banana-days:

One day I decided to have some fun with my younger siblings. We used to go out and play in the neighborhood together. We lived on the corner of Linscott and another street whose name escapes me. On the opposing corner, there was a really steep hill. I took my two siblings, put them in a wagon, and decided I would tie a rope obtained from the clothes line around them as a “safety belt.”  I obviously did not yet know the meaning of that term. My sister was around seven, my brother, about three. I took the wagon, siblings in tow, and tied it to the metal bar underneath the seat of my bike. I started pedaling my heart out, and my siblings were just having a great time, all as I was cycling to the top of the hill. When we reached the peak, I turned them around.

“You ready guys?”

They responded with their tiny voices, “Yaay!!”

Imagine the tiny kids—Sara and Ibrahim, excited and ready to roll.  We start going down the hill. But, this hill turns a steep corner. As I turn, the rope attaching the wagon to the bike breaks! Now, there is this free-falling wagon, not following the street because the street turns and the wagon goes straight. My siblings do not realize the gravity of the situation. They are still cheering.

But, I see something they don’t see. Their trajectory is hurtling them towards a rather substantial tree. “Oh no!” I threw my bike down and raced the rogue wagon. I would have yelled at them to jump out, but they had been tied together in my efforts to be safe.

I was luckily able to catch the wagon, and they didn’t crash into the tree. As I roll them down to the bottom of the hill, they’re really happy enjoying the ride, not knowing what almost happened. I untied them, sat them down, and explained, “Look, when we get home, nobody says anything about what we did with the wagon today.” I was looking specifically at my brother, and he just responded with a chipper, “Yes, yes!”

We get home, and walk into the house, and my mother says, “Where have you been?” Ibrahim immediately squealed the story.

That was a two-banana day.