Do you really listen when you are talking with someone?

I have a friend who listens in an unforgiving

way. She actually takes every word you say as being something important and when you have a
friend that listens like that, words take on a whole new meaning.

Patricia's friend who was here hardly had any issues at all, but she wasn't telling the truth.
Yesterday, before she left to go home, she heard that her husband is in the hospital and pretended
to be surprised. It later came out that she was the person who had put him there.

To the two friends, the treehouse was much more than a treehouse. It was a sanctuary away from
the other kids where they could be themselves without being teased or bullied. It was their secret
fortress hidden high in the branches of a huge oak that only they knew existed. At least that is what
they thought. They were more than a little annoyed when their two younger sisters decided to turn
the treehouse into a princess castle by painting the inside pink and putting glitter everywhere.

"What is the best way to get what you want?" she asked. He looked down at the ground knowing
that she wouldn't like his answer. He hesitated, knowing that the truth would only hurt. How was he
going to tell her that the best way for him to get what he wanted was to leave her?