Stepping Stones

• Isla Brown, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2022

“Our utopian world brings comfort, safety and-“ Those dreaded words. Once again my legs started running as the TV continued. I ran like my life depended on it, because it did. Past the houses where everyone was eating the exact same dinner, doing the exact same routine, every… single… night…

As I ran I could hear the yelling of the government workers behind me, this was my last chance. The sound of their panting and footsteps slowly faded as I lost them. I knew I could not make a mistake this time as I knew the government was onto me. My legs came to a stop. I was at the border, the giant brick wall at the end of town. I stared down the stepping stones that were covered by bright green moss. The same stepping stones I had looked at every day since boxing day last year.

26th December 2021. Once again the morning was warm and I woke up staring at the security camera that watches me sleep every night. I waited for the front door to open at 9am sharp. Then 9 am hit. The door didn’t open, was there an error in the system? Couldn’t be. Everyone else’s door opened. Something was off. Out of nowhere a deafening siren began ringing. I watched in horror as men in suits dragged my mother away, while my father just continued sipping his morning tea.

“Dad are you going to do something?”

“Sweetie your mother did a very bad thing, she was disrupting the peace of this town. She was out of line and I suggest you don’t follow her footsteps or I will have to call the cops on you too.”

He did this? I couldn’t bare to look at him, I sprinted away, I didn’t know where, but I just kept running. The cruel wind blowing in my face. Until I found it, the end of town. An escape from this place. There were real trees, real flowers, it was my first time seeing real nature. It was beautiful. The colours were vibrant, it was extraordinary. Trying to observe more of this new landscape, I stepped on some sort of pressure plate. And there I was, back home listening to the sound of the tv playing, I had to go back.

Here I am. A year later, looking at the exact same trees, only this time I knew I’d have visitors waiting at home. Taking a deep breath, I began hopping through the bushes, I remembered every footstep I needed to take. Yelling voices rushed behind me, I had to get this right, I took a leap of faith towards the wall. Then everything went black.

“Our utopian world brings comfort, safety and peace.”