Be Patient, Stay Still…Don't Move.
Her light white flats tapped against the grass as her pace slowed. She didn't know why she had run, especially up here. Sabirah had always been afraid of the mountain, even before she was told the legends by her mother, but she hadn't been paying attention to her direction; she just needed to get away. Away from her controlling, bossy sister, Sandra, away from her parents yelling and fighting, and her mother's constant berating of her Sabirah was.
She had always patiently been the mediator between her three housemates, quiet and peaceful, but her patience had a limit and it was beyond reached. The nine year old girl sat down in the grass, aqua dress smoothing out over her legs, as she watched the sun sink below the tree line. The tears in her blue eyes were beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes. It would be dark soon, and no matter how much she wanted to, she could not stay here. The chill of autumn slipped down her spine and she shivered. Sabirah stood and walked forward.
/
Sabirah awoke in a dark place, shivering and frightened. She sat up quickly, and then cried out at the pain it induced. The girl could see nothing, but she knew she needed to get out of this strange place. With great effort, she slowly stood on shaking legs, and crept her way forward. One foot, then the other. She just needed to be patient. It was okay if she was slow; she would get where she needed to in due time.
"Ah!" her face bumped a wall in front of her and she nearly toppled backward.
Quickly she placed a hand out in front of her and moved to the left until she felt another wall. She turned, and continued to feel her way to a space: likely, a door. The girl moved forward, but it was still dark. A sliver of moonlight cast its light over a small circle of grass. It was barely enough to see, but the child took the opportunity to sit down in the grass and pull her leather messenger bag, etched with two stitched hearts, into her lap. She rummaged around. Her hand hit something plastic, something that she didn't recall placing in her bag.
She pulled out a small, toy knife, and smiled. Her little brother must have left this in here when she took him to the park; she had forgotten to give it back to him. Sabirah dropped the toy back into the bag and grasped a cardboard object. A pack of bandages. Slowly, carefully, she placed the band-aids over the cuts on her legs and left arm. Should she rest here? No, she should keep moving. Sabirah placed the bandages back into her back and stood up, moving forward again, until she found another door.