Kate Valentine

• Erin Gonzalez, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2014

It’s cold and raining, my clothes are ripped and dirty. I can smell the rain as it falls; I can feel it dripping off my arms my nose and my cheek. I can see the tiny water bombs explode on the concrete ground. I try to ignore it all and sleep but all I can see in my mind is my mum, being taken by the authorities. They said she was dangerous, a terrible mother, untrustworthy. I never believed them.
Sometimes I still hear her screaming my name, "Kate...Kate I'll be back to get you Kate." Ever since she left, my world has collapsed my dad walked out on us. We lost the house and I can’t get a job, so I can’t rent a house of my own. I had nowhere else to go so I'm living on the streets.
I never thought it would come to this, I've been sleeping next to a dumpster with only an old beach towel, I found, covering me. I'm hungry and I'm thin, too thin, you can see my bones through my skin, and I'm sick, I'm afraid I might die but I'm only 15 I'm scared. I don't want to go like this. I'm thinking of ending it all, I've had enough and I'm so afraid.
I found few meters of rope in the dumpster and a long rusty pipe coming out from the brick wall of the ally. I made a lasso at each end of the rope, and I put one end on the pipe, I pull on the rope to make it tight, and there’s just enough left.
I slip the other end of the rope over my head, and I feel the roughness of it. I close my eyes and all I can hear is the rain falling. Then all is quiet. I open my eyes, the rain has stopped and a double rainbow appears.
I close my eyes once more and I jump. Then all is black. Then the blackness turns to a dim light. The rope is no longer on my neck and I'm on the ground. I look around a little more, I see red and blue flashing lights, and it’s the ambulance.
I then see a girl, she is talking to the ambulance people, she comes over saying,'' Is she awake is she awake?" she starts asking me questions, "Do you know your name?” ”Yes...yes its Kate Valentine.” I reply, "My name's Sarah Jones I'll be taking care of you from now on." "You can come live with me you’ll be safe there." I smiled.
Though I was happy I was still confused I wondered who this Sarah Jones girl is. Why was she helping me? And if mum had sent her.