Chereads / Dreamers - A Fantasy Story / Chapter 2 - Home Free

Chapter 2 - Home Free

She raced for her life upstairs, eyes darting around the bedroom. She seized her brown rucksack that was hanging from behind her door and pilfered everything essential in sight. Her books, drawings, secret stash of sweets (because she was only allowed to buy them once a month, therefore she waited for a time to use them), a set of toiletries, a lone sleeping bag from some boring educational camp, a pillow, her phone, which her parents reluctantly gave her for her tenth birthday, and a stack load of clothes. Her adrenaline was pumping so much that she almost wanted to smash out of the window and sprint. Common sense prevailed.

She took one last look at around her minuscule room, bleaching all the importance out of it as she did. Turning to the open door, she paused, glancing down at the pink webbed dream catcher that hung from the doorknob. It had small transparent crystals on the ends and a beautiful embroidered white flower in the middle. A memory struck, but the girl chose to ignore it, because it contained her parents. She let a finger glide over the webbed surface and she sighed. Realising that she couldn't leave such treasure behind, she placed that in her bag as well, letting it rest at the very top. Closing the bag with all her might, she dashed out the door and outside, not even bothering to take a look at her now appearing mum or fuming dad.

She followed the wayward winds. Their spontaneity was intriguing to her, and she believed that goodness would come if she followed their trail. All the houses looked the same, for they were all built by one person, and one person only. Individuality was nonexistent. People who were out now barely noticed her, but those who did didn't question anything. The sun was radiating golden light along with a quiet calmness. It reflected onto the little girl, for she stopped sprinting and began dawdling, taking in the luscious green fields and the tender petals of the blooming spring flowers. She had passed the urban now. She was one with the environment.

Isla had been walking for at least two hours, and the roads and buildings were no longer in sight. As the sun slowly drifted westward, she set up her things by a spiked pine tree amongst many others in the forest. Her lantern glowed dimly in the darkness, and realising she hadn't eaten, she took out a sweet or two and munched in delight. No one could stop her. The squirrels and blackbirds surrounding her setup chirped and chittered for attention. She sanitised her hands before gently patting a squirrel on the head and offering it an acorn that had fallen nearby. The creature's eyes widened with salvation and it chewed greedily next to her. A warmth filled her heart like nothing had done before. She let it rest in her mind. The creatures of the forest cuddled close, nestling against each other for safety. Isla almost began crying at the sight, but these emotions were held back. Emotional display would let her get killed. Not until she was around good people she would let the feelings flood back out to the public. She made a promise inside to keep them to herself. Dabbing a tissue at her eyes and lying down, she let time pass by, easing herself into sleep.

Isla woke up to the sound of sirens. Her head rang with all kinds of noises but the most prevalent were the sirens. Instinct made her jump up at once, holding a broken stick as a makeshift weapon. There were four policemen and a park ranger surveying the area with lit torches, faces flashed with scrutiny.

"I think we'll have to pack up the search." One of the policemen says, pulling his hat down over his head. The park ranger looks back in surprise. She knows that it shouldn't be dismissed.

"There she is!" The park ranger exclaims, pointing at the muddied girl. The whole crew scampers in her direction, Isla almost forcing herself to tumble down from the mere vibrations.

The policeman from before asks, "You're Isla Tiang, correct?"

"Correct, officer." She keeps her lips shut after that. She might let out something unnecessary and cause something she would never have wanted.

"And you've been on the road for how many days?"

She tilts her head to the side, "One day only, officer. Why?"

"I believe a foundation is looking for you. Liptossal Primary School. Does that sound familiar to you?" He studies her small face, watching her eyes look from left to right in a composed panic. "Answer honestly, dear. We won't hurt you!" Him and the other three officers behind lay down their guns. She watches with glee and almost greed, thinking that she can command these people with power and authority. Oh, how she would long for it! Her mind drifted off. "Ahem!" He cleared his hoarse throat, and she opened her mouth to begin. They begin to follow the markings of a gravelly cobblestone path. Police officers on the left, female ranger on the right, innocent girl in the middle.

"It does, officer, but before you speak again, I should tell you how I got here, because it's important, and you are authoritative forces who can easily take me home."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I abandoned my parents. They abused and tortured me till their own brains were fried. Their lives were centred around breaking me until I finally took the initiative to leave them. There." She breathed a sigh, but she couldn't tell if it was of relief or of tiredness.

"Very interesting, Isla." The park ranger jolts forward and pats her shoulder. Her long nails leave grip marks in the little girl's shirt, and that's when she realises that it's okay to look up and smile back.

"Excuse me, chief, but where's the closest school?"

The police chief was an older man in his early fifties but still in fairly good health, lagging only slightly behind the fitter, younger men who were in their mid-twenties. The chief had come to realising that he had some role, responsibilities or inner drive, pacing ahead towards the questioner.

"The closest school is Cromwell, a fair way down this path her--"

"I know that school!" Isla beams triumphantly, "My mum went there. Alison."

"Oh really, Tiang?" The chief responds, raising an eyebrow. He pulls his phone from his pocket, scanning over the specialised digital records. "I don't believe you."

"Why Tiang?"

"Last names come more naturally to me, Tiang." He looks over his shoulder to find the park ranger coming to a halt. "C'mon, Halley!" He yells. She wipes the sweat of her forehead before stumbling obediently forwards. "Back to the topic at hand, I don't believe you!"

"Well, I'm a bit crazy." she chuckles, "I wouldn't trust me either!"

"Honestly, Tiang, lying is a bad policy, the worst of the lot if you ask me. When you're a police chief, commander, officer, anything in the business, then you can't take liars. You have to spot them out for yourselves. Watch their body language! Look at their eyes! The eyes are the giveaway, Tiang!" He continues rambling for another fifteen tiring minutes, and she takes it in as much as possible, but it's evident that the group are withering away.

"Can we take a break?" The girl pants, not being built with the biggest amount of athleticism.

"I agree." The ranger speaks up, having been quietly burning her energy.

"I'm sorry, chief. I understand." Isla slumps to the ground, pulling out a broken muesli bar and taking a bite. "I had a mental blank before!" She exclaims all of a sudden, as if the grain bar had revitalised her, "It was my mum's mum, Rebecca! She boarded at Cromwell when she was younger!"

He logs back into the device, because he was careless enough to forget that he left the screen on during his lecture, which had turned and logged off to save its battery, "That's true. All signs point to yes! Or at least the records say so..." The ranger pulls him aside.

"I think you should stop pestering her. She's on a journey, hauling herself out of a rough time, or times for that matter. I can feel it!" She skips on the spot, eyes glinting at the chief. Before he can answer, the girl dashes almost maniacally ahead, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Cromwell! Cromwell! Guys! Look, I found it! It's Cromwell!"

The whole crew cheered and applauded. Anything to lift up her spirits… A thought seems to come to mind and she sighed, dawdling back.

"Oh, park ranger, officers, chief!" She saluted all of them. Although she was raised poorly, her instinctive manners were on point. "I'll hope to see you again…" She glared at their overarching, smiling faces. She leapt out to them in self concern, "Oh, chief, will they let me in? I'm an awful person. A rag doll that everyone just threw in the bin! Will they accept me for who I am?" She clung onto his leg like a five year old, quietly sobbing. Again, she didn't want to be noticed for that.

"In this instance, though, it won't get me killed…" She thought inside, hope and care and love, all the things she never received, filling up every empty crevice.

"Of course they will, little girl." The girl let go as the chief crouched down to her level.

"Y-You didn't call me Tiang!" She stammered, "Why?"

"When confronting someone who is covered in sadness, it's no longer in my nature to do so." He smiled kindly, looping a strand of Isla's hair behind her ear. He stood up and moved back in line with the rest, "You stay strong!"

As she turned back around, beamed from ear to ear and stared up at the old gate in awe, the adults slowly backed away without a sound, so as to leave her in peace. She didn't even bother to turn around, because she knew they were gone. Their presence around her was short lived, but that didn't mean they were forgotten. It was like she kept a set of files in her brain, as it rearranged what she called, 'The Cherished Ones���, placing her encounter with the troop at the front, and her father's brief smile tailing one behind.