The Kite accident

I looked around the hospital. I only saw paralyzed people, sick and the disabled. I could still remember the fateful day that I risked my life and ended up here. Memories flooded into my thoughts as I waited for my turn to do the wound dressing...

The annual kite competition to see who could manoeuvre his or her kite the highest has arrived. Seeing my kite go higher than the trees around, I pranced around with the energy of a power generator, showing off my kite-flying skills. Soon, a volley of compliments from my sisters, Mary and Jane, came flooding into my ears, indirectly asking me for more.

Trying to be extend my dominance, I challenged a little boy, who was with his father, to a match of how high our kites could go. In a matter of seconds, both me and the father-son dual got into our stances and positions, all geared up for launch.

“Ready, get set, lift off!” Our kites soared across the sky and cast diamond-like shadows onto the earth. However, in the blink of an eye, the kite of the father-son dual unexpectedly pelted onto the muddy ground leaving everyone in shock.

Being my boastful self, I turned my head and stuck my tongue out, acerbating them. Oddly, I felt a sudden nudge on my kite. I then turned my head back only to realise that my kite was stuck in a towering tree, hanging there like a stick in a bundle of hay. What seemed like a perfect day for kite flying soon turned around to the possibility of losing my precious kite.

Desperate as I was, I was about to climb up the three-metre high tree when Mother’s words of having safety as the first priority left me in great thought. A gentle angel with a halo on her head was seemingly floating on my narrow right shoulder whispering, “Leave the kite up in the tree, safety comes first.” and as if a furious devil was stomping on my left shoulder exclaiming, “Just climb the tree! There is nothing to lose! Do not be such a coward!”

Determined to be 'brave', I went on with the 'devil's' suggestion. After some preparation and planning, I took a few steps back and tried dashing up the trunk of the tree. I tried multiple attempts in getting the kite down but to no avail. Like the helpful girl she was, Mary removed her shoe and held it back behind her head, bending her elbow. Mary then, with all her strength, threw her shoe, sending it darting towards the general direction of the kite. Broadening my bloodshot eyes and almost dislocating my jaw, I realised that her shoe was heading towards me instead! My heart accelerated twice as fast as the wrinkles on my forehead became more palpable. Within seconds, I felt a sharp pain on my head and then shortly realised that I was milliseconds away from the ground…

“Bang!” I felt a big slap on my back and felt my shoulder disjoint. The father of the little boy witnessed the incident and immediately called for the ambulance.

After minutes that felt like hours, the voices of paramedics asking people to make way were heard when a enormous sheet of black covered my eyes…

“Joseph! Time for your wound dressing now!” the squeal of the nurse pricked my ears and snapped me out of my unconscious mind. The events of that fateful day will always be imprinted vividly in my memory. With every time I pass by a kite stuck in a tree, I remember this ill-fated accident.