumble.
He repeatedly pushed down firmly on the flooring with a single hand. Not completely confident in the sturdiness of the structure and it's ability to hold his weight. Once reassured, he lifted himself up inside completely and sat down beside his son.
"Well Jace, what you reckon? Not too bad is--?" he asked, cut off by Jason's excited reply.
"It's brilliant Dad, I love it!"
"Good, I'm glad you're happy."
The little wolf got to his feet and scampered off towards the window space to take a look outside.
"C-careful," his father stammered as he watched on with concern. "You don't want to fall out now do you?"
Jason stopped and turned to answer. "Don't worry, I won't. Tell you what though Dad."
"What's that?"
"If I fall out the window, I bet I'll get to the ground a lot quicker than you got up here." he chuckled.
"Oh will you really?"
"Yep!"
His father smiled mischievously as he slowly crawled on all-fours towards him. "Well lets find out shall we?" he growled, jumping up to his feet and pulling the pup off the ground into a firm hug.
Jason giggled as his father roared playfully in his ears and scratched lightly at his underarms. "Dad no, ahh! Stop please that tickles!"
"No, you're going out the window! It's too late to change yer mind now!"
Jason yelped joyfully and threw his arms around his father, snuggling his head into his chest. "Wait! You win Dad, you're faster! Don't put me out the window!"
"Okay Jace, Okay, you've convinced me. You won't be going out the window today." he joked as he ruffled his son's hair.
Jason looked up into his father's eyes lovingly. "You're the best dad in the world!"
"Well, you're not too bad a son either mate" he replied with a wide smile.
"Jason, Jason are you up there?".
He felt himself stirring from his dream. His mother was calling out for him from below.
"Come on Jason, it's time to go."
The daydream felt so vivid and real, that for the most fleeting of moments he believed it was the summer he spent with his father again. Jason sat up slowly with a cold feeling of realisation and looked down towards his lap, his little white ears tucked back sadly.
"Jason?" his mother called again.
"'kay." he whimpered. The melancholy pup got to his feet and walked slowly over towards the trapdoor to leave. He opened it gently and proceeded to climb down the ladder to the ground.
"Get your coat and we'll go to the car." his mother said softly with a smile in an attempt to cheer up her visibly depressed son.
"Yeah" he mumbled as he jumped off from the foot of ladder.
"Remember to pick up your present too."
Jason didn't respond as he to shuffled slowly along the garden path on his way back to the house.
The afternoon sky was a gloomy grey as rain started falling gently. The grinding of gravel beneath wheel could be heard as Jason and his mother pulled up in a car-park lined by an imposing row of wrought-iron fencing. Jason's door opened from the outside.
"We're here now" stated his mother, looking down into the car at her son sitting silently in the seat.
The little wolf's face was all but hidden by the raised hood of his little blue jacket. His little grey muzzle poked out as he stared down into his lap.
"Come on Jason, try not to be like that? I know it's hard." she added as she patted him gently atop his head.
"Okay Mum." he sniffed, turning slowly to face her. He unbuckled the seat belt and climbed out into the rain-soaked car-park.
"Oh, don't forget your present Jason," his mother clamoured. She reached back into the car for a bouquet of orange and yellow roses that sat on the seat. "He'll love these" she smiled, handing them to her son, "orange is his favourite colour."
They clasped hands set off towards a gate in the fence. Jason admired the flowers he'd brought with him as they walked, he'd never realised that orange was his father's favourite colour. He shut his eyes firmly, trying his best to fight back the tears he could feel welling up as they made their way through the gate.
The boy's eyes were still closed when he felt his mother stop walking. "Hello Matt, someone here has bought a gift for you." he heard her say with a gentle tone.
Jason opened his eyes and looked down towards the wet ground. The rain seemed to be falling ever so slightly harder now than when they left the car, almost like teardrops from the heavens.
In front of the pair was a pristine-looking gravestone. He silently read the inscription etched upon it to himself. 'In loving memory of Matthew John Rawlings, beloved husband of Claire and father of Jason'. It was the first time Jason had been back to the graveyard since his father's funeral two weeks prior.
"Here you go Daddy" he whispered, setting the flowers down upon the ground. "They're orange, your favourite." the youngster did his level best not to burst out crying, even though it felt like his heart was tearing in two within his little chest. He knew his father would want him to be strong, recalling part of their final conversation together. 'You're going to be the man of the house when I'm not around Jace, you need to take care of your Mum for me okay?'.
The pup lowered his hood and wiped away a few stray tears from his reddened eyes. He looked up towards his mother standing beside him. "Why did Dad have to get sick Mum?" he asked tearfully.
"I don't know Jason." she answered, looking back down to him with a sad smile. "As long as you remember him, a part of him will stay with you, in your heart." Claire looked away, not wishing her son to see the tears forming in her eyes. "Gran used to tell me when I was a girl, that God takes all the best ones for himself." she sobbed, trying her best to comfort both her boy and herself.
Jason looked up into the sky, almost as if he was searching the clouds above. "Not fair though is it?" he muttered. "I miss him so much".
"I do too, and no, no it's not fair."
He turned to his mother and nuzzled gently into her side. "Mum?"
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Can I paint the treehouse orange tomorrow?"
She smiled as she leant over to wrap her arms around the teary-eyed pup. "We both will Jason. Maybe after we can play in it together maybe? What d'ya reckon?".
"I'd like that Mum" he replied with a slight smile.
The wind, slowed to a soft breeze, blew comfortingly through the pair's fur as they hugged beside the graveside long into the evening.