all alone
BY MEGAN MALONE
I
got away. I ran out of that house as quick
as my feet could take me. That’s what
Mommy would tell me to do. She doesn’t
like when I talk to people I don’t know. Especially
when I’m alone.
and her face looked calm. Even happy, like she
was smiling at me, so I tried to smile, too. I kept
on running until I didn’t see her anymore.
“Thea!” I yelled, but then I got scared. The
man might hear me. I clapped my hands over my
mouth and crouched down behind a tree. I made
myself as tiny as possible, like a kitten or something he wouldn’t want to hurt. I sat very still for a
long time, listening for sounds. All I heard were
some birds twittering up in the branches. No footsteps or yelling.
“You’re a big girl, Jane. I’ll just be gone a
minute,” she had said.
Then she drove off to the store and left me
there all by myself.
That place is scary when I’m alone. The
shadows get darker and they grow until they’re
coming right at me, and the house makes creaky
noises if I sit too quiet.
Sitting ther K]XYHYH