cause-lame-sneaker-ss08-4The boy pushed harder, and the girl swung even higher.  The swingset in the park was old but sturdy.  The steel chains from which the leather seat was suspended squeaked and creaked as the the girl reached the highest point of her trajectory and descended back towards her brother.  Her feet were tucked under her, and she leaned forward, attempting instinctively to add more kinetic energy to the pendulum-like system.
 

The boy stood back and to the side a bit, his hands held in front of him, poised and awaiting the ideal moment to give his sister another push to send her even higher.  Their parents had told them to not go too high on the swing, but their parents put unreasonable restrictions on their activities.  The siblings had not discussed it, but they both knew that as long as neither one of them went flying off the swing, then they were exercising proper caution.
 

The girl reached the highest point of her back-swing, and as she started swinging forward again, she kicked her feet out and leaned back.  She didn’t need any assistance, but her younger brother wanted to be part of the action, so as she passed him on her forward trajectory, his hands found her shoulders, and he gave her a push.  She laughed and screamed as she soared forward and high into the air.
 

The basketball court not far from the swingset was occupied by a small group of older boys playing a pickup game of hoops.  One of them was the older brother of the boy and girl.  They had come to the park together, and he had been told to look after his brother and sister.
 

The older brother had the ball and took a shot, but it bounced off the rim.  He groaned as a boy on the other team recovered it and started dribbling in the other direction.  The older brother turned and started to run towards his own net to defend, when he happened to look in the direction of the swing his younger siblings were playing on.  They were not there.  The empty swing was slowly swinging back and forth.  The boy quickly scanned the immediate area, but he could not see them.