Word: wuther

wuther

\ WUHTH-er \  , verb;

1. (of wind) to blow fiercely.

 

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     The wind blew furiously across the wide open field, giving an unseasonable chill to the late Spring air.

     "Do we have to do this today?  I'm cold."  The young boy said, loud enough to be heard above the roar of the wind.

     "Yeah, we do.  It's a perfect day for what we're doing."  Said the boy's older brother.

     "But I'm cold."  The younger boy complained.

     "Oh suck it up.  You're the one who wanted to do this.  'Sides, it's not that cold out."

     "Yes it is."  The younger boy said quietly.

     The comment went unheard by the teen, who had gone to his old, beat up car and was pulling a large bundle out from the trunk.  He struggled against the wind as he rejoined his little brother.  He set it down and unfolded the large square sheet of cloth which contained a bunch of plastic rods and two bundles of twine.

     "'Sides, we need lots of wind for this to work."  He said as he started fitting the rods into the corners and sides of the cloth.

     "I know, but do we need this much?"

     "Yeah, we do.  Look, you know how a small kite only needs a little wind?"  The boy nodded his agreement, "Well, a big kite must need a lot of wind.  Also, we need even more than normal since it'll be carrying you with it."

     "Ok, I guess."  The boy watched his bother set up the over sized kite.

     He took one of the bundles of twine and pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket and got to work finishing the kite.  He did this by tying four long strands of twine to the corners, and then to each other in the center.  The rest of the bundle was then attached to that to make the kite string.

     "Ok, come on over and I'll tie you to the kite."  The older brother said once he was finished. 

     "Are you sure this is a good idea?"  The boy asked as he looked at the finished kite.

     "I thought you wanted to do this."

      "I do."  The boy said defensively, "It's just that I don't think this is gonna work."

     "It'll work.  I saw it on TV once."

     "Really?  On TV?"

     To his young mind, that was more than enough to convince him.  He went up to the kite and spread his arms and legs out.  The teen used the other bundle of twine to tie his bother's small arms and legs securely to the plastic rods.  They had already tested them to see if they could carry they boys weight, and found that they could without much trouble, so neither of them was worried about that.

     "Ok, you ready?"  The teenage asked after making sure his brother wouldn't fall.

     "Yeah." The boy said.  

     The teen took the end of the twine rope and tied it around his wrist.  Then, he started running into the wind.  He ran as quickly as he could until the twine rope was pulled tight.  At that moment, the boy jumped as high as his tied up legs would allow him, which wasn't very much at all.

    The teen was too busy running to notice what was happening with his brother.  He looked over his shoulder into the air, and then to the ground when he didn't see the kite in the air.  Instead of flying, like he had thought it would, the kite was being dragged face down along the grass.  He immediately turned and ran to flip the kite over and check on his younger brother.  The boy lay there, unmoving, with his eyes closed.  The teen recoiled in horror at the sight of his still brother.

    "Oh god, oh god, oh god, I killed my brother.  Oh god, what should I do?"  He said to no one in particular, pure panic coloring his voice, "I just, I just..."  He looked at his brother and paused.  A small grin was forming on they boy's face.  The older brother's face contorted in a myriad of emotions ranging from joy to anger to amusement.

    "You little brat!"  He shouted.  He punched his brother lightly in the stomach.  The boy responded to the playful blow by bursting out in laughter.

    "I got you!  I totally got you!"  He said through his laughter.

    "Yeah, yeah, you got me all right.  Just don't it again, alright?"

    "Alright."  The boy said with mock disappointment.  "Um, can you untie me now?"

    "Sure thing.  Just hold on a second."  The teen got to work getting the twine off right away, and the boy was soon able to stand without the kite getting in the way.

    "What do you think went wrong?  He asked once he was upright.

    "No idea.  Maybe it's not windy enough, or maybe I just wasn't moving fast enough.  It could be a lot of things, really."

    "Oh.  So, are we gonna try again?"

    "Well, yeah.  Not today though.  If we stay out much longer, mom'll kill us."  The teen said.  The boy nodded in agreement.

    Together, they took the kite apart and stuffed it back into the car before getting in themselves.  As they drove off, the wind seemed to blow with its own kind of laughter.