"My Favorite Place"
Madeline Hren
Wiley Elementary International Magnet PTA
Raleigh, NC

My Favorite Place
"You're so unreasonable!"

"Unreasonable? Speak for yourself!"

"Are you calling me unreasonable? Because if you think I'm unreasonable, I'll have you know, you're worse!"

"Sometimes you act so childish, I want to scream!"

"Oh yea-"

I plug my ears to shut out all the shouting, but it's no use. My parents' words slice through the air like gleaming blades through chile reñado, my grandmothers spicy pepper sauce. My dog whimpers and tries to hide in my lap, a shivering ball of fur.

I run outside. Lily follows me, tripping on her long, puppy ears. My tree stands there, as if waiting for me. I hurl myself into its branches and climb as high as I can; trying to get away from all the shouting and hate that has become my home.

The notebook lies on the shelf, the one papá built when he wasn't too busy arguing. I turn away. Writing is not my talent. I cannot write a simple story for school. How can I write down my feelings? A small, wet tear rolls down my face. Why must my parents fight so much? Why can't they get along? Why must they act like starving dogs over the same piece of pescadó? Why won't the fish bones break and let them split it peacefully? Why? Why? WHY

I remember all the fun times we spent together. The time when mamá ate too much at the fair. The time papá won the big stuffed elephant for mamá. Don't they remember any of it?

I stay in my tree until bedtime, when the Carolina summer sun has hidden beneath the ground and the stars shine like tiny pinpricks of light underneath the moons watchful glow. When Lily has again braved the indoors and my neighbor and best friend Rósa has gone to bed, mamá comes outside calling for me.

"Ana!" she yells. "Come down from there." I reluctantly slide down from mi arból favorito, my favorite tree. "We were looking for you." She smooths down my hair. "Chica, you have been gone all day."

"And you didn't even notice!" I shout back at her. "You and papá were too busy arguing! Sometimes you act like perros" I run inside, leaving my mother to imagine herself as a dog.

The next morning I rise to the bright sun. I sneak past the living room where papá is sleeping, slip outside and climb up my tree. It's my favorite place these days, a place where I cannot hear mamá and papá fighting. Usually I go there just to cry, but today I have no tears left. I have nothing to do, so finally I grab my notebook and start to write.

I had no idea writing was so easy. I write about the days when my parents were happy together and they laughed and teased each other. The dinners when they were silly and through dinner rolls. I haven't had to sweep up dinner roll crumbs for awhile.

The words seem to flow onto the page. I don't even notice how long I have been writing until my stomach gives a ferocious growl and I look up to realize it is night time. I hop down form the tree. I'll write more tomorrow.

I shower and get into bed. When mamá comes into my room and whispers "Chica?" I pretend I'm asleep.

Many days like this follow. I cannot bear to be in the house, so each morning I set my alarm and slip outside while the sun is rising. I start to write about other things. I write about he colors of the sunset, dragons and sea monsters. I write about girls who meet kind people, of dogs, teapots, desserts and my friends.

I fill up note book after notebook. Soon my tree is a library. Rósa helps me build more shelves to store my notebooks. Mi amiga, Rósa likes to come write with me. I spend most of my time up there, bringing pre-packaged meals and spreading my food on one of the shelves like a table. I even build an area for Lily, a big shelf with fencing around it. When it is time to go I haul her down in one of my dad's old paint buckets tied to a rope. I love being with Rósa and Lily, but sometimes I climb up to spend time by myself, reading my journals or just watching the rabbits and squirrels.

One day Mamá comes outside. "Ana!" she calls. I hurriedly put my notebook back on the shelf.

"Si, Mamá." I answer. She looks up, surprised to see me in the tree. I'm not shocked. Mamá has been too busy to come outside for awhile.

"Ana," she repeats, "please come down from there. Your father and I have a sorpresa, something to discuss with you.

A surprise? What could it be? A superb thought comes to me. Could it be?

I scramble down, "You are not getting a divorce?" I ask excitedly. I knew the could work it out! I knew it! I knew it!

"No, I'm sorry Ana. We still need to get a divorce."

Suddenly I wish I was back in my tree again. They probably just want me to decide who I want to live with.

"Ana, we know this divorce has been hard to get used to. See, a divorce happens when two people who are married just don't love each other anymore."

I know this already. I stand there waiting for mamá to come to the surprise. Knowing my parents, it will probably just be a new toy or something so they don't feel so guilty. I tune back in to my mother.

"... fun vacation." What? What vacation? I didn't know that we were going on a vacation. "We're going to Disney World!" Mamá looks like she expects me to happy. I force a smile.

"Who is "we?" I ask. My mother looks at me strangely.

"I just told you, chica. "We" means you, me and Pablo." She spits out my fathers name in disgust.

I can't believe it! We're going on a vacation together! It's the perfect opportunity! I'll reunite them! I throw my hands around mamá's waist. She looks surprised and hugs me back before I run back to my tree to start planning my idea.

Five days later, we're all packed for the long, nine hour drive to Disney World. But I'm not excited about Disney World. I'm excited about the prospect of my parents loving each other by the end of this trip. How can they help it while I remind them of all the good times we had together as a family?

I first put my plan into action when I see a neighborhood pool. "Mamá," I exclaim " Papá, look at the water slide! Do you remember that time we all went swimming and I dropped my ice cream into the pool? We laughed so hard. We should do that again sometime."

"Mmmm." My mother is concentrating on driving. She isn't listening. My father stares at a map, deciding which way to turn. Oh well. There's always next time.

"Karen, turn left on Baker's street." My dad decides,

"Which street?"

"KAREN! You missed it!" He screams.

"Well, if you had told me before..."

"I didn't know before. "My father cuts her off.

It is lonely in the back listening to my parents bicker. I wish Lily were here, instead of that awful dog hotel. Finally, five hours into the drive, I see something to cut the silence.

"Mamá, remember when we went to Nothing, North Carolina? And we tried to find weird named cities, papa? Look, there's a sign for Normal, Gorgia. Isn't that funny?"

"Karen, you were supposed to turn off there for the hotel!" Papá screams.

My mother finally finds a way to turn around and we get to our hotel. Mamá sleeps in one bed, Papá in the other. I sleep on the floor. I don't want to choose a bed. If I sleep with mamá she might think I like her better than papá and vice versa. I resign myself to a vacation with nothing but arguments. I might as well be back home.

At Disney World the next day, the cartoon characters look so happy, as if their lives are perfect, as if they have never heard an argument or seen tears in their lives. I truly want to have fun but I can't All I can see are families with happy children and smiling parents. My parents stand on opposite sides of me, each clinging to me wanting me to love them best. It's sad and I wish they'd stop it. They fight over silly things like which rides I should go on and which area we should visit.

While riding the legendary Space Mountain they begin their worst fight. My mother screams as we nearly hit a star suspended in the air. My father leans over me and hisses, "Karen, will you stop that awful screaming? It's just a ride."

My mother whispers back "It's all in good fun. Just try to enjoy the ride Pablo."

"Enjoying the ride dosn't mean screaming as loud as you possibly can." My father yells as we step out of the car. At that moment, I break down. I can't take it anymore.

"WILL YOU STOP IT?" I scream at them. "All you have been doing on this trip is fighting! Can't you at least pretend to like each other while I'm with you? It isn't fair! I just want to have fun on this trip! STOP FIGHITNG!" I burst into tears and run.

I run as fast as I can, not caring where I'm going. All I want to do is get far away. I run until my stomach hurts and my feet ache. I finally stop near a deserted roller coaster car junkyard, just inside the limits of Disney World. I can see a few people roaming around, but none of them come near. I drop my head down into my knees and cry, because my parents do not love each other. I cry because I feel sorry for them, but mostly I cry for me. I feel so alone and the beautiful world I used to know is gone. Now the only beauty I can see is a small patch of paint on an old roller coaster car.

It is nearly nighttime when my parents find me. My mother runs up to me right away. "Ana! I've never been so worried in my life." My father stands behind her, tightlipped. We walk back to the car in silence. Instead of going to bed in our hotel, we just collect our baggage, pay the clerk and begin to drive home. No one says a word.

My father has moved away now. He moved to California the day after we got home. I'll probably never see him again. I sit in my tree tonight. I have nothing to write. All I do is stare into the night. I have been up there for awhile when I hear the door open. My mother comes outside. "Chica?" she calls.

"Come up Mom." I answer. She looks surprised. The only people I ever let into my tree are Rósa and Lily. Getting over her shock she climbs up next to me.

"I'm sorry, Ana." She whispers into my hair. "I am so sorry."

We wait their in silence hugging each other. The moon shines over us and the wind rustles the branches.

Finally after a long time I break the silence. "I love you Mom."

She whispers back "I love you too."

I now know that it is not her fault. It just happened that way. We stay there until not an animal is awake and the world is silent. It is very peaceful, and right now, here with mamá, it is my favorite place in the world, mi lugar favorito.