Archive of Our Own ^beta

New York. Sam supposed there were worse places to be. The cherry blossoms hadn’t bloomed just yet and the flower buds were just beginning to open. The whole city was in this strange in-between period. This limbo between winter and spring. It was a nice day. The sun was out. The sky was clear. The birds chirped. Were it not for the sound of traffic outside the park, she wouldn’t have felt like she was in the city at all.

Even with all that noise, she found the everpresent hum of activity in the city calming. 

Sam took the day off work for once. She had some vacation days she hadn’t used yet and her boss told her that they didn’t roll over. 

That’s how she found herself sitting in Central Park, watching people pass by, waiting for Tara to finish her classes.

They’d arranged to spend some time together. Not that they didn’t spend time together as it was. They did live together after all. But this was different. This was designated time together. Not, we-inhabit-the-same-space-and-don't-have-a-choice time together. Sure, they had no clue what they would do, but this was New York. There was always something to do.

They’d figure it out. 

Sam watched the people going by. Joggers and people walking their dogs. Parents with their young children. Couples that were so in love and happy in one another’s company.

As she observed, she spotted two kids standing at the base of one of the park’s many tall trees. This one was particularly large.

One of the kids, a little boy, pointed up at one of the thick tree limbs above them, saying something to his friend, a little girl with pigtails and overalls.

Without hesitation, the little girl grabbed onto the tree and started pulling herself up. 

Sam watched as she slowly made her way up the tree’s thick trunk. The girl slipped a little, losing her footing, but she held on. The boy cheered for her as she climbed and eventually, she made it to the tree limb she’d been aiming for, smiling and waving triumphantly down at the boy on the ground below her.

The boy shouted something up at her and latched onto the tree. He soon joined her and they sat there, kicking their feet, looking around at the park from their spot in the tree. They looked so happy. 

Sam smiled, a long-forgotten memory pushing its way to the surface of her mind. A summer memory from back when everything felt simple. Where what to do that day was the biggest decision to be made. 

She remembered she was reading a particularly good book under a tree while Tara played in the yard. Every day that summer, the yard was a new backdrop for Tara’s active imagination. That day, it was a jungle. 

Tara was running around, playing with the animals in her imagination when she stopped and came over to Sam.

She’d been so engrossed in her book that she didn’t notice until Tara stuck her face in front of the page she was reading. 

“Whatcha doing?” She asked.

“Reading my book,” Sam answered, pushing her little sister’s face out of her way so she could finish reading the page she was on. 

“Come on, Sam! Play with me!” Tara begged, sticking her face in front of Sam’s book again. “Pleaseeeeee?” She begged, giving Sam puppy dog eyes. 

Sam rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. She folded the corner of her page over and closed her book. “Fine, fine. What do you wanna do?” She stood up.

Tara shrugged. “I dunno.” 

Sam sighed, mourning the loss of her reading time. 

Tara looked around for something they could do. “Can we climb the tree?” Tara asked her, pointing up at the tree in their backyard that Sam was sitting under. 

“Do you even know how to climb a tree?” Sam asked, looking down at her little sister. 

Tara thought for a moment, “No.” 

“You wanna learn how?”

Tara smiled this big, adorable smile. “Yeah! Will you teach me, Sam?”

Sam grinned, “Sure.”

Sam and Tara spent the rest of the afternoon with that tree. 

Sam demonstrated, showing Tara how to hold on to the trunk, digging her fingers into the bark to get a decent grip before jamming her feet into the wood, using it to help her push her body up the tree. 

“It’s all about planning your next move so you can get higher on the tree.” She explained as she climbed to the lowest branch that would support her weight. “See?”

“Yeah!” Tara said, her eyes shining with excitement. 

Sam jumped down to the ground to join Tara. “Good. Now you try.”

“But what if I fall?” Tara asked worriedly. 

“I’ll catch you. Don’t worry. I’m right here.” Sam assured her. 

“Really?” Tara sounded excited again. 

Sam nodded. “Of course! Now, give it a try. I’ll be right here to help you, okay?” 

Tara nodded and marched to the tree. She got her hands on it and pushed her feet into the bark, just like Sam had shown her. 

Sam got in position, ready to catch Tara if she fell. 

Tara slipped down the first time, not entirely grasping the tree because the bark was so rough on her sensitive skin. 

She landed on her back on the grass, giggling. 

“You okay, little?” Sam asked, amused. 

“I’m okay! I’m gonna try again!” Tara beamed at her. 

She couldn’t have been any more adorable if she tried. 

“Okay. Just remember to hold on to the bark tighter.” Sam instructed. 

“But it hurts,” Tara complained. 

“I know. But the more you do it, the more your hands will get used to it.” Sam said. 

“How do you know?” Tara inquired, cocking her head to the side like a puppy. 

“Do you remember when you first started doing the monkey bars at the playground?” Sam asked. Tara nodded. “And you remember how much it used to hurt your hands?” Tara nodded again but still looked a little befuddled. “But the more you did it, the less it hurt your hands, and soon, it didn’t hurt at all, right?” 

“Yeah. But this is a tree, Sam!” Tara pointed at it as if to emphasise her point. 

“I know.” Sam kneeled down, gently took Tara’s small hands in hers and turned her palms to face up. “But, the same thing applies.” She pointed at the little calluses on Tara’s hands from playing on the monkey bars. “You see these?” 

“Yeah.” 

“These are callouses. These are why it doesn’t hurt to swing on the monkey bars anymore.” Sam explained. “Your hands got used to it. The same thing will happen if you climb enough trees. Your hands will get used to it.” She let Tara’s hands go and showed Tara her own palms, which had developed calluses from climbing trees with her friends. “See my hands?” She pointed to the small patches for tougher skin there. “I have them too. That’s why I can climb the tree and it doesn’t hurt. If you do it enough, you’ll get them too.” 

Tara’s eyes lit up. “Really, Sam?”

Her eyes shone with hope. 

“Yeah. Really.” Sam smiled softly. 

“Okay! I’m gonna keep going!” Tara exclaimed excitedly.

“Good egg.” Sam praised. “Go for it! I’ll be right here, okay?” 

“Okay!!”

It took a little while, but after a time, she got the hang of it and made it to the branch Sam had climbed to before. 

No matter how often she fell off that tree, she just got back up and tried again with the joy and determination only a child could have. 

Within an hour, both girls sat up in the tree, looking out at the world from between the leaves. 

It was like they had their own secret hideout.

A place they could just be. 

For the rest of that summer, they’d climb trees and spend time together. 

Sam savoured the warm feeling that memory gave her. It felt like being in the soft glow of the summer sun on a perfect, cloudless day. With how cold her world felt, it was a nice escape.

“Hey!” A familiar voice called from somewhere off to her left. 

Sam looked up to see Tara walking towards her. She smiled.

“Oh! There you are!” Sam greeted her.

She’d been so lost in her memory that she’d lost track of how long she’d been sitting there. By then, the sun had moved and the children she’d been watching were long gone.

“Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Tara asked as she sat beside Sam on the bench.

“No, I didn’t. Sorry.” Sam replied.

“It’s okay. You looked pretty lost in thought.” Tara said. “What were you thinking about?”

Sam turned to look at Tara. She was so grown up now, but still, when she looked at her, she saw the little girl she’d taught to climb a tree all those years ago. Still sweet and determined. Still enthusiastic, confident, strong, and charming. Those parts of her had matured now, turning her into the wonderful adult who sat beside her. She felt her heart scrunch, her chest filling with a mix of pride, sadness, and an oddly contradictory joyful-grateful feeling. The pride because Tara turned out to be such a great person who had the world in her hands. Sadness because she’d missed so much. And that strange joyful-grateful feeling because she was here now and she would get to see who Tara became as she made her place in the world.

Sam stood and headed in the direction of the big tree she’d seen those children climbing earlier. Tara quickly followed behind her, soon falling into step beside her.

When she reached the base of the tree, she looked up at that thick tree limb before she looked back at Tara, who looked totally confused. “Do you remember when I taught you to climb a tree when we were kids?” She asked.

Tara thought for a moment. Sam could see the gears turning in her head as she struggled to remember.

Sam couldn’t fault her if she couldn’t remember. It was a long time ago and Tara was little. Nonetheless, she watched Tara intently, her heart breaking a little at the mere thought that she may not remember at all. 

Suddenly, Tara’s eyes widened and she smiled. Her smile was still the same as it was back then. So pure and genuine. “Yeah, I do.”

Sam let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

She looked back up. “You wanna climb a tree?” She asked, stepping towards the tree and placing her hand on the rough bark. 

“Huh?” Tara said, sounding surprised.

“You wanna climb a tree? With me?” Sam asked again.

Tara chuckled, “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” 

“It might be fun. We haven’t done it in years.” Sam said, feeling more strongly about the idea than she had expected to. What’s wrong with wanting to live a little? 

“We’re adults!” Tara protested with humour in her voice.

“So what? Adults can climb trees.” Sam pointed out. She looked back at Tara. 

She spent so much time worrying about everything from rent to whether Tara would come home alive at the end of the day. Why shouldn’t she get to let that all go, even for an hour and just do something crazy, like climb a tree?

“Are you feeling okay?” Tara raised a sceptical eyebrow. “Is this some sort of Freaky Friday moment?”

Sam laughed, “No! Is it a crime to want to climb a tree with my little sister?” She asked.

Tara rolled her eyes but relented, giving her an exasperated smile, “No. Not at all,” she replied, her voice gentle.

Without hesitation, Sam took hold of the tree and started pulling herself up the trunk. The bark dug into her skin, but it didn’t bother her. “Good.” She called behind her as she started to make her way up.

She was surprised that she even remembered how to do this. It had been so long, but the muscle memory returned as if she were riding a bike. It was like she never stopped.

Once she reached the thick limb of this genuinely gargantuan tree, she looked down. At the bottom, she saw Tara watching her, a look of amusement on her face. “I can’t believe that you’re up in a tree right now! In the middle of Central Park!” Tara yelled.

Sam chuckled, “I can’t believe you’re not! Get up here, little!” She called down with a smile.

Tara shook her head, trying and failing to hide a grin. “Alright, alright! I’m coming!”

“Good! The view is so nice!” Sam told her as she watched Tara begin to scale the tree. 

Within a few minutes, Sam was shifting over on the tree limb to give Tara space to sit next to her.

Together they looked out at the park. From where they sat, they could see more of the city skyline. Much of it was reflected in one of the park’s many lakes. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the sky in a mix of pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, and light purples. The street lights that stood along the paths hadn’t turned on just yet, but soon, they would, their sulfur-yellow bulbs looking like little moons. People milled about below them. Some parkgoers were just starting to pull their little wooden sailboats from the lake below them, while others were adding theirs to the smooth water. 

It was utterly picturesque.

“Remember how we spent that whole summer climbing trees?” Sam asked as she watched the people. 

“Yeah. I had holes in the knees of my overalls from either falling off or the fabric rubbing against the bark every time I tried to climb.” Tara answered, her voice had a note of fondess. “That was a pretty great summer, wasn’t it?”

Sam glanced over at Tara, who looked out at the scene before them, “Yeah. It was,” She said, feeling sad that the memory was so far in the past.

Tara met her gaze, “Hey, thanks for suggesting this.” She gave her a meaningful look. “This was a really nice idea.”

Sam reached over carefully and hugged her. “Happy to do it.”