A Not So Ordinary Day

• Chloe Seberry, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

A young Japanese girl named Darcy was walking along the pavement of Kyoto, Japan, on a winters day, taking in everything around her. The scent of cherry blossoms filled the air and snow fell from the sky. Suddenly, she heard a shrill scream. Darcy glanced around, searching for the source of the noise. Again, she heard a scream, and again she searched for the noise, when…

“Bingo,” she muttered. A popular café on her right, tucked away next to a sushi shop. She ran in, but then screeched to a halt. A big, tall man was standing authoritively in the middle of the café, holding a thin, sharp sword. His thick, pale fingers tightly gripped the handle of the sword, and his cold, grey eyes scanned the room.
“Hand over the money,” He growled in a gruff voice. In that moment, Darcy acted without thinking. She found herself charging at him, her hands in the air, ready to teach him a lesson.
“Ahh!” he exclaimed, as she punched him in the back. He turned, sword raised.

He swung the sword left. Darcy ducked. He swung the sword right. She dodged. Obviously, he wasn’t well accustomed to using a sword. He stepped forward menacingly. Darcy had no choice but to move backwards.
“Crash!” Boxes went flying and Darcy landed on her back, surrounded by a wall of boxes. Someone had put a pile of boxes at the door. Darcy looked up. The man stood over her, as she shivered with fear. As soon as he held up his sword, she kicked out at him. Then, she did what any normal person would do. She ran.

She ran out of the café and up the street, then glanced behind her. All clear. She ran some more, then turned her head again. Not all clear. The thief came charging out of the café, sword in hand. He caught sight of Darcy, then started sprinting up the street. Darcy ran again, further up the street, until she came to an alleyway. She ran in, hoping to lose the man.

Even though it was midday, it was almost pitch black in the alleyway. Darcy swallowed nervously, as she continued, her footsteps the only noise. As soon as she breathed in, she regreted it. The smell of rat poo and rubbish filled her nostrils, making her gag with disgust. She sat down to come to her senses, and it dawned on her that she had her phone in her pocket. She quickly called triple zero, and had just finished saying her location, when the thief came around the corner of the alleyway.

“Where are you?” a cold voice sang. Darcy ducked behind a bin.
“Come out!” the thief exclaimed, anger flashing in his eyes. Relief washed over Darcy, as she heard the siren of a police car. She was safe.