The First time - My escape plan

I was going through @Deeepensiverse article today and came across this topic "First time I went exploring -almost got kidnapped". Her experience made me laugh, also she wasn't aware of the danger she was in at the time.

As I read along, I couldn't help but think about My Firsts. The first time I ran away from the house, the first time I told someone "I love you", the first time I traveled to a new city secretly without telling anyone and almost got lost just to see someone. We all have our firsts, you are about to read one of mine. I would also love to read yours. Unfortunately, I won't be able to tell you about all my firsts or this article would go on forever.

The first time I ran away from home

I'm sure we have all done this at some point in our lives yet we will definitely have different stories to tell about the experience.

It was a weekend, it was still in pre-school. My friends were outside having fun but I couldn't be a part of it since I was forced to attend extra lessons. I was not a very bright kid and was about to get demoted to a lower class since I wasn't coping really well in my current class so my mother thought it wise to engage me with extra lessons.

I never liked the lessons and I was determined to avoid this one, so I ran away from the house. I had a lot of weird ideas as a little kid, this was one of them and I definitely didn't think this through.

Early that morning I had made my usual protest against not wanting to do any lessons and as expected my mom made use of "Mr. Do Good"- the name she gave her cane- to force me to wait for the lesson teacher.

Oh, do permit me to digress a little, I should add that Mr. Do Good also had a very hard time, he never lasted more than 3 days in that house before we found and destroyed him, unfortunately, another Mr. Do Good would take his place, so annoying. Why couldn't he just stay away eh?

I had packed a few things in my school bag the night before to aid my escape as I had seen in movies. When she wasn't watching, I snuck out. The plan was simple, run away and go over to my Grandmothers place. I had been there in the past, maybe once or twice with my parents.

I was once convinced I knew the way as I headed out of the compound. I walked for a long time under the hot sun through the path I believed would lead me to my destination. Every street looked the same. I soon heard a growl in my stomach, I had not eaten. I was lost, tired, and hungry.

Back at home, my mom had been looking for me, she had called the neighbors to find out if they knew my whereabouts, a search party had stepped out to look for me.

I finally gave up since my legs couldn't carry me any further, I saw a small shed and decided to rest there a while. After about ten minutes of contemplation on whether to go back home or continue my journey, I decided to go back home, at least to get something to eat.

Now, this was the problem, I had no idea where I was or even how to get back home, I had been walking for hours through different streets and corners that I thought looked familiar.

I broke down in tears. Passers-by took one look at me and went on about their businesses. That day I told myself I would never run away from home again if only I could find my way. I was so thirsty so I decided to look for drinking water.

I figured if I was going to find my way back I would need to at least get hydrated. I approached a shop and begged for sachet water, the lady saw I had been crying and gave me one. I have never been more satisfied to drink water in my life. I finally got the courage to tell her my plight and agreed to help.

My Mother made us memorize her phone number, we would recite it every morning before leaving for school each day. That was what saved me on this particular day. My mother was so pleased to hear from me and also upset. I didn't even care about the flogging I would get when I got home from my Mom, thankfully, Dad wasn't around.

After what seemed like forever, I saw my mother coming together with some of our neighbors, tears of joy filled my eyes as I ran towards them. I received a lot of scolding from the people around when they heard the story but I didn't care.

I was so happy to finally see familiar faces. As predicted, "Mr. Do-Good" visited my body but I didn't mind. I had no tears left to cry. Of course, before the flogging was after I had filled my belly.

I had a very horrible day but in the end, I won a battle, the lesson was canceled (unfortunately not forever, just for that day). But what can I say, one small step for a boy, a giant step for all kids out there who disagrees with being forced to partake in extra lessons?

If you ask me what lesson I derived from this experience, then I would say this - it is important to eat well before engaging in an escape plan, more importantly, know the route.

In case you are wondering, that was just my first attempt, I did try again. Was it successful? I will never tell.

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Did you have a fun time reading this article? Wouldn't you like to be a part of this prompt? It's alright, don't be shy, we will both have a good laugh, tell us about your first time.

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