As a 10 year-old boy, I had no clue what I was doing, much less what was going to result from my easily avoidable mistake. The scene is so clearly vivid in my head, yet there are a few pieces of information that I am not able to recollect. For example, I recall a faint cry for help and a feeling of being lifted into a vehicle. Now, images of flashing lights and pitch black darkness randomly jumble through my head. At that time, I never realized that my life would change so quickly due to the opening of a single umbrella.

It all took place in my own neighborhood on Porpoise Street in Merritt Island. It was in the late afternoon about 30 minutes before the street lamps came on. At this point, cool water fell from the sky in a light drizzle along with the introduction of a slight fog. The whole neighborhood was full of silence besides the quiet splash of the tiny droplets of water, which slowly wet the ground beneath me. Across the street, from what I could see, one of my neighbors was watching the news while my brother and I decided to ride around on our Heelys. Other than my brother, neighbor, and apprehensive mother who was watching warily out my house’s front window, there was no one else aware of the predicament that was about to unfold.

After watching television for a few hours, which was probably not healthy, my brother Jarid and I got bored. Being 10 years old, I thought that it would be a good idea to play outside, despite that it was drizzling. Being 8, my brother was exhilarated to be doing something with his older brother. My brother and I both put on our identical looking Heelys shoes and left the safety of the house. I guess my mom was a bit worried because she stood by the window the whole time to keep an eye on us.

Also, my mom shouted on the way out, “Don’t forget an umbrella!” Even though I did not want one, I grabbed one anyways because my mother told me to. My brother was not paying attention, so he did not grab one.

After riding on our Heelys for a bit on the rough pavement, Jarid said, “When are we going to do something fun.”

Afraid that my brother might not want to hang out because of my lame idea, I made up another half-baked idea that, not obvious to me at the time, was going to end up costing me. At that moment, out of my own curiosity, I told Jarid to go back inside and grab an umbrella like mine so that we could joust with them. It seemed like fun at the time, so Jarid played along. Although he was excited, Jarid was still a bit tired from the recent boredom, so he plodded to the front door instead of running. While I waited, I thought that it would be a good idea to get some practice in before we began to joust in order for me to have the upper hand. For some reason, I had a thought that if I opened my umbrella, then I would get a speed boost from the wind. As I made my first run, the wind was on my side. I was soaring with the wind, which made me feel as if I was invulnerable.

At this moment, my life made a turn for the worst. All of a sudden, when I reversed the direction I was going, the cogent winds were against me. With my umbrella open and the sidewalk wet, the wind caused me to lose my balance. I still have no idea why I did not realize that going against the wind would cause a problem. The next thing I know, I was falling backwards while feeling as though I was falling in slow motion. Even though it felt slow, I had no idea how to avoid the injuries that I was about to sustain. Once my body hit the pavement, all of the air in my lungs blew out of me. I could not breathe nor feel my elbows. Apparently, the accident was worse than I thought because after a few seconds, I ended up passing out.

The last thing I remember hearing before falling unconscious was my mom who shouted, “Call an ambulance!”

When I eventually came to, I was lying on a stretcher in a hospital emergency room with my mom by my side. The second thing I realized was that I had cast-like bandages around my arms. Luckily, the fall that I had was not severe enough to where my arms broke. Around the time I had the second realization, my mind began bouncing back and forth from the past to the present. I got extremely frightened about what had happened and what might happen as a result of it. This caused me to whimper a bit, but my mom calmly squeezed my hand to let me know that I was safe from further harm. Still trying to gather in my head what had happened, I almost did not realize the soft blanket around me. My mom explained to me that it was placed on me while I was unconscious by my neighbor whom we call Nani. Nani, the one who was watching the news, was so conscientious of my life that she bothered herself to leave the comfort of her home to make sure that I was ok. In that instant, I began to muse about how I live around such a caring group of people and how lucky I am.

Now that I think about the horrid event, I realize that if I had only thought before I acted, then the accident would not have happened. As a matter of fact, leading up to the event that influenced my life, I had hardly ever thought of what would happen next. That event has certainly made me a more mature and cautious person and will probably allow me to make the best decisions that are possible for me in the future. For example, when I drive on the road, I am a defensive driver, and I think ahead in order to prevent a collision. When I was younger, I believed that nothing of this magnitude could happen to me or anyone close to me. That one, unforgettable night has shown me that I was completely wrong. Now I believe that it can happen to anyone at any moment if you do not think before you make a decision, or you may end up regretting it.