Swings and Memories

<>

"Ah, Charles! Push the swing!" Nicole giggled as she hopped on the swing, standing on it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sit down woman. You gonna hurt yourself!"

She continued giggling. "Of course not! I won't fall!"

She grabbed on the steel handles and pushed herself forward. Her speed kept increasing and so did the sound of her laughter.

"You okay? Wanna slow down?" I asked, cautiously as I walked closer to the swings. She shook her head no as she kept increasing her speed. While she was enjoying the thrill of swinging, I decided to take a walk around the park.

Everything was just the way I last saw it. The slides - although it lost its vibrant colors of red and blue- still looked playable. Hopefully, if I slide, it wouldn't break down. There was this yellow-colored see-saw which I really wanted to play but I was holding myself back.

It was for kids.

I wasn't even a little bit of a kid anymore.

I strolled through the rest of the park, revisiting the memories that were locked away in the back of my brain for ten years. It was like I unlocked a treasure chest that I had buried somewhere underground a long time ago.

Call me crazy- but I could see glimpses of my mother and me playing in the park. Sometimes young me would scream when her mother chased her. Other times, mom would keep calling my name to come and eat my sandwich but I would never come to have mine. I could even hear her laughter alongside dad's as they sat down on the blanket placed on the ground.

Those were the times I described my family as a 'picture perfect' family. Dad was not diagnosed with lung cancer and mom was there for me in every step of my life.

For ten years of my life.

When I was ten, my entire life changed.

Mom died in a freak car accident while my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer -even if he wasn't close to smoking. Doctors said it had something to do with passive smoking. Maybe the place where he worked, he had inhaled smoke that built up over time.

Soon, I had to admit my dad for his chemotherapy - although not vital, I knew I would be too busy with the restaurant and wouldn't be able to take him to the hospital for his chemo routine. The hospital was nice enough to allow admit - but they keep bugging me for the bills.

I have a pile stored in for me.

I unconsciously adjusted the necklace that I wore this morning. Feeling its cold exterior, a wave of memories hit me. I remembered a few days back I had run into a guy and he accidentally broke the new glass frame that I bought for my dad. Dad wanted to frame a picture of me and him together. That random guy paid it off by giving me this necklace. He said it was precious to him and if I wanted I could sell it off and gather money to buy a new frame.

Obviously, I didn't. At first, he was shocked to see me - didn't know why. But later, he insisted that I kept his precious little necklace. Or sold it off, if I needed.

I could buy my dad a new frame, but something about this necklace felt like I needed to keep it. It felt nice on my collar bone. I felt quite feminine by only wearing this. Right now, it was hidden underneath my sweatshirt.

"CHARLES! CHARLIE!" I heard Nicole's screaming. She might've gotten bored with the swings by now and decided to look for me.

My trail of thoughts broke- thanks to her-and I dashed towards the swings.

She was nowhere to be found.

"Nic?Nicole?!" I cupped my hands in front of my mouth and yelled her name.

"Ow!"

My head snapped towards the direction of the voice, it was from nearby...but where?

"Ow, doesn't tell me about your location, Nic. Where the hell is you?!"

"Up here."

"Up where??"

"On the tree."

Tree?

She was stuck on a tree?

My head snapped to check the tree out and as she mentioned in her cracked voice, she was right there- hanging on the branch of the tree as a form of support. Her eyes widened in panic when the branch made a creek sound.

"Charlie, get me out of here!" She shouted.

I burst out laughing. It wasn't my fault that she looked hilarious, right now. She shot me a glare and I shrugged.

"It's kind of your fault you're hanging, so you figure it out."

She screamed. "Are you KIDDING me right now?! How am I supposed to-Ah!"

The branch creaked more.

I raised my hands in defense. "Look, don't panic. Just relax."

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO RELAX?! I DIE!"

I sighed, shaking my head. She was impossible. If she kept on freaking out, the branch would fall quicker than expected.

"You won't, drama queen. Relax!"

She huffed. "Drama Queen? I look like a drama queen to you? Place yourself in my shoes for once and stay relaxed. Then we'll talk."

She released my arm and partially crossed her arms.

I rolled my eyes. Even in this situation, she couldn't resist the urge to cross her arms.

She spoke again. "Charles? Do something!"

"I am! Wait a goddamned minute, Nic!"

After searching through every content in my brain, an idea finally popped in my head.

I snapped my fingers.

____

"Get down."

"Nope. Not happening."

"Get the hell down, Nicole."

"I will not, you can't make me."

I ran my hand through my hair, sighing. She would not listen to me even if sharks or dinosaurs attacked her.

"Nicole Anderson, do you or do you not trust me?"

"I don't; Not in what you're trying to do." She shook her head.

I knew it sounded crazy and there was no way we could get away with it unscathed. Both of us would be hurt a little but this was the best I'd got.

"I'll catch you." I spoke, reassuring her.

Her hand was slipping.

"No, you can't." She tried her best to grip onto it.

"Fine, I'll rephrase." I paused for a split second before continuing. "I'll try to catch you, but I assure you, you won't be hurt as much as you would if you dropped on the hard ground. You'll only break a few bones, max."

She rolled her eyes. "So reassuring."

Her right hand slipped and now she was swinging sideways.

"Make your decision, Nic. You're running out of time." I paused before adding. "Break only a few bones which may or may not happen. Or, break a lot of bones by dropping on the ground - which I am sure will definitely happen."

"Fine! Fine! I'll trust you with it!" Her voice came out, alarmed and panicked.

I raised my hands. "I know it's stupid- but, drop down to me. Push yourself slightly, not too much, and trust me."

She did as I told her.

And she fell right on top of me.

"Ow, it hurts!" It was my turn to whine. She smirked, looking down at me.

"Now who's going to have a few broken bones?"