Photo Reflection Essay

Emily Ham

English 1105

October 11, 2012

Sister Complex

The wood chips pelted me as my eyes began to sting. Blindly, I fled to avoid the showering of wood chips that continued to hit me. Tears obstructed my vision, but I ran as far and as fast as I could from my attackers. I suddenly hit a tree with full force and was thrown backwards. The burning sensation of the tree bark imprinted onto my face and the hot blood trickled down my forehead. As I struggled to get up I heard shouts draw closer. The shouts brought relief as my sister appeared and chucked wood chips and any other object she could find at my attackers. The two boys ran away as she grabbed my seven year old hand to pick me up, and carried me home on her warm back. I snuggled my face into her neck, closed my eyes and allowed my body to be flooded with comfort and pride that she was my sister. I wished for the loving and warm moments such as this one to last forever.

In the same playground where I was assaulted, there was a massive tree where my sister and I would pretend that it was our home.  Every day for nearly the entire day we would scamper off to the playground running as fast as our underdeveloped legs could carry us.  We would mash up a variety of berries we scavenged for and pretend cook with them. The playground was like my little haven that had everything I ever needed. The old and rusty tire swing was by far my favorite part of the playground. My legs were tucked securely underneath the tire as I waited patiently for takeoff. Once I had my fragile seven year old arms firmly grasping the rattling chains holding the tire, I would give a quick nod and wide smile towards my sister. Placing her stronger eleven year old arms beneath the tire, she would lift me and run around in a circle. With a strong thrust, she would let go and watch me laughing almost maniacally with my short hair dancing and my dress blowing through the wind. The feeling will never leave me, how the crisp air and winds tickled my face and the dry and musky scent of mulch filled the air. The chains which help the tire would creak loudly and groan harshly due to my weight as I enjoyed every little screech and squeal.   We would talk for hours on the bright neon orange colored swing set. The brightness of it never ceased to blind me and only intensified in the shines of sunlight.  I would always burn myself through the friction of rapidly sliding down the slides trying to beat my sister in a race. The playground was small and didn’t have much to offer, but to me it had my whole world.

Unfortunately, I never took a picture of the playground, but there was a small forest area right next to it.  My sister and I would go on journeys pretending that we were some travelers or explorers as we would wander inside the forest and rejoice when we got though. The photo shows what is beyond the forest, behind it and the playground. There would be a lake on the other side and during winters we would walk on top of it and pretend to ice-skate. I remember loving my sister more than anything in the world. I did everything with her and stuck to her like glue. I would always take a picture with her with the same expression every time. My teeth on full display clenched hard from happiness and my eyes tightly closed shut as my nose would scrunch up. I would always be grabbing her and never letting go. She always kept a clam countenance with her usual simple wink and some type of hand motion.  The photo reminds me of my past where everything was once so pure and innocent, including my sister.  We were like the perfect sisters and I saw her as my hero and role model. As we grew up we became more distant and less affectionate, but looking at this photo will always remind me of all the good times we’ve had.