Daily Flash 3 : Woodland play

Word count : 274

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"It's my turn, Simon!" Charlie's face was screwed up in emphasis of his protest. "You got to go last time."

His older brother wasn't moved. "One more time, then you can have a go, I promise."

The other boys grabbed hold of the rope and began pulling back Simon's seat on the improvised log swing. He rose into the air, reaching a daunting ten feet into the air before they let go and he rocketed backwards. Looped over the high branch of an old oak, it pendulumed him back and forth in a daring arc loved by boys everywhere.

"Wooooooooooooooo!"

"Stop being so mean" Despite having lost the argument, Charlie continued to moan. "That was your promise last time."

Swinging high through the trees Simon couldn't even hear, let alone care, about his young brother's whines. It was the perfect summer's day. Golden sunshine glinted through a canopy of green leaves. Woodpeckers and pigeons enjoyed the warmth, and an industrious squirrel was busy about it's winter preparations.

"This... is..... amaaaaaaaaaazing! It's like I'm flying" Simon's glee echoed through the woods. His friends cheering along, equally ignoring the pleas of the annoying youngster Simon insisted join them.

Such were their shouts, the ominous first cracking sound wasn't heard. Simon swung down low, his mighty bellow following his movements as he braced for the next upward swing. The second sound of splintering wood crashed through the forest , stunning them into silence. To all the boys it appeared as if time slowed to a crawl as the branch, rope, swing and Simon continued flying forwards where ordinarily he would have swung back.

For a precious few seconds, he truly was flying.