The man in the tree

The man in the tree was up there for as long as I could remember. Our parents always told us not to talk to him. But we did anyway. The man in the tree was nice and often told us stories, but our parents still didn't trust him. The man in the tree had no name; he said he had lost it. I wondered how you could lose your name and as though he could read my mind he clearly stated, "Do you know how I lost my name? No? Neither do I but lost it I did."

The man in the tree told stories of flying over the empire state building. He told stories of meeting a polar bear and making friends with it. The man in the tree could be a little scary, he would lose himself in his stories and suddenly it seemed as though he was actually in the middle of everything that was happening to his characters. He would scream out when his character was slashed or even, become suddenly quiet when he described the rustling of the leaves.

I asked him one day, "Why do you live in a tree?"

He answered, "Why do you live in a house?"

I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I though about it for a while and realized that the reason I lived in a house was because it gave me comfort. It made me feel safe. A house is warm and cozy and you live there with your family. I went back and told this to the man in the tree. And do you know what he said? He said, "Well then I suppose I live in a tree because I have a pillow to give me comfort. I have a sword to keep me safe. I have many warm clothes and what's cozier than a tree. I live in a tree because I have no family to live with in a house."

I wasn't quite sure what he meant. I said, "of course you have a family, look around. We all adore you; you are like a second father to us." Family isn't just blood it is love and like and warm snuggly feelings so as far as we were concerned he was our family.

"Hi, my name is Mario," said the man in the tree.

"Welcome to the family Mario," came my mothers voice from behind me.

And from that day forward I knew he would never be the man in the tree again. He would be the man in the comfortably, safe, warm, cozy house. And he would be with his family.

THE END