Away from the North

Chapter 1

"Yuku, the great ruler is on the television!" My mother yells from the living room. I walk out of my bedroom and into the living room, bowing to the pictures of our great rulers that hang over the mantle. I walk over to where my mother sits on the ground, the only chair we have being used by my grandmother.
I sit down beside her as she, and everyone else in my household, watches the television intently. I don't watch it as intently as I used to after being treated by an American doctor who helped me see better. He told me about all the things in America and other countries that they are allowed to do and see.
He told me of all the freedom and how they have so much more. Maybe it's me being childish but I'd rather be there than here, where we have little food and we have to obey everything that our leader says. And that day was when my plan hatched into place.
As I sit with my family watching the television, I mentally make a note other rest other stuff I need before I can leave. The television turns off and everyone in the room stands up and bows to the great leaders. My grandmother hobbles out of the room and back to her bedroom.
"I'm going out," I tell my mother. She nods and waves me off. I walk to my bedroom and grab my backpack that my parents had given me for my birthday last year. I stuff it with my small blanket and a few pairs of clothes that I had washed yesterday along with some other essentials that I'll need.
I grab the food I have smuggled from dinner the past few nights and put that in my bag too. I zip my bag closed and grab a knife, slipping it into a place in my pants I had sewn for it. I made it out of leather that I had gotten from behind a cloth store a while back.
I put my backpack on my shoulders and sneak into the kitchen to grab a loaf of bread and some canned food. I shove it in my backpack and walk out of our apartment. I walk down the crumbling stairs and into the streets.
From where I stand I can see a statue of the great leader and the people all around it bowing. I walk quickly through the crowds and to one of the cloth stores. I go behind it and dig through the trash, finding a bag of old cloth. I find a piece that's a few yards long and smile.
I stuff it in my bag and then carefully look out of the alley to make sure that nobody is looking. I walk out and try to seem like I'm doing regular chores for my parents. I pass a few other kids my age and make sure not to meet their eyes.
I walk into a food store and look around, shoving a few boxes of crackers and jerky into my bag while nobody is looking. I bury it under the cloth and then grab a water bottle off of the shelves. I walk up to the counter and buy it with some of my parent's money so I don't seem like I came in and smuggled stuff out.
I get out of the store quickly and walk to a nearby park. I see him standing by the bench where one of our great leaders had sat. It's enclosed in glass and has many alarms on it. He turns to me as I walk up. He smiles and hugs me.
We walk away from the bench and towards the outskirts of town. He has a backpack that's just as full as mine is. Nobody stares at as is we walk towards the edge of town, most of them used to seeing homeless people with huge backpacks.
"Are you ready for this?" I whisper as we make it to the edge of town. He nods and we walk past the outskirts and onto the dirt road that leads to the next town. We had memorized a map that's in a library. The doctor said that libraries everywhere else have so many different kinds of books, not just ones that were written by the great leaders. 
We talk while we walk down the deserted dirt roads. I met Jul when we were kids. My mother took me to the park and he was playing on the grass with a little person made of sticks. I say down next to him and we played with the stick doll for a while until I had to leave. We made plans to meet up at least once a week.
When I told him about my plan to leave North Korea he was skeptical but then I told him of all the other things that are in the South and in America. We made our plan bigger and better until we were sure it would work. We prepared for weeks to get food and other resources that we'll need.
Now we're walking down a dirt road to another town. We figured out that it will take a month by foot to get to one of the borders. He would watch the television for hours so he could find where there was a border that wasn't very well protected.
Once we found one, we studied the map and found the fastest way to get there. We trudge down the road and I remind myself that it'll be worth it when we get to the South. The sun starts to go down behind us and we keep walking on.
Jul pointed out that it would be better to travel by the night so nobody can see us. We walk on and I point out some animals that we pass by. We find a stream and decide to stop and fill up our water bottles. I cup my hands and take a sip from the cold stream.
I stand up when I get my full and clip my water bottle onto my backpack. It taps against my thigh as we walk on. We walk for hours, occasionally stopping to rest and take a drink. They sun starts to come up just as the town comes into view.
We walk into the woods that are spreading our beside us. I follow Jul to a stream and we set out bags down. I take out my blanket and throw it over me, while using my backpack as a pillow. Jul sets his stuff down next to mine and sets his stuff up.
I quickly fall asleep as the warm morning sun breaks through the trees taking away the cold of the night.