Camp Sibling

“Reece! Reece! REECE!!!” The strain from screaming his name so loud instantaneously summoned tears to stream down my face as I lay helpless in the thick bushes; I have sustained a painful, sprained right knee. My body began to quiver as the freezing temperatures started to take its toll, and the robust trees that surround me provided minimum protection from the brisk winds. All I could do was to look up at the twinkling stars in the dark sky, asking myself how’d I get into such a predicament.

Hours earlier, my younger brother Reece and I packed our father’s pickup truck with camping gear and drove 100 miles west from our home to Sumpter Hills Park. The enormous park is world renown for its forest-like terrain and boasts of being the home to one of the world’s most beautiful spring waterfalls. The not-so-glamorous characteristics involve lots of treacherous hills and a few wild animals that roam free and call the landscape their home. And of course, my baby brother felt compelled to dare me to camp there for an entire weekend without a cellphone or any other beloved items such as makeup. Needless to say, I accepted the challenge with complete confidence in my ability to adapt (although I secretly felt apprehensive and terrified of the unknown).

After pitching dad’s faded camouflage tent, we struck out to catch perch in the adjacent stream of our campsite. I was only able to snag two victims, while Mr. Showoff captured five. Somehow he convinced me to participate in the cleaning and frying of our meal, which by the way was very flavorful and obviously had the distinct taste of freshness. As we lay on our sleeping bags afterwards, he proceeded to retrieve his handheld gaming device from his black backpack.

“Excuse me sir...what is that?”

“Oh this thing? Just my handy, dandy gameboy.”

“Yes! That means I won the dare!”

“Not so fast my dear sis. YOU agreed that you wouldn’t bring any electronics or any other cherished items. I, on the other hand, didn’t!”

He displayed an ever so cynical grin upon his face as he uttered those last words. I began to feel myself becoming consumed with frustration and anger because I let him get the best of me yet again. The more I looked at him, the more I envisioned him as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I immediately jumped up from my sleeping bag exclaiming, “ Why must you always get under my skin and irritate me? And why are you such a con artist? You know what...don’t answer that! I need to blow off some steam!” Before he had an opportunity to respond, off into the woods I marched with absolutely no idea where I was headed or what I was about to do.

As I continued to travel along what appeared to be an unofficial pathway through the trees, I began to slow my pace. As the sun began to set, the chilly winds started to blow more frequently and with greater force. In my haste to leave the campsite, I forgot to grab my jacket. It was at that point that I began to return to my senses and decided to head back. Suddenly I began to hear eerie howling in the distance, and the rapid beating of my heart commenced. My walk instinctively switched to a brisk jog when suddenly my ears detected the loud rustling of leaves to my left. My imagination started to run wild but before I could make a mad dash for dear life, I stumbled over a tree branch that was covered by large, green leaves. I screamed as the twisting sensation and pain overtook my leg and rendered it useless. I managed to drag myself into the nearby bushes as the rustling continued. Paranoia and panic set in as I saw from my peripheral a rapidly moving figure run across my path, only to stop for a brief second about five feet in front me. My heart dropped briefly only to quickly change to a sigh of relief; the scary, unknown animal turned out to be an innocent brown and grey squirrel.

As I lay helpless in the grass, I reflected on how foolish I was to let my emotions get the best of me. Tears continued to flow as I realized that I need to get a grip on my childish ways and spoiled-brat attitude. I proceeded to close my eyes and hold my knee, praying for a miracle when out of the blue I hear…

“LEAH! LEAH! Where are you?”

I opened my eyes, and I saw a bright neon green light shining on the ground in front of me. This was no ordinary green light; it was a limited edition flashlight from a comic book convention that my brother is known to attend every year. I kept repeating “Over here! Over here!” so he could follow my voice to my location. After a few minutes, he emerges with the light in one hand and holding his backpack with the other. The only other time I can recall being so ecstatic to see him was the day I was able to hold him in the hospital as a baby after he was born.

“Before you say anything, I just wanted to say that this was the only way I could think of to spend time with you. You never seem to have time for me anymore like before, and your friends and hobbies seem to be more important nowadays. Although I may annoy and upset you often, I just want to say that I’m sorry. It’s just I miss you, and this is my only way of getting your attention.”

The heartache and guilt I felt in my chest temporarily superseded the physical pain in my leg. “I’m sorry, Reece. I had no idea you felt this way. I’m so busy with my social life and being jealous of you that it made me ignore how I do miss the way things used to be. You’re a good kid, and I’ll try my best to be a better sister just like old times. And please forgive me for throwing yet another tantrum. As you can see, nothing positive came of it.”

“You’re wrong again...I think I just regained my sister!” We both smile at each other for five seconds, which is followed by a resurgence of leg pain. “Well can you find a way to help your sister off of the ground? I think my knee is sprained.” He wrapped his arm around me as I placed my hand around him to regain a standing position.