How I Ran Away

The Attack

I, Aditi, was nine years old when it happened. I came back from the river and my parents were gone. I didn't think to look around for a note, not even to find a clue as to why they were gone. My first thought was to go feed Achilles.

Achilles is a baby Indian Elephant. He has discreet, small ears and a bluish grey taint to his skin. He had a very lovely demeanor but he was very wimpy and was scared of many things.

I live in Jaipur, India. I went to Apex International School when I was nine. Apex International School is a college. I was so intelligent I was moved to seventh grade when I was nine. I graduated when I was 14 and I had just found a local college to attend.

I had gotten many recommendations from colleges in India and North America wanting to see if I live up to my word of intelligence. Of course I did. I chose Apex International School when I saw they had the best rating and seemed like they new what they were doing.

Apex International School is a fairly large school with a good 60 staff to keep the students in line. They were very kind people and were all very intelligent in their own, unique way.

After I was done feeding Achilles, I went back inside the house. I looked around for my parents again but didn't find them. Something bad could have happened to them. I looked around the house for any clues as to why they aren't home. Then I found this note:

Dear Aditi,

Your father and I have made the drastic decision to move away. At about 8 o' clock the orphanage will be there to pick you up. I would recommend you start packing as soon as you finish reading this. You will not be able to take Achilles with you. For his own good, set him loose before you leave to the orphanage.

Bye,
Mom and Dad

I just can't leave Achilles here! But I can't bring him to the orphanage with me. I guess I'll have to go to extreme measures to not leave him. After all, we've had him since he could survive without his mothers milk, he wouldn't survive in the wild.

I went to my room and packed all my clothes and footwear. I then grabbed some food, like carrots, oatmeal, and apples. After that, I filled a bucket halfway with water and went outside to the giant stable we keep Achilles in.

When I got to the stable, I went into the tack room and got the saddle for Achilles. His saddle was perfectly fitted just for him. The saddle was lined with cat's eye, rubies, and pearls.

I hurried out of the tack room. I quickly put the saddle on Achilles and lead him out of the stall, I heard someone pulling into the driveway. With one look out the side door I determined it was the orphanage ladies. With a few swift motions, I was atop a scared Achilles ambling away into the forest while guiding him with my bullhook.

Within a few minutes we were deep into the forest following a creek upstream. When we made it to the mouth of the creek it was pouring the rain down. I secured a log stick between two trees with a vine, and with Achilles's help I managed to build a small, wooden structure for me to sleep in.

I managed to climb a tree and tie multiple leaves under the branches to make Achilles a small shelter to avoid the rain that's slowly becoming a storm.

When I woke up, the sun was shining down on the forest floor and the birds around me were singing with their beautiful morning song. Achilles was still fast asleep and the shelters managed to stay up through the storm.

I got off the ground, amused with how great things were going. I pulled an apple out of a chest attached to Achilles's saddle. I chomped on the apple while I watched the birds chase after each other while jumping from tree to tree.

Once I finished my apple, I decided to clean up the shelters and leave in search of my parents. I needed to find out why they orphaned me. After a few moments of cleaning, I started to feel nauseous. I sat down on the ground as I felt my whole body start to ache. My vision was getting unhealthily blurry as I noticed a large figure ahead of me heading straight in my direction, as if there's a threat I should be running from.