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My sons, aged 3 and 5, were playing, while I was busy cleaning the car in the garage. I saw them chasing each other and laughing their hearts out. As a mother, while I felt happy seeing them together cheerfully playing, I also felt anxious that they might get hurt.
Boys will be boys. They love physical activities, action, adventure, excitement! They don’t sit still to work on colouring books unless they agree to mess it up, peel off the crayons’ labels, or cut it into pieces. They would prefer drawing and colouring on walls or floors, but on paper?...I don’t think so.
When I was about to finish washing the car, I heard my elder son, who calls himself Brad, from the kitchen shouting to his younger brother, Ryu (pronounced Ra-Yu), “Don’t worry, Ryu, I will save you!”. I smiled and thought, “That’s nice. He knows he is the big brother and that he has to take care of his little brother.” That joyful thought was shortly and suddenly replaced with trepidation, leaving my mouth and eyes wide open, as I saw my elder son holding a kitchen knife, standing on a stool, and trying to climb the fire escape ladder!
“Oh my God! What are you trying to do?”, I exclaimed, as I hurriedly
approached Brad. I immediately held his arm with the knife and tried to get it from him, but he refused to give it.
“I need to save my brother!”, he retorted.
“Why? What happened to your brother?”, I asked while still holding his arm with fist tightly grasping the knife.
“He’s trapped in the terrace! The doors got locked! The only way to rescue him is through this fire escape!”, Brad continued looking more worried.
“Oh dear, don’t worry. Give me the knife and I can get Ryu out of the balcony. Mommy has the keys to the door to the terrace. C’mon, hand me the knife please.”, I said.
Brad finally gave me the knife and looked up, “Ryu! Mommy will save you!”
“Okay…”, Ryu said calmly, oblivious of what was happening below him.
I ran to the kitchen, took the keys with shaking hands, and hurriedly climbed the wooden stairs. As I got into the bedroom, I was abashed to
see Ryu through the window’s curtains happily running back and forth
on the terrace’s ledge! He was running on an eight-inch width ledge at the second floor of the house! My heart was filled with fears, confusion on what to do next, as it palpitated like a drum in my chest.
I thought, if I run quickly towards him, he might get distracted, lose his balance and fall! But if I do it slowly and cautiously, he might fall before I even come near him!
But before I knew it, I was already at the terrace and was able to immediately grab my son’s sweaty arm and wrap my other arm around his body. How I got there, I have no idea. All I was able to do was let out a long sigh and whisper, "Oh, thank God."
That happened in about less than 5 minutes, but my heart beat probably as much as it does in one whole day! It was like a heavy cardio exercise that left me breathless, with legs shaking and wobbly, and my body cold and sweaty.
I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV using the remote control. It was on HBO, showing Dennis the Menace, with Walter Mattau looking like a volcano about to erupt while Dennis runs back to his home, laughing. I looked out and saw my 2 sons in the kitchen grabbing a tetra pack of Milo each. I turned off the TV and closed my eyes. I knew that I'd probably have a a few minutes to rest before Milo kicks in and the next adventure begins, so I'd better have enough energy and get ready for it.
Adventure, anyone?
Images from bakersdozenandapolloxiv.com, thesun.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk
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