Run Away Land

• Olivia Buckland, Grade 4, St Francis Xavier College -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

Through the stormy mist, over the forest floor, came a scream very faint indeed, which echoed abruptly in the distance. It was now over, she had sacrificed everything. It had effected her in every way possible. A tall black figure with a long shadow was closing in on her.

‘Help’, she squealed in terrible despair, as she sat up face to face with her anxious looking parents.
‘It was just a dream’, she scarcely whispered. Then it all came flooding back to her, the thing she’s dreads nearly every year. Moving schools. New friends, new teachers, new school equals a whole lot of trouble.

You see she’s Delaney, she’s been moving schools ever since she started and every time it ends in more trouble then the last. When the ginormous, ear deafening , school bell rang, Delaney walked in head down, mouth zipped.
She could here people whispering, too upsetting words to repeat. She ran and ran, she couldn’t deal with it, until suddenly she stopped dead in front of a old, dark well. There were words? Words that were printed on the wall in ink, it was a poem, wondering what it all meant Delaney read it aloud,’ If you are witnessing or experiencing trouble, this is the place to go, you can read or simply think’. Delaney jumped in the basket with no hesitation and lowed herself to a squatting position.

Then tugging on the rope, surprisingly the basket gave a quick jolt before slowly descending through the dark and smelly well. When she opened her eyes, she squinted in surprise, this was perfect, this was the one place she really needed. From then on, she came down almost very day. At last, she knew it was time to go, someone else needed this place more then her. Tomorrow she would be strong, she would walk into school, head high and face her fears.