When I was five years old, weekends were reserved for cushion forts. Back then, my family had big yellow couches, with removable cushions. My brother, Matt, and I used them as walls and roofs for our forts. We made grand castles, clubhouses and space ships with cushions.  We used blankets as roofs and decorated the interior with throw pillows and stuffed animals.

I remember this one time my friend from down the street, Eileen, and my brother’s friend Clayton came over for a sleepover. We both made bases out of cushions and then we had “The Great Pillow War.” Our teams fought bravely, flinging pillows at the opponent until there were none left. To this day, my brother will still claim that his team won, although the truth is Eileen and I beat them by far.  

We had a great time playing in our cushion forts, but as we grew older, our interest faded.  Around the time I turned ten, cushion forts were old news. I would’ve rather watched tv than build a fort, or read a book.  

Sooner or later, my mom told us that we would be getting new couches, ones where the cushions are attached to the couch. Matt and I built one last fort.  We used the best blankets as a roof and our old stuffed animals for decor. We had our last adventure that day. It was bittersweet, knowing that this would be the last cushion fort we would ever build. The next morning, when they hauled the old couches out, I remember all the fun we had with them. I remembered ‘The Great Cushion War,’ and all the memories we’d made. Although now the couches are gone, the memories remain. I will never forget all the adventures I had with my brother.

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