"Are you crazy, Henry? I'm not going up there!"

Henry laughed at his cousin. "Why not? I always knew you were a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp!"

"Then prove it." Henry crossed his arms and waited at the edge of the old bridge.

Boris sighed. "We're going to get in trouble."

"No, I won't." Henry grinned. "I'm an orphan. Your father would never whip me."

Boris caught up to Henry and looked nervously across the dilapidated bridge. "Well, he will whip me. And that's not a fun way to end the day."

Henry smirked. "I knew you were afraid." He took a step onto the rotting boards that remained on the old platform.

Boris shook his head. "I'm not afraid, Henry. But I'm not stupid, either. You're going to kill yourself."

"Won't that be fun to explain to your father? That your cousin died because you wouldn't protect him."

"Why are you so mean?"

"I'm not mean. You just can't handle anyone telling the truth. You might be a lot bigger than me, but I will never be afraid of you like everyone else is."

Boris gasped as a board Henry tested broke. "Come on, Henry. This isn't funny. You're going to get hurt."

Henry scurried as fast as he dared to the middle of the bridge. "You'll have to come get me."

"I'm not going out there! You're a twig and your weight broke some boards. It'll never hold my weight, I'll fall through!"

"Who would have thought such a big buffoon could be such a baby?" Henry laughed.

Boris paced at the edge. "My dad is going to be so angry at us for even being here. Please, come back, Henry."

Henry danced around the remaining boards. "You'll have to come get me! Come get your little cousin!" he sang.

A board cracked as Henry jumped on it. Henry fell through with a scream. He managed to grab a partially intact board.

"Henry! I knew it! Henry!"

"I'm alright!" Henry yelled. "But I really do need you to come get me now, Boris. I can't pull myself up."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming."

Despite the fear of dangling over the river, Henry smiled. He could get anyone to do what he said.

Boris carefully made his way to where he had last seen his cousin. "Hang on, Henry. I'm coming."

"Hang on? What else am I going to do, stupid?"

Henry looked up as Boris reached him. "Took you long enough."

"I'm sorry." Boris reached down. "I'll get you up in no time."

Henry let the much bigger boy pull him up. He took a deep breath as Boris sat him down.

Boris carefully stepped back to make sure his weight wouldn't break the board Henry sat on. "Are you okay?"

Henry nodded as he laughed. "I told you I'd get you out here."

"You mean you fell on purpose?" Boris asked in disbelief.

"You fell for it like the moron you are." Henry stood up.

Boris' face turned red. "You lying little bastard."

Henry clenched his fists. "Don't you ever call me that! At least my mother loved me."

"I hate you!" Boris shouted as he began running towards Henry.

Henry jumped across the holes as fast as he could. He knew if Boris caught him, it would be hell to pay for what he had said.

A loud snap made Henry stop. He turned back to see a large hole where he had just been. Boris was nowhere to be seen.

"Boris?" Henry carefully looked down into the water below. "Boris? This isn't funny."

He searched the river as far as he could see. Slowly, expecting Boris to surface at any moment, Henry made his way off the bridge and down to the water's edge. He called for his cousin again. The sound of running water was all he heard.

Henry looked up at the bridge, realizing for the first time how high it was. He knew Boris didn't know how to swim. Even if he had stayed conscious when hitting the water, he wouldn't be able to get to land.

Cursing his bad luck, Henry pulled off his clothes and waded into the river. The water was soon too deep for him to touch the bottom. Hoping the water wasn't too dirty to see, he took a deep breath and went under.

It took several tries for him to locate Boris. And even longer to pull him to land.

"Breathe, Boris. Come on, you have to breathe. You have to do what I say. You can't die like my mother!"