Short Story - A day in the World.

This is a short story about a young boy who, after a fight with his parents, runs away from home and experiences the harshness of the world. This story is purely hypothetical and based on my imagination. Any relation to such incidents is entirely coincidental. 

"I don't want to! You can't force me!" Shouted Alan at his parents.

"Yes we can, now go!" His father ordered.

"I am going!" Alan shouted back, picking up his schoolbag and before his parents could act, he rushed out of the house. He ran and ran till his stamina ran out. Looking around, he thought he had reached a good distance from his house since he had no idea where he was.

For the first time since his childhood, Alan breathed a sigh of relief. He was free and could do whatever he wanted. As a smile crept onto his face, he started thinking what he should do. Soon, he had a plan in mind and he took out his wallet and from it, a few notes. He had just celebrated his tenth birthday a week ago and he had been given the money by his extended family.

The money he held in his hand, was like a billion Dollar cheque to him. He thought that he had enough money to go to a mall and buy all he had ever wanted or even buy a small apartment. Alas! He knew not that two hundred dollars was nothing in the quotidian inflating economy.

He wandered around for a bit longer till he reached a park in abject condition. Entering the park, he saw a few other kids near a pair of swings. Thinking it would be a good idea to make some friends, he. went over to them.

"Yo, look who is here." One of them said, noticing his presence.

The others turned to look and as they did, he saw the thing they were gathered about. A baby bird lay in the centre and appeared to have been hit by something.

"Beat it, kid." One of the others said.

"I wanna see what you guys are doing." Alan said.

That is when the others surrounded him instead. As he turned to see all of them, somebody snatched away his bag and threw it onto the ground.

"Hey!" Alan exclaimed, reaching down to pick it up. He was stopped short by push in the back which sent him sprawling onto the ground.

"Stop!" Somebody shouted. Everybody turned, a man stood some distance off smoking a cigarette. He had shabby clothing on with patches of dirt and holes covered with cloth scraps.

At the sight of the man coming towards them, the rowdy boys started to move off. The man helped Alan to his feet. 

"Thanks." Alan said, dusting himself.

"Don't mention it." The man replied, then, seeing a dollar bill spewing out of Alan's pocket, he said, "You could gimme some money though. These kids'll get me kicked outta this place. Could use some money to find shelter."

"No! I need this money." Alan exclaimed. 

Suddenly, the man lunged at Alan shouting, "Gimme that money!"

Alan side-stepped him and ran for his life. When he reached a road, he stopped. His heart was thumping inside his chest. Fear was creeping up on him. He saw a cab near the curb and thought, "How about I go to my friend's place?"

Going over to the cab driver he asked, "Could you please take me to the Georges' residence?"

"Which Georges' residence, kid? There is tons of 'em around here." The cab-driver asked.

As Alan groped through his mind for his friend's address, he looked around him and suddenly, the anxiety that had been creeping up on him, jumped up and hit him in at point-blank range and he realised how serious the situation was. His face paled, his palms became sweaty, and his limbs began to shake.

The driver, looked back to check for an answer but instead, he saw a young boy who had run away from his parents.

"You okay, boy?" The man asked.

Alan was at a loss for words, he had frozen like a deer in headlights.

Then, the man saw the fear in Alan's eyes, ushering him into the backseat of his cab, he began to drive. Down narrow, twisting roads they went until Alan lost track of time. Alan was more scared now than he had ever been in his life. As his imagination took over, he imagined the worst cases he could. He feared he was being kidnapped, but was too scared to do anything about it. 

Suddenly the car came to a stop and he looked outside the window. He thought the man had brought him to his hideout, where he kept all his kidnapped prisoners. What he saw, was the front of the local police-station.

The cab-driver opened the door, took the kid in his arms and took him into the police-station. 

As the man brought him in, Alan saw two people standing in front of the reception desk. The woman, with tears in her eyes, and the man, his shirt drenched with sweat. It was his parents, the people who he had away from.

"We have looked everywhere!" his father said.

"Please…" His mother added, amidst sobs "Help us find him… Help me find my boy."

Then she turned and saw, Alan was there, looking back at her. There was a happy reunion between the parents and the young boy. As the parents turned to offer their gratitude to the cab-driver who had helped the parents find their son but the man had left without a sign. Without taking praise or benefit or any amount of money. He had gained his happiness, by simply doing a good deed.

A day in the world, had changed the youth much and never again did he run away from his home or parents. He became a better person after facing the harshness of the world. All that happened, from a day in the world.

- - - - - End - - - - -

-Anumeya Sehgal