Leaving Day

• Melia Sheppard, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

“RUN!” I screamed to my sister while tears rolled down my cheeks. Gunshots came from our living room, but our parents were nowhere to be seen. We had finally escaped, for now…

My sister, Mary Davis is 21 years old, while I'm only 19, but this is better than being in the most traumatic lifestyle. Night 28 of living on the streets by ourselves. The hail hit our tent, and the clouds turned grey, but I kept telling my sister and I that everything will be alright, although I knew in my head that it wouldn't be. My sister and I both had strength mentally and physically but, this was a punch in the chest.

Mary and I are running out of necessities, money and places to stay. I held Mary’s hand while looking outside of the rundown tent. I had that eerie feeling that someone was watching us… Mary used the 3 pegs that we had and clipped up the tent for more privacy. I whispered to Mary that we might have to steal to get everything we need. I knew it was a risk, but we have to do what it takes to survive…

Walking in was probably one of the worst decisions we have ever made. Our parents had security but we had to do this for our health. Mary and I were getting sick of this lifestyle, but we knew if we went back to our parents they would give us a lecture. So we had to steal. They were rich snobs, and wanted nothing to do with us. As we got through the guards, we tiptoed down the long hallway. The walls were filled with pictures of jewellery and cars but none of us. Anger filled me as Mary grabbed a frame and smashed it against the ground. Glass shattered across the floor. Tears rolled down my face, as I shoved money under my skirt.

Mary disappeared to find mum's jewellery, but when I started to worry I heard footsteps coming from around the corner. Was it Mary or someone else? I felt faint, and my eyes blackened while the clock ticked back and forth. My heart raced when I saw who was around the corner. My parents were holding Mary by the arms with a smirk on their faces. I tried to run but it was no use, they had already seized me. The guards helped our parents throw us into a pit of darkness, we already knew our convict life would begin soon. Today was our leaving day, well that's what we thought…