I didn't want to reflect this moment of my life...
Just not yet. I'm not ready.
"I..."
"It's okay Owen, let it out." Miss Carmin encourages me.
Ari and Maka sit nearby on the closer seats.
"When I was younger... I used to live in an orphanage..."
Eight years ago, I ran away from an orphanage.
I was there ever since I could remember.
The conditions there were terrible.
There was barely any food since the owner was so focused on paying the rent.
There was abuse and human trafficking.
All the staff there neglected all the other kids.
More and more kids kept on dying each month, even as more kids came in.
If some were successful to survive the first few months there, they where either sold off or adopted (if anyone even came by).
I convinced two of my friends to run away with me.
We saved up food from meals and stole from the kitchen whenever we can.
Occasionally, taking a dollar or two.
We took what we can and made make shift rug sacks with our tattered blankets.
On the 5th of September, we ran away.
We were all 10 at the time.
The weather was fair.
We went out of the window of the building and climbed down a tree.
Once we got off the tree, my two other friends spotted a watcher.
(A watcher is a person who stops and prevents kids from running away.)
"Owen, can you distract him for us? Buy us some time. In return we'll throw a rock to distract him, then we'll run away." One of my friends said.
"... Okay." I reluctantly agreed.
I got near and rustled some bushes.
"Who's there?" The watcher asked.
I kept on rustling the bushes.
"If you brats are messing with me, this isn't funny!" The watcher yells.
The watcher walks towards where I'm at.
I run and duck behind the bushes near the tree we came down.
The watcher looks around the corner of the building.
"That's weird..." He murmurs to himself.
I go back to where my two friends were waiting behind a tree.
But when I came back..
They were gone.