Me and
my cousin, Ronny, were climbing the old maple tree.
Mama
had dressed us up for church.
My
older sister, Nikki, sat on the grass, making a daisy-wreath.
"Ya
know you shouldn't be climbing in your nice clothes," she said.
I
stuck my tongue out at her, but she wasn't looking.
"We
know what we're doin'," Ronny said. "Right, Anthony?" He smiled
at me, his recently combed hair already had leaves in it.
I
heard mama call for us from the house.
"Come
on!" said Nikki. "Get down, we have to go!"
"Make
us!" Ronny taunted, and we climbed higher.
"Fine!
I will!" seethed Nikki, with one hand she held her fancy skirts out of the
way, and the other grabbed a branch. She swung up into the tree and was making
her way toward us.
My
eyes widened. I looked at Ronny. "We're dead." There was no-where
left to climb.
We
clung to the trunk, prepared to go down fighting.
She
got to us, at the top of the tree, she reached a hand out to grab my shirt
collar. "Got you, Anthony!"
Her
shoes, her fancy shoes weren't made for climbing, and suddenly, she slipped.
She
tried to gasp, but her shriek swept it away.
The
sound ended when she hit the ground.
"NIKKI!"
I leaned way out to see if she was okay.
Snap!
The
tree-limb broke.
And
suddenly I was somersaulting downward, and with a thud my upper-back hit the earth, the air was
knocked from my lungs.
I lay
on the ground, gasping, while Ronny screamed "AUNT DONNA! AUNT
DONNA!" in a panic.
Mama
came running to the tree. She was dressed nice for church.
"Dear
lord!" she exclaimed in a stressed tone. "I leave you alone for ten
minutes and you go and try killing yourselves!"
"Wasn't
my fault," grumbled Nikki, her face still in the dirt.
"You're
alive!" I cried. My back ached tremendously.
"Yes.
You all are." said Mama. "And unless you want that to change, you'll
be getting in the car, now."
Slightly
dirty and grass-stained, we piled into the car, grumbling about aching sides
and hungry bellies.
"Don't
you ever do that to me again!" said Mama.
Dad
started the car. He raised an eyebrow at mama. "So, Darling, how was your
morning?"
We had
a "cheerful" ride to church that morning, and told dad about my first
time falling out of a tree.
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