Strangers by the Tree

Footsteps were coming, for the first time in years. I was hidden in a canopy of leaves, but if they looked hard enough, they would see me. My sweaty hands were clutching onto the branches as I heard a first person talk.

"'Ey, do you see somethin'?"

'No,' I silently told the voice. 'You don't.'

A second voice came in. "Nah. Them squirrels, they are always up in them trees."

"That ain't a squirrel," the First Voice said slowly. "Look for yo'self."

The footsteps drew nearer, and I prayed that they did not know how to climb trees. At least I was fast, so I could make a quick getaway.

"Good Lord!" The Second Voice yelled. "That figure a person!"

I tensed, and shouted down uncertainly, "Who are you?"

"I is Johnny," First Voice said. "And me mate is Paul."

I pondered, then asked, "Are you here to kill me?"

"Naw," Paul said. "We just two travelers. Who might you be?"

"I'm not ready to tell you my name yet," I said, but slid down from my tree. "Nobody has come here for years, you know. I can't be too trusting."

Johnny nodded. "A mighty good thing. There is bad folks here, bad folks." He peered at me, then exclaimed, "But Lord, you be only thirteen! What a fine lady like you be doin' here?"

"I've always been here," I said calmly. "I eat the peaches from my tree and drink the water from my stream. I get tired of peaches, yes, but they keep my alive."

Paul said, "You be skinnier then me dog! Johnny, let's get this here girl to Mama."

Johnny took my arm. "You be up for an adventure?"

"I have to stay with my tree," I said sharply, pulling it away.

Johnny bit his lip, looking concerned. "Bad things happen to kids ou' here."

"Nothing has ever happened to me," I said, shrugging. "And besides, nobody's ever here, not that I know o-"

The look on the two men's face went from concerned to devastated and afraid.

"Girl, there any place to hide 'round here?" Paul asked urgently.

"There's my tree," I answered. "Why?"

"Will that tree hold two men an' a girl?" Paul asked, the fear in his eyes growing rapidly.

"Yes. My tree is as stable as anything. Can you climb?"

The men nodded, and made a dash for the tree. I was up right after them, and I heard a faint clip... clop... of horse's hooves.

"What's the matter?" I asked Johnny and Paul.

"Shh!" They hissed, as a man with a hat on galloped under my tree, riding a big brown horse.

"Trouble has been here," he growled, and looked up in our direction. I flinched, as his eyes were all blue--no pupils or white, or anything. He sniffed. "Anybody up there?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but Johnny smacked a gloved hand over it. I made a small sound, such a tiny peep I was sure that the man would not hear it. Sadly, I was wrong.

"I heard you!" The man snapped. "Get down this instant!"

We made no attempt to move, and the man yelled, "If you don't come down here this instant, I'll come up there myself!" He pulled out a gun, pointed it up at us, and shouted again, "I said show yourselves!"

I climbed down first, because Paul and Johnny were shaking. They followed me, and the man demanded, "Any more?"

"N-no, sir," I stammered.

The man growled, "What were you doing on my property?"

"This isn't your property!" I exclaimed. "I've been living here since-"

"Don't say nothin'," Paul whispered into my ear. "We'll handle it."

But the man was already laughing. "Look, girl, I just bought this property. It's legally mine, so you better get your sorry butt out of here, before-" He pointed to his gun.

Now I was the one laughing. "Kill me? You'll get arrested."

"Not on my property, I won't," the man snarled. "Anyway, nobody is gonna find out. I could grind up your body to make hamburgers--yes, that's good. People will be committing cannibalism without knowing it!"

Paul gave me a hard look and told the man, "Me and me mates, we be goin' now."

"Hmm." The man stroked his gun like it was a cat. "I'll decide that, don't you think? Yep, I think hamburgers will be it."

At that, I ran to my tree again and scooted back up it. Branch by branch, I got to the very top. My tree, in total, was 230 feet tall. I measured it once every month. The wind was in my hair, and I teetered. The branches were thin up here, so I would have fallen if I had been a normal kid. But a diet of peaches did not do much for your weight, so I was just holding on. I buried my face in my knees. What had I gotten myself into?