Treehouse
| Treehouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Location |
| Address | The Mountain |
| Residents | Leo |
The Treehouse is Leo's home on the Mountain, built into the broad tree that stands east of the Railroad entrance and west of Linus's tent. It is the only house in the valley that appears because of friendship rather than money: until Leo agrees to leave Ginger Island the tree is simply a tree, and the night he decides to come across, parrots arrive and turn it into a home while the valley sleeps. Getting that far means sailing out to the island, winning the parrots over and befriending a boy who starts off too shy to speak. The payoff is a new neighbour for Linus, a new pupil in Penny's little class and one of the warmest stretches of story in the game.
Area
The tree sits on the lower shelf of the Mountain, between the gap that leads through to the Railroad and the climb up to Linus's camp. It stands on the route between Robin's shop and the mine entrance, so the change is impossible to miss the first morning after it happens.
Before the move it is scenery. Afterwards a ladder, a platform and a door are built into the trunk, and the inside is a single round room with a bed, a few belongings and a parrot for company. Leo talks to that parrot about his day.
Residents
Leo lives here alone, in the way a child in a storybook lives alone. His parents were lost at sea, he washed up on Ginger Island as a small boy and the parrots there raised him, so he counts birds as his family and says so plainly.
He will not speak to a visitor at first. Making friends with the island's parrots, by gathering Golden Walnuts for them, is what persuades him that the farmer is safe to talk to. From there he befriends like any villager, and Mangos, Duck Feathers, Ostrich Eggs and Poi are what he wants most. His birthday falls in Summer.
Six hearts of friendship bring the scene that matters. Linus invites Leo to move to the mainland, Willy points out that there are other children there and that the boat can take him back to the island whenever he likes, and Leo decides to go. He still returns to Ginger Island on Sundays and some Mondays, so the island never stops being home.
Once he is on the Mountain he makes friends fast. Linus teaches him what he knows about living off the land and gets called Uncle Linus for it, Jas and Vincent take him in as one of their own, and Penny adds him to the lessons she gives at the museum.
Notes
A recipe for Mango Sticky Rice arrives by post at seven hearts, written with Willy's help, which is the one thing from the island Leo brings with him.
The nine-heart scene is the point of the whole story. It plays on entering the Mountain on a dry day, and it runs through Leo's new life in short pieces: cooking over the campfire with Linus, answering a question correctly in Penny's class, fishing with Willy, watching Jas from the bushes at the playground and bolting when she notices. He goes home to the treehouse, tells his parrot what a good day it was, and admits he still misses Ginger Island.
Leo is a child, so he is never a marriage candidate, however many hearts the farmer fills.
All Locations
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
