She stares at the tall, sturdy tree,

Wondering if she has the strength to climb it,

Will she fall?

Will she get hurt?

All these thoughts are gathering around the girl’s head,

Her mother wouldn’t want her to climb it,

As it’s too dangerous,

Her friends would want her to climb it,

As it’s the most exciting thing in the world,

Her father would tell her to do whatever her gut tell her to do,

As it’s what he always said.

The girl gripped a tree branch with both hands,

Pulled herself up,

Reached for another branch,

And pulled herself up,

Reach,

Pull,

Up,

Reach,

Pull,

Up,

Is put on repeat over and over again,

Until the girl finally reaches her destination.

She looks at the world from the highest point of view,

Able to see everything,

From her grandmother’s house,

To the supermarket she went every Saturday with her family,

She can see everything,

And feels like she’s on top of the world,

A feeling that she’s never felt before.

And then the branch beneath her feet snaps.

Ten years later,

The girl looks up at the tree wistfully,

Recounting the memory that changed her permanently,

And she looks back down at the leg that isn’t hers,

The fake, metallic, leg that she had never wanted,

Lucky enough that she lived,

But unlucky enough to get a new leg.

The girl closes her eyes,

Picturing the sight she had seen,

Ten years ago,

On top of the world.

And she takes a deep breath,

She puts both of her hands on the nearest tree branch,

And pushes herself up.