It was a cold day. Prancing snow gently settled on a thick carpet of white. I stood on my creaky old porch on the back of the house, thinking about the oncoming adventure. Wind swooshed past my ears and above me lay a shining sun, partly hidden by thick clouds. I stared ahead at the forest, menacing and dark. A shudder ran down my back. I knew this isn’t a good idea. I really hoped I could trust my brother… I glanced over at my 16 year old brother as I trudged on to the edge of the woods about 100 feet away. A purple Styrofoam sled lay in my hand, slippery side up. I struggled with the seemingly large sled and lifted it with my 6 year-old might.

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Five years ago I made a horrible decision. I decided to go on a sledding trip with my brother unknowing of the consequences. Because of a prior accident from my father (he broke his arm), I was banned from sledding there in the woods behind my house. I didn’t know any of this…

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“That was awesome!” I shouted in excitement as I sprinted up the hill. I was delighted at the amount of speed we had picked up. I knew I could trust my brother! After we blasted down the steep incline, we met a small frozen stream in which we flew over without a second thought. I couldn’t wait to go again.

“I have an idea,” my brother whispered to me in an adventurous tone. “Lets pick up as much speed as we can… and aim for a tree! At the last second I’ll yell at you to jump, and we’ll dive before we make contact. It’ll be really fun!” “Okay?” I squeaked out nervously, knowing this was a bad idea. “What tree should we aim for?” He questioned me as he observed the landscape with squinting eyes. “Oh wait, how about that one!” He yelled as he found the perfect tree. I peered over his shoulder and stared at the one he was pointing to. It was a thick oak tree that looked very old and tough. Even I knew it wouldn’t feel so good to meet it at a fast pace. That wasn’t enough to stop me…

“Come on, hurry up! You’re taking all day!” My brother shouted at me from the front of the sled, his feet stuck in the ground from riding off without me. If only he would just lift them up… “What if I get hurt?” I whined to him. I know that I can usually trust me. After all, I can’t remember the last time he let me down… But there was a first time for everything. I started to feel nervous, and had no idea what to do. “You won’t, trust me.” My dad always told me not to trust people who say that. Supposedly, it never ends well. I cautiously walked over to the sled and sat down. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “let’s go.” We once again zoomed down the trail until the trees were whizzing by us faster that I’d ever gone before. In front of me, my brother blocked my vision. I had no idea how close we were to our terrible destination. “Okay!” My brother exclaimed, seemingly quietly because of the wind. “What?” I wondered. He leaped off and gave me my first full view of the space in front of me… a tree. Time seemed to slow as I watched my brother flew through the air, leaving me sitting at the back of the sled.“WHAM!” The next thing I know I’ve made contact with the objective… sort of. The pain envelopes me, covering me from head to toe. I had landed face first into the scratchy bark of an oak tree, and I wasn’t feeling too good.

“AHH!” I screamed out as loud as I could. My brother sat a few feet away, staring at me with wide eyes. “How could he just be sitting there?” I wondered, my anger rising even beyond my pain. A trickle of blood oozed down my face, mixing with my tears. “I never should have trusted you!” I screamed in his face, trying to make it sting. As soon as I stood onto my feet, I ran as fast as my six year old legs would go.

“Finally,” I half cried, half screamed out. After running up to my back yard, I slammed on the door with my hands balled into fists. My sister came to the door. “What happened?” She questioned, looking worried. I ignored her, knowing that she couldn’t help me. I asked, “where’s mom?” I couldn’t believe my brother had done such a thing, even if it wasn’t on purpose. I then whizzed under my older sisters arms and blasted up the stairs to my parents room. “She’s not here!” My sister called out to me. I glanced over to my brother who waited by the door. His face was full of tears and he was looking down at the ground. “He never meant that,” I thought as I looked at him. He looked nearly as sad as I did! Smiling, I walked over to him…

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That day has been imprinted in my mind ever since. Not only had my brother let me down, he also taught me a valuable lesson. Just because someone makes a mistake, you should give them another chance. Also, I learned that you should follow your instincts and always check with someone before doing something dangerous with your brother. After something like that, you become independent and learn a few things. Never trust your siblings.