New Life At Dawn

• Charlotte Marks, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

Her hair was matted and her eyes were bloodshot as she looked out at the mountains towering over her. It was 2:30am. Yuki had just been relieved from her night shift of cleaning and dusting the grand mansion.
As her eyes adjusted she made out a deer nearly camouflaged in the darkness.
It was a graceful animal, small but strong. Silently doing whatever it pleased, whenever it pleased. The deer turned and galloped out of sight.
Yuki stared in envy. How wonderful life would be not having to be a slave, cleaning eighteen hours a day. Free, released, in control, escaping all the troubles of life. For now she was stuck inside the daunting metal bars of the gate as hopeless as a moth trapped in the light.
“No one cares if I go missing. Master can just find another slave, easy enough.”
“Imagine being able to do whatever you please,” Yuki pondered.
Yuki held onto the thought as she fell asleep. She was going to escape, she was going to escape, she was going to... Her head fell to the pillow, she was unconscious.
At the crack of dawn, as the first rays were coming through the slits in the curtains, Yuki woke. Today was going to be a big day. The day she claimed freedom. The thought made her giddy. She had always fantasised about what could be outside the gates.
Yuki grabbed her rucksack and gathered her scarce belongings: the emerald necklace her mum had given her before she was sold, a hand written note from her father before he died and a small magnet. She didn't own many items but it was hard to keep track of them because they were so small. Yuki stood there for a minute, something was bothering her. At the back of her head a tiny voice was telling her she had forgotten something. She ignored the voice.
She scurried out of her room like a mouse being chased by a cat, trying not to wake the Master. The only people who were meant to be up at this time were the guards. But often they were around the back having a smoke or snoring at their posts.
Hesitantly she slid out the old wooden doors and closed them. Too loudly; she was now face to face with a guard. She stood stock still, too surprised to move. How could she be so clumsy - she had forgotten her gun! It only contained two bullets but it would be enough to distract the guard.
He took her arms roughly and scolded her as she was dragged inside. Yuki needed a distraction. She let out a yelp which was a mixture of excitement and happiness. It put the guard off for a second, time enough to struggle and release herself from his forceful grip.
Yuki ran. She ran as fast as her skinny legs could take her, past the gate and into the snow-capped mountains, never to return.