RUNAWAY

CHAPTER ONE

 

No birds in the trees again. As sad as I am, I must not give up hope that, one day, my owners, Alice and Simon, will come back for me. When they were moving to Toronto, they left me behind in their backyard with no food and very little water. Our neighbour was left to mind me, but she is too old to do anything but feed me three meals a day. It isn’t even my usual food, it’s the cheap, sloppy stuff you get for 25c at Walmart. I don’t know what’s in it, but I’m not sure I want to know. It’s absolutely stifling hot out here. Alice tied me to the fence so I wouldn’t run away, just before she left. I’m sick of staring at the same, small, dead garden that has nothing in it but an old maple tree that gives practically no shade. I try whimpering, but Mrs.Gardiner is as deaf as can be. Anyways, she wouldn’t do anything like let me out for a walk, she’d just give me another tin of slop.

That’s it. I’m sick of the food, sick of the same garden, sick of doing nothing, sick of everything. I break free of my leash and go under the fence, because I’m a Pomeranian and jumping over a six-foot fence isn’t exactly easy for me. I walk around the green, trying to decide where to go. It’s a very posh estate and as I leave, delicious smells of roasted chicken waft out of the luxurious kitchens only a dog like me can dream of, stuffed with glorious food like quail, steak, pork chops, sausages, pastries, tarts, buns, cakes, ham, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, milk and – Sweet Lord! As I stroll past the houses, I peek through a front door left open, I spot a huge fry going on. It’s all laid out, bacon, sausages, black pudding, the whole lot, just sitting there, waiting. There is no one around so I slowly creep in, all golden fluff and bushy tail. I go straight to the kitchen. Its funny to think that only a few days ago, I was sitting curled up sitting amongst boxes, in a house identical to this, where the only difference was that I hadn’t a care in the world. I reach the kitchen door, which is thankfully open. As I tippy-toe-quiet go in, I am met with a wonderous aroma of sizzling bacon and sausage. I quickly leap up on the chairs that surround the island. I chomp down a piece of bacon. Delicious. I snaffle some more, plus scrambled eggs and a waffle with sweet syrup on top. I hear someone coming down the stairs. Biscuits. I’m in trouble now. I grab a stack of blueberry pancakes, sausages and a few rashers, all wedged into my mouth. I spring from the island onto the draining board and out the window just as an outraged little three-year girl stumbles in in her leopard onesie. She sees my mess of empty plates and mucky paw prints and runs out to her mother, bawling her eyes out because all her scrumptious blueberry pancakes are gone. I quickly run away from the estate before anyone sees or catches me.

                                                                          CHAPTER TWO

 

I run and run until I reach a highway. Biscuits. I take a deep breath and begin running,  I fly through the traffic, dodging cars and trucks as I go. Quite soon I reach two wrought iron gates left wide open. It is pure green grass with about a hundred tracks, trails, paths, walks and hikes, along with ice-cream vans, playgrounds with laughing and smiling children, a fishing kiosk, a dog park, hot-dog stand, bike hire, a huge lake with ducks and swans and a cart selling bread to feed them with. I spot joggers, dog walkers, but no food. Maybe the children’s playground? I try to get in but the gate is shut. When I finally get in, it has nothing in it but screaming and shouting children. No food here. I realize I haven’t eaten since ten this morning, five and a half hours ago. I am used to three big meals a day so I’m starving. As I look around, a little girl comes up behind me and picks me up, but gently. She brings me towards a red and white checked picnic blanket and sets me down near a huge picnic hamper, facing a father, mother, brother, the little girl and a…cat?! He stares at me from a saucer of milk and a plate of salmon. I eye it enviously. The little girl sees me jealously staring and plonks down a huge plate of chicken legs, steak and a bowl of water, which I fall onto ravenously. After I finish my meal, I contemplate running away again when I smell Fluffy’s fishy lunch. I look around to see if anyone notices me, but instead everyone is talking about how ‘absolutely adorable’ I am. Fluffy is preening himself, so I sneak forward and snatch the salmon fillet from his pointless China plate and sprint away. I eat it quickly by the lake while my cracked paws sink into the soil. Afterwards I walk into the calm, cooling lake. Ahhh. I paddle out a bit further until I can swim freely. Lovely. However, I can’t spend my life in the park waiting for Alice and Simon, I have to go home and find them. I get out after a bit, and begin walking, towards home.

             CHAPTER THREE

 

When I finally leave the park, it’s dusk and I am exhausted from swimming, stealing and sprinting. As I trail home, my tail is drooping and so is my hope. Eventually, after taking several wrong turns, I finally make it home. But as I walk into the pitch-black estate, I find I am too tired to walk any further, so I decide to crash next to a little shop, shaded underneath a large Maple tree. When I wake up, it’s bright outside, so I get up and shake. I begin walking towards number 18, but when I reach the bright blue door, there is no one there. No one has come back for me. I am not loved. I can’t live on the streets and I won’t live with Mrs. Gardiner. My owners don’t love me and no one else wants me. There is no reason for me to be here. I run onto green, curl up under a tree and as my heartrate slowly but surely goes down, I take one final rasping breath knowing I have died the worst possible way, with a broken heart and no one to love or miss me.

 

By Ella Walsh