The Imposter

Chapter Five

I had escaped from Jackson's house. It was such a relief, but how was I going to survive? I didn’t have much money in my pockets. I had $200 that I grabbed from my nightstand at home before leaving for the Jacksons and $300 that Mr. Jackson’s friend gave me for working at his farm, the last couple of weeks.  The first thing that I did was head to a supermarket to grab some food. I was hungry. 

The store was fresh. As soon as I walked in, I felt the air conditioner hit my face. I grabbed a shopping cart and started to grab some things. I walked to the fruits and grabbed a mango, two apples, and an orange. I walked through all the aisles in the store. I placed some water, two juices, some cookies, and a couple of lunchables for later. I started heading to the checkout when I saw the utensil aisle. There I saw a knife. I knew that this would be something very necessary, especially if Mr. Jackson found me. I went to the checkout counter. I placed everything on the counter. The lady at the counter looked at me so much I felt that she was going to call the cops. I couldn’t let that happen. But how could I strike up a conversation with her? Luckily, she finished the checkout process rather quickly. I grabbed my stuff and headed out as soon as I could. 

I headed to a park that I had seen close by. There I sat at a bench and quickly ate my breakfast  and then started walking. I walked for several hours. I thought about my sister and how I wanted to see her. How would I ever get to her? I could just walk up to Ms. Richardson’s office and ask her where Valeria was at. She would get suspicious of me and send me back to the Jackson's. I took out the notepad and started writing. 

Valeria! 

I hope that you are okay! I’m glad that your foster family is so nice with you. I can’t say the same for me. My foster parents are the worst. Since day one, they have treated me badly. I haven’t had an actual cooked meal in a while. I miss those meals that mom would make us. I miss everything about our life. I wish I could just close my eyes and see that this was just an awful dream. I haven’t gone to school, instead I’ve gone to work every single day. Mr. Jackson’s friend has been nicer to me than they have. I wish he could have been the one I was taken to instead.

 Do you think that mom and dad can see us? If they do, they are probably mad at me. I ran away. I ran away and I’m not looking back. Somehow we’re going to be back together. I can’t let Mrs. Richardson know what happened. I miss you so much and just know that I will never forget you. 

Your big bro, Erick. 

I cried as I reread what I had just written. Had I made a mistake? Why couldn’t I just tell Mrs. Richardson the truth? I couldn’t anymore. I sat there hugging my knees. At this moment, I could use one of my father’s lectures. I missed them more than ever. The note I had written had caught some of my tears. I put it in a pocket of my backpack. I knew that my sister wasn’t going to read it, but at least I could let go of my fears in this note. 

It was getting late and I found another park to sleep in. I feared that someone would take my backpack, so I tied the hook that I had on it. I placed the knife in my pocket and slept. Well, I didn’t really sleep. There was too much noise in the city for me to sleep. I looked up at the stars and wondered if my parents were watching me. What would they be thinking of me? Would they be proud that I stood up to them for ripping my note?

In the morning, I made sure that I had everything that I needed. I continued my journey of walking through the streets. I wandered by the schools to see if my sister was going to any of those schools around the block. She wasn’t, where could she be? I wanted to go and see Abel and Lailah, but I knew if I did they would get in trouble, so I just continued walking. 

Days passed and nights came. I kept walking through the streets. I was starting to run out of money and I didn’t want to start begging. What if I started singing in the street to get some money? Naw, it was too risky. I could end up on the internet or the news and then Ms. Richardson could find me and take me back to the dreadful house. In those days, it began to rain. It rained so hard I couldn’t walk through the streets. I stayed in a public restroom so that I wouldn’t get wet. I wondered if Valeria knew that I had gone missing.

Hi! 

Again. I’m still on the streets. It’s been weeks since I left that dreadful house. I don’t know what to do. I can’t go back and I can’t contact anyone. If I can hold off a couple more months, I would be 18 and I would go look for you. Has Mrs. Richardson told you that I left? I miss you more and more each day. I’m running out of money. I’ll probably die out here. It’s cold and soon I’ll have no food. If something happens to me please, don’t worry I’ll always take care of you. I love you with all my heart. 

Erick.   

For some odd reason that night I decided to take a walk. I came upon a bridge. I walked over it, but when I got to the other side I was surprised by who I saw. It was Mr. Jackson. He caught a glimpse of me and I began to run. He chased after me in his car. I checked my pocket to make sure that the knife was there. As I looked for it, I dropped out of my pocket. I was too nervous and I saw him getting closer. I left the knife behind and continued running. I heard him get out of the car and picked up the knife. I  heard his steps in the puddles behind me. After a few minutes, I felt someone grab my shoulder. It was him. 

We were eye to eye at this point. I couldn’t believe it, I tried so hard to get out of his grip, but I was too weak. He smirked. “Did you really think that you would escape from me after what you did?” I tried to get loose. I was able to, but there was nowhere to run to. I was scared. He had the knife and a look of evil.  I climbed the railing of the bridge. I was up so high, I couldn’t look down. “Well, I hate to see things end like this, I hope your sister can remember you, but I doubt it.” I didn’t understand what he was saying, remember me? Why would she need to remember me? I saw him get closer to me. The knife blade entered my skin, I couldn’t think of anything else, but the pain that I was in. I was in so much pain that I didn’t even realize that I was falling. I landed in the river beneath the bridge. He drove off, that was the last thing that I heard. I closed my eyes and as I did all I remember seeing was a dark shadow come close to me.