The Best Bicycle Ride

You know how scary it is when you’re riding your bike and you come to the top of a looming hill? You have the thought too late that you might not be able to stop. Instead you charge down that hill like you’re a professional bicycle rider even though you are only nine years old.

Half way down the hill your bicycle gains too much speed. You are frozen with fear and that makes you forget how to use the brake. You hit a hole in the dirt road and your heart jumps into your throat. Matter of fact your stomach goes there as well. You have a chilling thought that your mother will kill you for going down the hill.

All of a sudden you look down and your tires have left the dirt. You keep pedaling to go faster. You fly higher and higher. You pedal over the mesquite trees. You no longer feel the boundaries of the ground. You tilt to a side but the bike comes right back up.

You dip down and zoom through the trees. The doves take off afraid for their life. You smile as you yell at them, “I won’t hurt you. I can fly now!”

You look down at the ground and you see the old barn that’s falling down. You see a large hole in the roof and the hay inside. You remember how many times your dad has said he needs to fix that roof. You can practically smell the hay from up here. You take a deep breath.

You turn back up the hill. You must get home and show everyone what you can do. Your heart is racing and you are breathing so hard your lungs pounding out of your chest. You are pedaling hard but you’re not moving very fast. You pedal harder.

Suddenly you run into a tall tree. Its branch thorns snag onto your sleeves and in your hair. You don’t want to let go of the handlebars but the tree won’t let go either. You yell at the tree, “Let me go! You’ll make me fall!”

The tree grips tighter as you try to free yourself. Now you can hear the tree calling your name. The tree shakes you so hard you fall hard to the ground.

When you open your eyes your dad is kneeling beside you. His eyes are wide with fear. He must have seen you fall. You hope he saw you flying. No one will believe you so you need a witness. You look around and you’re in the same spot at the bottom of the hill. You bike lays beside you with the front tire missing.

Your dad sees you are okay and he looks relieved. “Whew. You scared me there for a minute. You kept screaming to let you go because you’ll fall. I missed your fall but from the look of your bike it was a doozy.”

Dad brushes the dirt off your jeans. “Anything broken?” he asks. You can only shake your head. He helps you up then he gathers the parts and pieces of your bike.

On the drive home you can’t seem to look out the window at the trees. They know the truth but they aren’t talking.