With my hand over the warm phone, I shouted at my sister, “Go away Alexandra. Stop being annoying!” Tears filled her green eyes, but she refused to let any loose while I was standing there.
“Sorry about that Breanna. Alexandra is being annoying,” I said. Alexandra turned around and stuck her pink tongue out at me.
“Don’t worry about it. Abigail is the same way.” Then we began talking about everything that our younger siblings do that is annoying or stuff they’ve done that has gotten us in trouble, while I walked around my house, avoiding my sister.
An hour later, I wandered outside, still talking with Breanna. It was a particularly warm day, considering it was the first day of Thanksgiving break. I was wearing shorts and a spaghetti strap top, yet I only felt a little cold. Wind gently blew through the air.
My parents had just gotten back from a business trip in Dallas, and I was babysitting my sister while my parents went shopping. I looked at my watch. Three o’clock. Still another hour or so, I thought.
Somehow, I ended up standing at the base of the willow tree in my backyard. The tree was about twenty feet tall. A thought occurred to me: I hadn’t climbed this tree in several months.
“Hold on Bre, I’m climbing a tree.”
“Sure you are Sam.” She said with a sarcastic tone, obviously not believing me.
With the phone between my ear and shoulder, I set my hand on the first rough branch and pulled myself up. The bark felt so jagged under my palm, yet I still climbed up. This tree was my favorite spot on our land. For the millionth time, I sat down on my favorite branch fifteen feet above the ground.
“Okay, I’m back.”
“Okay, now, back to what I was saying. Have you done the science homework for the break yet?”
And we continued like this for a while. The air was colder up here and I wished I was at least wearing tennis shoes, rather than my black crocs. The end of a branch was sticking into my back and my butt was going numb from sitting like I was for so long. Looking around, I decided I would change to a different branch for now. Loosing a croc in the process, I had gotten in between the branch I was on and the branch I wanted to be on, standing only on a three inch thick branch, with a hand holding to a thicker branch above my head. Normally, I had done this with two hands on the branch, but one of my hands was still clutching the phone.
CRACK! The branch snapped. Both hands were flailing in the air. Everything was silent and I realized I was falling. My thoughts were everywhere except on trying to stop my fall. I thought of the last day I saw my grandma before she died. Fourth grade’s happiness flooded my mind next. I felt the pain of my stinging finger when I put hot glue on it in GT because everyone said that I had to do it. The stinging subsided when I thought of when I first met Breanna in first grade. Everything went black when I hit the ground, landing on my left ankle.
Nothing.
Blackness.
That was all I saw. Nothing. A second later, that changed. The garden in front of me became clear first. Then the willow tree was next. Faith, my dog, ran forward sniffing my legs, making sure I was okay. Next came the pain, agonizing pain that made me forget everything I had ever known. Tears had soaked my shirt. I wasn’t able to move my lower body. Panic surrounded my very being. The pain, panic, and tears paralyzed me for another minute.
Common sense returned to me. I had been on the phone when I fell. I could call someone to help me. First, I would call Breanna to let her know what had happened. The phone was ten feet in front of me.
Attempting to get my leg out from underneath me, I hurt myself more, causing fresh tears to stream down my face. Faith slid up to my side and stood up as if saying lean on me, I’ll help you. I put my arm around her soft black furry neck and hoisted myself up high enough to move my ankle from under me. Staying next to me every inch of the way, she helped me to the phone.
Still sobbing, I picked up the phone and immediately noticed it was lighter than it had been before. The battery had fallen out. It was back on the other side of the tree. Again, with Faith by my side, we made our way to the battery. After putting it in correctly, it took a little bit to turn on. I noticed the moss was quite spongy and wet where I was sitting. Beep beep beep. It was on. The number was entered within a second and I heard ringing.
Breanna picked up, sounding slightly frantic. I told her about me falling and leaned up against that accursed willow tree. When I was younger, I loved that tree. It brought comfort and shelter. Now, it only brought pain and fear.
“Call your parents. Call them now.” Breanna commanded.
“But…”
“No. Hang up and call your parents. Promise me you’ll call them.”
“Fine,” I spoke the words softly, knowing I was lying to my best friend. “Promise.”
Click. The line went dead. With the pone in my hands, I crawled back towards my house. My left leg was lifted high in the air as I made my way slowly like an inch worm. It took me twenty minutes to move twenty feet and by then, my body ached with the pain. The hurt leg was sore from holding it in the air, my arms hurt from carrying my weight all that way, and my neck ached because I had been looking ahead at my goal. That was what we were always taught to do when reaching for a goal: never take your eye off the prize. Collapsing to the ground, I felt like a rag weak rag doll.
“Sam!” Alexandra’s voice rang through the air like bells. The wet grass was just starting to feel relaxing. Oh well.
“Alexandra! Alexandra I’m hurt!”
“I’ll go get Mom!” Not too long after, my mom came out and muttered a few choice words. My dad wasn’t far behind, and again, said some words I shan’t repeat. That was the beginning of the longest night I’ve ever lived through, full of kind doctors, painful tears, and broken bones.


Epilogue: I broke my tibia and growth plate in my left leg. Two weeks later, I found out I had to have surgery.