Away and Away!

      They shrieked my name; I paid no heed. I continued to sprint, not daring to glance back. If I did turn, they would catch me. I fought my way from the bustling street to a quiet, dark alley until their shouts were no longer heard. Crouched in a lone corner, tears streamed relentlessly out of my eyes and I cupped my desperate face in my hands.

      ‘They’ referred to my grandmother and aunt. They had been taking care of me ever since my mother had left for her business trip. That was two months back. She was supposed to come in two weeks, but God knows what happened of her. Ever since she left, only a single call arrived, stating that she had safely reached some weird sounding place. After that, no word of her had reached me. Terrified, I would shut myself up in my room, waiting for the phone to ring, or the letters to arrive.

      Dejectedly, no news of her came, and I believed to have lost my mother forever. My aunt and grandmother were fine enough, though I was extremely hot- tempered with them, which often touched their nerves and a huge war would habitually follow. I was displeased with how my life was turning out, and that was when running away came as a solution. It was the only way of escaping a house which used to be mine, a house where I was not welcome.  Why did they care, anyway, when I ran away?

      I had made a stupid escape- I had wanted to escape at night, forgetting that my aunt would be up at night. She obviously saw me and alerted my grandmother, who can have a terrible temper when woken up at night. They screamed out my name as I ran away in front of their very eyes, and since they were too obese to even walk a few feet without panting, they did not even bother to chase me. Luckily so.

      I had reached a situation where I could neither go back, nor proceed. If I go back, they would make the house a living hell, and if I proceed- a simple problem – I had nowhere to go to! No relatives, my aunt had been the last, and certainly no friends!

      After a few minutes of calm reasoning, I decided that I would just have to walk on to maybe a town nearby, and just breathe on. Fortunately, I had grabbed a respectable amount of money while running away, so I could rent a small house, perhaps, and I could earn a few bucks by teaching art, or something. I would have to think about that later.

      Content with my present plan, I got up heavily from my squatting place, and, clutching the satchel I had brought with me, left from the eerie alley. Luckily for me, there was not a single soul in search of me. I supposed they would conduct the search in the morning. At least, I hoped.

      I could easily slip away from the street where my house was in, and, before I knew it, I had reached the outskirts of my town. The area was only vaguely familiar, as I never went there much. It had an earthy, rustic feel to it, and was pleasantly refreshing from the suburbs that I had spent all fifteen years of my life in.
   
    Exhausted from the walk, I searched for a place to put my feet up. I looked for a soothing, yet safe and hidden place. Eventually, after scouring the entire place in every nook and cranny, I stumbled across a small, well- hidden clearing at the border of a wood. A small creek gurgled merrily by, separating the haunting woods from the serene clearing in which I had found peace. It had space enough for living, and I decided to sleep there for the time being. The soft bed of grass would provide a comfortable sleeping position for me, I reckoned.

    Soon, after a bit of arranging, I became contented with my new ‘home’, and slept with ease.
                                                    *
      The night slipped by, and before I knew it, a torrent of sunlight was squeezing its way to my pupils. Unwilling, I got up, and to my shock, found that I was face to face with another face! I bolted upright and scrutinized the owner of the face.

Continued soon....