A Joke That Went Wrong

I liked to play practical jokes on others. I liked to look at their expressions being fooled by me. One day, my sister brought me for a stroll in the park. The Narcissuses were in full bloom and the filled our nose and the leaves rustled as a breeze blew by.

We ambled our way to the bridge and, a thought came to my mind. I told my sister that I wanted to take a photo of her standing on a bridge. I like I wanted to change her pose and ‘splash!’ she fell into the river. She hit her head against a rock and her arms were flailing wildly in the air. Suddenly, I remembered that we do not know how to swim. I quickly called mother to seek help as I could not find anyone there. Overwhelmed by the pain, she sank below the surface of water. This added on to my anxiety.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped at the sight of her sinking. Gasping for breath, I clasped my hand over my mouth. “What is it, darling?” my mother’s voice was from the phone was muffled by the howling wind. My lips parted but no words came out. Luckily, a jogger passed by and saved my sister. She was no longer conscious and her whole face was covered with blood. He pumped rhythmically on her chest. She began to cough violently and water started spluttering out from her mouth.

He immediately brought us to the hospital and I called mother. “What? Which hospital?” Mother’s voice faltered. Upon my mum’s arrival, the doctor and came out and said: “The patient is in stable condition. She needs rest and will be warded for further observation. If nothing goes wrong, she should be discharged in a couple of days.” I heaved a sigh of relieved and creases of worry vanished instantly.

When we went back, mother scolded me. “Are you tired of living? What you need is another beating!” Mother brandished the ugly-looking cane.

After this incident, I swore that I will never play pranks to other people.