Monkey Lyly sat quietly by her window, her little furry face pressed against the wooden frame of her treehouse. Her eyes scanned the forest below, but the path to her neighbor Coco’s tree remained quiet and unfamiliar. Coco, a cheerful squirrel who used to visit every morning with nuts and stories, hadn’t come in days. Lyly missed her terribly.
It wasn’t that Coco didn’t want to visit—it was because the forest had suddenly changed. A group of strangers, loud and curious, had arrived near their home. These strangers didn’t speak like the forest animals. They wore bright clothes, carried big bags, and pointed strange blinking devices at everything. Lyly didn’t understand who they were, but she knew one thing: they didn’t belong, and their presence made her nervous.
Whenever Lyly tried to step outside, rustling sounds or sudden laughter from the strangers would send her scurrying back into the safety of her treehouse. She had seen Coco peek out once too, then disappear back inside her own home.
“I miss you,” Lyly whispered, hoping her voice might carry through the leaves.
Determined to feel a little closer to her friend, Lyly found a small piece of bark and scratched a message onto it: “Miss you, Coco. Stay safe.” She tied it to a vine and carefully tossed it toward the space between their trees. It landed near Coco’s branch.
Later that day, Lyly saw movement. A tiny paw reached out and took the message. Her heart warmed.
That evening, a new note floated back to her: “Miss you too, Lyly. We’ll play again soon.”
Though she still couldn’t leave her tree, Lyly felt braver. The strangers might still be around, but her friendship with Coco was stronger than her fear. And when the forest was quiet again, Lyly knew she and Coco would run, laugh, and share stories once more—just like before.
