Thursday—
I'm going to do it. I wrote that yesterday and never stopped thinking it. I'm going to jump out of that tree if it is the last thing I do. Well, I can't do that anymore because Finny fell out the tree. I approached him after dinner when he wasn't with Gene and told him I wanted to. He left to get Gene, and I went to the tree. I was sure if I did this then Gene and I could be better friends. Is that so much to ask for, Fate? Is it?
They showed up late. The look on Gene's face slightly indicated that they had had an argument and Gene seemed ready to drown Phineas or perform some other type of brutal bodily harm to him. Finny didn't show this in his expression at all; he was just happy, like always. I started to lose hope in myself. I didn't want to jump from the tree anymore. I didn't want to be there anymore. I could feel something bad was going to happen.
I watched Gene climb the tree and shaded my eyes as he reached the top. The sunlight glowed around the two of them, creating a fascinating silhouetted scene. Phineas encouraged Gene to come farther out on the limb. It didn't look like it would hold their combined weight. Gene seemed to know this. I saw his shape bend a bit, probably testing the branch, and a wave of movement went through the limb. It all happened so fast.
My eyes went to the ground when I heard a thud. Phineas had hit the ground. I stared at him, every feeling of dislike I'd ever had was gone. He was suddenly just another human being, injured on the ground. The sound of Gene hitting the water came as a surprise to me for some reason. I suddenly had a feeling that that could have been me.
—Elwin
