It hasn’t rained in two days. Surprising actually, I only remember one other time that this has happened. I get up to the canopy tops and drink the water off the leaves, well what’s left of it.

I have enough time before sunset to visit Will. He lives 98 trees away, well 97 trees. I grab a fruit as I swing gracefully from branch to branch. I wave to Clark as she lays on a thick branch making something out of leaves and twigs. She quickly waves back. I reach Will’s place. He isn’t here though.  I’ll ask around if anyone has seen him. As I am looking for someone, a strangled caw escapes among the rainforest competing for the largest sound. I head for the noise.

“Is anyone there?” I hear a bird croak. I still try to pinpoint the sound. Then I see her, an old crow with a broken wing. I gasp. I stay frozen for 5 seconds before I realize I must do something. I find 2 twigs and I look for sap. I stick the twigs together and put it on the crow's wing.  “Thank you,” she mumbles and falls asleep. I am swimming in sweat and I just decide to go home. When I reach home, I see that Mom and Dad are already eating dinner. I join them and replay my story.

“Wow, Pablo, we are proud of you!” I put my hands on my lap and thank them. Dad ruffles my soft white hair and picks me up under my long arms. After supper I go to my hammock and lay down. I replay the events in my head. I think how I could do better. I should have reacted quicker or found things quicker. I think about it until I fall asleep, where I dream about it.

The next day I go up to the top of the deep green trees to fetch water for myself.The leaves are dry as sandpaper, but it will be awhile before I truly know what thirsty means

I swing to try and find Will again but before I am 10 trees away, I see his dark orange fur and large face in the distance climbing the tallest tree in the jungle, called Queen Leaf. I sigh and swing over. When I get there, he is a third of the way up and wobbling. “Are you sure about this?” I question.

“Absolutely positive Pablo, and this will be my greatest feat yet,” which he said the last three times he tried, all ending with him getting exhausted at the halfway point. I don’t want to go get him again, especially because he weighs 14 pounds more than me. When will he learn? I start to haul my way up, knowing that I better start now because soon enough, I will be forced to go up anyway.

When I reach him, his face is even redder than usual, huffing and puffing like there’s no tomorrow. “The next time you climb this tree,” I proclaim, “I’m not coming to get you.”

“You said that last time,” he sputters. I sigh, knowing he’s right. I take a ten minute break then carry him down. I am so tired, I go home and fall asleep for two days.

I wake up and go to the trees for water, but there is none. I go down and am surprised to see Will conversing with my parents. They tell me they have been discussing the water situation and they’ve decided we must go to the ground. Wow. I’ve never been to the ground before, and never really thought about it either. I understand now though, it is our only play.

We make our way to the ground at once. When we get there we must look for a lake or a water source. We must travel in a pack to ensure our safety. We must travel through the unknown carefully but quickly. The ground is dark and muddy so there must be water close by.      

We start to go forward and venture into the dark depths of the rainforest floor. I had no idea how thick trees got when they reached the ground. I had no idea of the stench of mud lingering in my nose. The sound of bird calls fills the air. Vibrant mushrooms are spread out around tree trunks and I am so astonished by all the new things around me that I don’t notice the ground sinking until it’s too late.

Pablo, grab my hand!” she yells. As the shortest one here by far, my head goes under but I feel a hand grasp mine and I am free from the sand’s hold. We pull up Will and dad and head over to dry land.

We are all in shock and don’t say anything. We take a break on a rotted log. I hear termites clicking their jaws. This all feels like a nightmare impossible wake from. But it is reality. We still need to find water so we keep moving. We swing on the low branches, dotted with colorful fruits for what seems like forever, and finally we find a shimmering pond, with one problem -- what appears to be six alligators surround the lake. We have never seen real alligators before but we have heard them described, and that they are fierce, ruthless creatures. We make a plan, deciding that we must distract the alligators while someone else gets water on the other side. So me, Mom and Dad pick up sticks and screech at the alligators. But they do nothing besides stare at us. Now Will was going to get the water, but they still surround the pond. How will we get water now?

Then I see the old crow with a splint on her wing flying in the air. She laughs and says, “Those alligators couldn’t hurt a fly, just go along just ask them for water.” We are hesitant to approach them but when we do, they say they are happy to share water for those in need. We take handfuls of what seems like the best tasting water ever as it breathes life into our mouths as dry as deserts. We sit and thank the alligators while telling our story. We all quickly become friends.

We head back to our tree canopy home. That was quite an adventure. Will goes back to his home and we sleep in for a very good night sleep. In the morning, I have a grand idea. “What if we move to the tree tops over the pond?” I say, “We will always have a water source, we can visit the alligators and there is plenty of fruit in the area.”

“Wow!” Dad exclaims, “Pablo that’s a great idea!” I go to Will and pitch our idea. He really likes it and moves with us. We all pack our things and swing to our new home. We live across from Betty, the crow I fixed the wing for what feels like so long ago. Both she and the alligators are happy to see us moving here.