His Game

Chapter 4

I had as many handfuls of berries and nuts in both of my pockets as I could carry. Wood would be the last thing to get on my way back, so I decided to search for some eggs. I hadn't spotted any of the other girls yet and impatience was slithering through me as I let out a frustrated cry.

Didn't bird's eggs usually fall on the ground? I frowned as I continued to search. I hoped that I didn't have to climb a tree. I hoped with all my might that I balled my hands into fists for emphasis. The last time I tried climbing a tree, it resulted in a broken arm and a trip to the hospital.

I was playing in my parents' backyard when I was around 13. We had this big oak tree that stood tall in our backyard. Each month my father had to rake the leaves in the yard because lots of its' leaves fell into humongous piles that were fun for me to play in. My father was doing such, as I was running around trying not to mess up his work. I stopped in front of the tree all of a sudden and looked up as the tree seemed to reach towards the sky like an infant reaching out to it's parents. I placed my hand against it's rough trunk and looked up at the sky again. I wondered to myself, how far could I get near the top. I shrugged and reached up to a branch to pull myself up. I kept pulling branch after branch and stepping on branch after branch, advancing higher and higher from the ground.

My foot slipped from a branch that I tried to climb on and I paused holding tightly unto the branches above me, debating whether or not to continue my climb. I shook my head. I climbed high enough, it's time to climb back down. I stepped two branches down before I slipped again on a branch and lost my grip. I tried reaching to grab any branches to stop my fall, but they weren't too kind enough to catch me. I landed flat on my left side and passed out instantly from the pain that I felt.

I don't know how long I laid there before my father noticed me. I don't remember how long it took for the ambulance to get to my house. I remember waking up to my mother's mascara running down her cheeks and my left arm in a cast. She hugged me tightly against her chest as tight as she could without hurting me and stroked my hair. My dad held my right hand as my mother was hugging me and winked at me.

"I knew you would be fine, champ," He said smiling.

I was popular in school for three months before the cast gotten removed. I smiled at that thought and came face to face with a tree. It looked to have a nest not too far off the ground. I checked the tree out looking around it and feeling it's rigged texture.

I was going to have to be a champ and climb this tree. I didn't know how much time I had left, but I needed these eggs before I started my trip back. I grabbed the first branch with both of my hands and hoistened myself off the ground. I hugged the trunk as I stood up carefully, first with my right foot then my left. I looked up to see how far I needed to go and I didn't have too much of a distance.

The nest was in the corner of the tree on the next branch, so I had to be careful not to knock the nest over. I grabbed the branch gently and swung my legs over the branch and sat myself up where I was sitting on top of the branch. The branch shook up and down a bit, but it supported me quite well.

I scooted towards the nest slowly until I could see the inside of the nest. There were two eggs and one uncracked in the nest. I looked around for the egg's mother before taking one and tucking it safely in my bra.

I backed away from the nest as quick as I could and held the branch tightly with my hands as I found my footing on the branch below me. I heard a cry and looked up as a brown bird swooped down and started to attack me. It's claws dug into my head and pulled at my hair. I swatted at it with one hand while I gripped the other hand on the branch.

"I'm sorry!" I said my eyes starting to tear up.

It continued to attack me, ignoring my apology. I tried shaking the branch to scare it away, but it didn't make the bird flinch at all. It cried out again and began yanking small chunks of my hair out. I cried out in pain and lost my balance. I fell and hit my back on the branch and ended up on my side on the ground.

I laid there stunned before I stood up slowly. The bird didn't ease up and flew towards me. I grabbed a small stick on the ground and swung at it, before running towards of what I hoped was the house. I only stopped to pick up a couple of sticks and twigs to build a fire. I didn't know if the bird was still following me and I didn't know if the bird's egg had cracked.

I saw the house in the distance and quickened my pace. I burst open the door, slamming it shut behind me, before sliding against the door to the ground breathless. I reached up towards the lock and locked it just to be safe.

I held back the dam of tears that wanted to break free, but I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. I was okay. My hair was going to grow back and my wounds were going to heal. Luckily, I didn't break anything important. I patted my chest to see if the egg was still there. I took the egg out and it was completely unharmed.