The evening breeze drifted by, carrying a faint chill.
I walked slowly along the pebble path and found a bench to sit down on.
A rustling sound suddenly came from overhead.
I looked up—someone was perched in the tree right next to me.
It was the man in the dark gray suit. He was straddling a thick branch, stretching out to reach a string of decorative lights tangled in the leaves.
A boy around ten stood below him, craning his neck and saying excitedly, "Uncle Lawrence! A little further. You're almost there... Watch out. And if you fall? I can't catch you. I'm way too small—you'd flatten me like a pancake."
Before he even finished talking, there was a sharp c***k. The dead branch under his feet snapped clean through.
The man fell straight down from over six feet up, branches and all.
