An Accident

An Accident

The sun was shimmering fiercely in the clear blue sky. A gentle breeze of wind caressed my cheeks. I sighed disappointedly. It was a perfect day to go out and play, but I was stuck at home with heaps of homework.

       “Lily, are you done with your homework yet? Father had suggested we go to the Botanical Gardens and have a picnic!” My mother called to me from the living room. At the thought, I felt better. I quickly completed the rest of my homework and then dressed myself. Mother was at the door waiting for me with a big basket of picnic food. We also brought along two kites as it was a windy day. Then, we set off by car.

       Not long after, we reached the Botanical Gardens. We found a shady spot and laid our picnic mat. My younger brother, Mark and I helped Mother lay out the yummy food. There were ham and cheese sandwiches, fried chicken wings, a big jug of ice lemon tea and a huge chocolate cake. Growl…growl…I could feel my stomach growling furiously. I licked my lips and helped myself to scrumptious food.

       After lunch, Mark eagerly took a kite and started to unwind the string. Soon, the red and orange kite was high up in the sky. I decided to rest awhile first and enjoy the greenery before joining Mark. As I relaxed, I thought about getting a bag of sweets for Mark for his birthday…

       Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek jolted me awake from my daydream. I scanned the whole area, wondering what had happened. Mother and Father had also looked up from what they were doing. At once, a frightening thought struck my mind. Where was Mark? My eyes caught a red and orange kite lying on the ground. Could it be…? I dashed towards the kite. To my horror, I found Mark in a small hole, just enough to fit his skinny body. I gasped in shock. His face was as pale as a sheet, and he breathed in ragged gasps. I rushed back to my parents. “It’s… Mark! He had… fallen into the… hole!” I stuttered to my parents. They ran over to the direction I was pointing at. I dug in my handbag for my mobile phone, pushing away everything in my way. I had to get help, I had to. With my hands trembling, I called for an ambulance. I went back to the hole and tried with my parents to get him out, but the hole was too deep.

       Minutes seemed like hours as I waited with my parents for the ambulance to arrive.

Finally, I could hear the wails of the siren of the ambulance. Paramedics rushed to the hole. They expertly put a long ladder in the hole as one paramedic tried to squeeze himself into the hole. I watched at the side with my heart beating furiously in my chest. I could not stop myself from peering over the edge of the hole. Using one muscular hand to grip onto the ladder, the strong and burly paramedic carried Mark and climbed out of the hole. Almost immediately, they put Mark onto a stretcher and pushed him into the ambulance. Father also went along in the ambulance.

       The next day, Mother brought me to the Singapore General Hospital to visit Mark. To my utter relief, Mark was fine. Unfortunately, he had a fractured arm, and had to wear a cast. I later learned from Mother that the hole that Mark fell into was actually dug up because there was to be a new map board to be put up. The careless workers had forgotten to put up a notice to warn people.

       Several years had passed but I will never forget that incident on that fateful day. I have also learnt to be more alert about my surroundings and I am sure that kind of incident will never happen to me again.