-1"I gotta keep running..."
Long had she ran, years now, running away from all the problems she had. How long she had been running was long forgotten. Was it 10, maybe 11, she wasn't sure, all she knew was that she had to keep running.
Her breath quickened as she ran down the alley, into the darkness, where no one would find her. She heard small scuttering around her, and as she quickly ran, she tripped and fell face first into the cold, dirty ground. She slowly picked herself up, and reached blindlessly into the darkness, looking for something to support herself on. After minutes she managed to find a wall, slowly, she backed herself up onto it, and curled up, this is where she'd sleep tonight. Slowly, but surely, her eyes gave in as her ears gave into one last sound of scurrying footsteps.
There, the last memory, a photo, in a golden frame. It held a family portait. A small girl of 5 stood clearly in the front, brown hair neatly tucked behind her ears, wearing a small pink formal ladies hat to shade her dark brown eyes, from the bright sun above. Behind her were people, people who's distinct features were clear, apart from their faces, which were fuzzy. Long had she remembered looking at this picture when she was young...until they came...
It had been in the middle of the night, she was tucked in her bed with her small teddy bear. Peacefully asleep, until she heard it, loud bangs against her front door. Teddy in hand, she slowly got out of bed and headed for her own door. Listening closely behind her door, she heard footsteps moving outside.
"Dad must be answering it," she thought as she placed her ears closer to the door.
She heard shouting, and more footsteps around her door, and quickly her door opened, knocking her down. Her mother quickly went in, face pale as a ghost, tears slowly moving down her face. She quickly moved to her fallen child and picked her up and hugged her with all her might. Tears flowed down her mother onto her now wet shoulder as her mothered sobbed.
"What's going on mom?" she asked.
"Nothing to be worried about dear," quickly she replied.
"Then why are you crying, did you fall down?"
"No no dear, but I want you to be a very big girl now alright?" asked her mother
"Sure mom, i'll do anything you say," she said, smiling.
"I want you to run, run until you can't run anymore, run away from here," cried her mother, as she hugged her daughter once more. "Father and your brother are trying their best to give you time, but start running now Rose."
The door flung open, and a man cloaked in blacked entered. His hands drenched in blood. A hood covered his face, making it black.
"Give her to me," said the man, his deep voice bringing chills to her spine.
Her mother, sprung up, arms guarding her daughter from the man. She heard her mother, stopped crying, and in a pleading voice, heard her beg to keep her daughter alive. The man advanced on them, but something caught him from behind.
"RUN ROSE!" cried a new voice, though very familiar to her
Her mother quickly went to the sprawl ahead of her, and she quickly aided in pinning the cloaked man down as much as she could.
Rose ran and jumped the sprawl, heading down the flights of stairs in the darkened house. All around her she could hear screams and shouts, footsteps around her. She wanted to stop, but no, she promised her mother that she would run. Another cloaked man quickly advanced on her as she passed the main hall. And fortunately another man had quickly tackled him to clear the way from her. She wanted to thank the man who helped out, and she was excited to see it was her father.
"Thanks dad," she smiled, as her father drenched in sweat also starting to cry.
Her father quickly stood up and looked at the unconscious man by him, and looked around him. He kneeled down and placed his hands on Rose's shoulders, and stared into her worried eyes. He placed his hands on his pocket and took out a small piece of paper and a pen. He quickly scribbled onto it and gave it to her, and told her to run to the police, to tell them they were in trouble. She did and she ran, ran like her mother said to, ran to where her father sent her to...
...She never saw them after that, she stayed at the police station for hours, men running around everywhere, but there she sat looking down at her swinging feet, note still scrunched up in her fist.
It took her a long time to learn how to read, and for many years she kept that paper. She did learn, and the first thing she ever read was that small note her father gave her...
"...never forget that you're a Kemichi..."