UnOrdinary: What if?

Chapter #41 John

"Almost... there." Claire squinted as she used her strength to pull herself up. And my hands as well. A sudden rush of strength came, and with one swift motion, I swung her around, so that she would land on the branch right next to me.

She stared at me surprised, but a big grin came to her face shortly after. "Thanks!"

I cocked my head, smiling as I saw her grin. "Your welcome."

We both sat there in silence, and watched as most of the people began to clear the park, darkness seeping into it.

"It's so pretty," Claire pointed towards the sunset, admiring the colours.

"Yeah."

"Want to try out something new?" Claire glanced in my direction, excitement filling her features.

I immediately caught on to that excitement, and nodded. "Yeah! Sure! What is it?" Not many ideas sprang in my mind, and I didn't have a clue about what she planned to do.

            She pointed upwards, where the tree was left untouched. "Who says we can't stop climbing? We could climb to the top!!"

           Previous warnings from my father came to my mind, 'If you climb to much, the branches get shorter and they won't be able to hold up your weight!'

          Then again, what does dad know? He's probably wrong anyway. "Yeah, that sounds cool!" Besides, I couldn't say no to her, especially when she was as excited like this.

         She didn't hesitate, and before I could even stand up, she was climbing up further, laughing as she went.

         I was quick to follow, and it soon became a sort of pattern. 'Clutch a branch with two hands, and swing your legs to the next one.' But just like my dad said, the branches did get smaller, and I began to notice that he was right. Even if I was light, I would fall if we continued like this.

         "Claire," I called out, "maybe we should start getting down, the branches are getting shorter."

           All I got in reply, was another laugh, and a, "ooooooh, are you scared John?"

          "I'm not!" I defended, "I just don't think it's a very good idea to keep climbing, you don't want to fall." She glanced down, and rolled her eyes. But kept climbing much to my dismay. "Claire, stop climbing!"

         She didn't stop, and simply stuck her tongue out, "Come one John, don't be a baby, try it."

         I knew that it would end badly if I kept on going. But what was I supposed to do? I had to stop her somehow!

         With speed I only used now, I climbed higher. Shaking as I noticed how high we were. The tree was big, much bigger than I had thought, and from high up here, I could see the houses that stretched far into the distance.

        "Claire!" I tried again, "your high enough! I have to go home anyway!"

          "Then go home, I want to stay up here." Her voice was stoic, and she continued to gaze at the sunset and park.

            I couldn't leave her out here. So I decided to drag her down, I don't care if she would get angry at me, I wanted her safe.

             But the next step I took wasn't so secure, and I screamed once I noticed what had happened. So did Claire.

             'Crack!'