A Bad Fall

“One, two, three…” Wei Le counted as his friends, Pei Xuan and Kai De scurried to find their hiding spots. The three friends were playing an exciting game of hide-and-seek in the park. Kai De cleverly concealed himself behind a large bush, while Pei Xuan, not knowing where to go, climbed gingerly up a nearby tree.

“Ready or not, here I come!” Wei Le announced and spun around, scanning the park for his friends. His gaze eventually fell on Pei Xuan, perched on a sturdy branch. “Found you!” he declared. Pei Xuan gave a defeated sigh and prepared to climb down the tree.

However, a wave of fear washed over Pei Xuan when she realised that she had no idea how to make her way back down. Sensing something was wrong, both Wei Le and Kai De had gathered under the tree. The two boys urged Pei Xuan to hold on while they figured out a way to get her safely to the ground.

To their horror, Pei Xuan lost her grip and plummeted to the ground. She landed with a heavy thud and screamed in pain. “Ow!” she wailed, cradling her left arm. Wei Le whipped out his mobile phone immediately and called the ambulance while Kai De tried to comfort Pei Xuan.

An eternity passed before the paramedics arrived at the scene. They placed Pei Xuan on a stretcher and whisked her to hospital. Pei Xuan had suffered a fracture on her left arm and had to be in a cast for six weeks. She learnt a painful lesson on not taking risks and vowed to be more careful in future.

It was a breezy afternoon. Three siblings, Kelly, Ron and Alan were playing a friendly game of hide-and-seek at the park near their apartment. It was Alan’s turn to be the seeker. He covered his eyes with both hands and counted aloud to twenty. At the same time, his brother and sister scattered to secure a hiding spot. Ron expertly hid himself amongst a few large bushes while Kelly scaled skilfully up a nearby tree.

When the time was up, Alan scanned the park carefully. His gaze eventually landed on Kelly who was perched on a branch several metres above the ground. He smiled, knowing fully-well that Kelly was a great climber. “Found you!” he shouted as he waved playfully at her.

However, a look of worry was etched on Kelly’s face. She had noticed that the branch was swarming with red ants. Ron, who had come out of his hiding place, was standing under the tree with Alan. Both brothers urged Kelly to hold onto the branch and make her way down carefully.

Suddenly, Kelly felt a sharp pain on her forearm. The shock caused her to lose her grip and barrel towards the ground. Alan and Ron rushed to their sister’s side immediately and called for an ambulance.

Before long, the wail of sirens could be heard. The two boys watched helplessly as the paramedics carefully transferred Kelly onto a stretcher before whisking her away to hospital. Thankfully, Kelly only suffered minor scrapes and bruises and could be discharged the same day. From that day on, she swore to be more aware of her surroundings, and to always put safety first.