An Incident That Affected My Life

When I was a child, I was always the one who volunteered to do everything first. That changed when I had my brush with danger. I nearly dropped into a hole, never to be seen again. The incident did not drastically alter my perception although it left me with uncertainty about acting without thinking first.

It was a beautiful morning on this particular day. Birds chirping, squirrels running around, and kids screaming and laughing as they played under the sun. No one was to suspect the ominous atmosphere that would shroud the neighborhood. I stepped out of the house into a beautiful shade of red and brown. The brisk cool breeze blew as I stood and watch the leaves falling. I walked over to the car as the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet. My father strolled out, jingling the keys in his hand. We were on our way to see his friend whom I affectionately called grandpa. When we reached grandpa's house, my father moseyed up into the house. I was left outside to find something interesting to do. I sauntered around to the side of the house where I spotted a pile of leaves, riped for my picking. I readied myself for jumping, my knees bent slightly; a push of my leg muscles and I was airborne heading toward my destination, the pile of leaves.

To my surprise as I descended, the pile of leaves gave way to emptiness. There was no solid ground to land on. My arms flailed around seeking to grab onto anything. After what seemed like hours, one of my hands finally connected with the laundry pole nearby. My other hand clutched at a patch of weeds. As I hanged precariously above doom, my thoughts turned to spikes that would eagerly embrace me if I were to fall. At least, that's what movies led me to believe. I decided to use what little strength I had to pull myself out. My feet searched for anything to get leverage on. Here my memory failed me as to why I did not call for help.

At last, after what seemed like an eternity-it might have been 2 minutes-I managed to drag