Far From Home

• Marcail Bott, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2019

My arms were firmly tightened around my mother's, I looked around me, It was foggy. I couldn't see a thing but distant silhouettes of other children and their parents too, I could make out the face of one of the children, she was alone and looked lost. I feared that I would lose mum.
"Mum? Please never let go." I whimpered, I didn't have the strength to look at her, I felt weak.
She didn't answer or I didn't hear her, the sounds around the crowded space hurt my ears, I had already tried blocking them out, it didn't work.
How I wished I was back home, no big sounds that hurt my ears, especially the big ones that sound like a breaking wave, but louder. My eyes started to sting, I blinked a couple of times then closed them. My head was whirling and my mother was shivering. I remembered the strange men that spoke differently coming in, they had big spears and they shouted all the time.
A rough hand was placed on my shoulder, I slowly turned around and opened my eyes, I wished it was my father, he went missing.
"Let go!" I shouted, realizing it was not my father. His hand pulled me away from my mother and my hand slipped from her grasp. He shouted at me, I couldn't understand him.
"Who are you?!" I hissed at him, all he did was blink at me, confused but angry. I heard my mother in the background, and then I heard the crashing wave sounds, I was tired but I knew I had to stay awake.
The man looked weird, he was so pale that he looked like he was sick, my skin to his was like comparing dirt to sand. I looked back, I couldn't see anything because of the fog. I looked at the man, he looked grumpy, I was annoyed at him. I pushed his arm away and ran.
I ran in the direction we came from, not stopping. I didn't know we came a far way, It seemed like forever until I found where I was before.
"Mum?"
I collapsed, I haven't stayed awake for this long. My arms reached out as far as they could go, my eyes were watering.
"Mum!?" I clenched my fists and pounded the ground, I dug my fingernails into the dirt, I heard footsteps coming towards me.
I curled up and let the man pick me up again.
"Mum..."