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2017 Inklings Book Contest finalist: Anika Knowles

2017 Inklings Book Contest finalist: Anika Knowles

Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2017 finalist, Anika Knowles! Anika finished 6th grade this past school year. The story she submitted is called “Escape To America” We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did!
Leave a comment below on what you thought!

 


Escape To America

by Anika Knowles
+++++Flames leap behind me, shooting orange and red sparks across the sky. I run into the dark woods as silvery moonlight dances on the trees. A blast of cool, Mexican night air washes over my face, and light raindrops sprinkle the ground like dew. Suddenly the roar of a fire truck breaks the silence. I smell the unmistakable scent of burning wood. I sprint deeper into the shadowy forest, not stopping to look back. I scan the horizon and I can see the tops of the trees glowing in pinks, oranges, and reds in the sunrise.

+++++Why, you may ask, have I run away with almost nothing? Leaving everything and everyone I know? This, my friend, is the story.

* * * * * *

+++++Abuelita stands in the kitchen, with Mexican hot chocolate bubbling on the stove and warm churros in the oven. It is my sister Rosa’s birthday, and she is turning eight. We are very poor, and can only afford a few things. This is a celebration, so we have a few treats for Rosa.
+++++“Celesta, could you go take Rosa down to the parque, por favor?” Abuelita asks.

+++++Sí, Abuelita. We will be gone for a half an hour until dessert is ready. Adiós!” I grab Rosa’s hand and we scamper down the stairs and into the woods, where the park is.

+++++Rosa is very energetic and she loves to play outside. I drop her off at the slide and go sit on a nearby bench to watch.

+++++I think I must’ve fallen asleep because I find Rosa shaking me awake, “Celesta, vámanos! Abuelita is waiting.”

+++++“Coming, Rosa.” I suddenly smell burning, like someone is having a barbeque. But, this is no barbeque, and the smell is coming in the direction of home. “Rosa, quédate aquí. I will go find Abuelita. ¿Sí?

+++++Rosa nods her head. “¿Abuelita está bien?

+++++No sé, Rosa, no sé.”

+++++As I run back home, the smell of burning gets stronger and stronger, as the evening gets darker and darker.

+++++“¿Abuelita, dónde estás?” I scream as I enter the front door.

+++++I spot her with a big bucket of water sloshing about as she tries hard to put out the vicious flames.

+++++Abuelita, you need to get out of here!” I grab here arm and drag her outside. Abuelita turns to face me.

+++++Vete,” she says hobbling around on her cane, “Go to America with Rosa. I cannot take care of you with everything burned. We have too little money. Vete.”

+++++“But Abuelita,” I whisper. I don’t want to leave her.

+++++“Celesta, you will be better there. You are thirteen and can take care of yourself and Rosa. It’s just a two-day walk, you can make it. Te amo, Celesta.” Abuelita leans over and kisses my cheek. “And don’t worry, I will find a place to stay.”

+++++Adiós, Abuelita. Te amo,” I wipe the tears from my eyes.

+++++“Here,” Abuelita drops some money into my hands and hands me a folded map of Baja California, Mexico, where we live. “So you know where to go,” she whispers.

+++++I get up slowly and grab my backpack. I take one last look around: at Abuelita, at our once cozy home, at our Mexico. I never want to forget everything here. I break into a jog and head back to the park.

* * * * * *

+++++So, now you know what happened, dear friend. But let’s continue with the story. Right now, there is only one thing on my mind: find Rosa. When I get to the park, she isn’t there. I start looking all over for her. Suddenly a bush rustles. Then I hear a faint whimpering. I slowly separate the leaves and find a small puppy with white and gray fur, and next to it, I see Rosa!

+++++“Rosa, where were you?” I exclaim, throwing my arms around her.

+++++“I was at at the park, y no pude encontrarte. So, I went looking.” Her soft mocha brown eyes glimmer with tears as she strokes the puppy’s matted fur.

+++++“Oh Rosa, ven acá.” I give her another big hug.

+++++“¿Celesta, can we keep este perro, por favor?” She makes big puppy eyes identical to the ones snuggled up against her.

+++++I sigh, “We don’t have enough money to feed her, especially on our journey.”

+++++“Fine,” Rosa stamps her foot. She gives the puppy one last hug and it scampers into the night. “But what journey?” Rosa asks, her face wrinkling with confusion.

+++++Abuelita wants us to go to America,” I say softly as I tell her the sad news.

+++++“America? ¿Por qué?” Rosa demands, her hands on her hips, and voice stern.

+++++“Because she can’t afford to keep us with the house burned down. She thinks we’ll do better there,” I explain. “Vámonos.” I grab her hand and pull her along. We walk for about an hour until I see a grove of trees. Rosa and I go in and we huddle under a tree to sleep.

+++++The next morning, we walk for a long time, occasionally drinking water from the canteen I brought in my backpack.

+++++Along the way, we see a market. Mexico has a lot of markets and they sell very good food. I want to stop to get a snack for our trip. My mouth waters at the smell of all the delicious food and my stomach grumbles. I grab a few pesos from my pocket and hand them to a fruit peddler. In exchange, she gives me three pears.

+++++Gracias,” I shoot her a grateful smile and she smiles back.

+++++Rosa and I each devour a pear and I carefully put the other one into my backpack. For the rest of the day, we walk until our feet hurt. As it turns to dusk, the beautiful colors of the sunset creep like vines up into the sky.

+++++“Rosa, let’s find a place where we can stay for the night.”

+++++I am so tired, I feel like my feet are going to fall off, and my eyelids are going to be glued shut.

+++++“¡Mira allí! A hotel!” She points a couple of yards away, where a small building stands. Sure enough, the sign above it says HOTEL.

+++++We walk in and a hotel worker greets us. His name tag says Pablo.

+++++“¡Hola! What do you want?” He looks at us skeptically from behind the counter.

+++++“¡Hola!” I say, “Our house just burned down and our Abuelita says we have to go to America. We need a safe place to stay tonight.”

+++++“My. That will be a hard journey for you. But we can’t afford to let people sleep in our rooms for free,” Pablo sighed.

+++++I survey the scene: dirty dishes piled in the sink, laundry scattered everywhere, and trash overflowing the garbage can. “Is it OK if my sister and I stay here for the night? We don’t have enough money to pay for the room, but we could clean up this place tomorrow.”

+++++“Um… I guess we do have quite a mess aquí,” Pablo looks around and nods. “That would work. Let me show you your room, and you can clean in the morning. “¿?” He leads the way down a hall and creaks open room 24.

+++++Inside, there are two small beds and a desk. I go over to the bed closest to the window and plop my backpack down. I sink into the heavenly softness. Rosa goes over to the other bed, and throws herself onto it. I hear her sigh with happiness.

+++++El cuarto de baño is down the hall.” He slowly closes the door and retreats down the hall.

+++++I grab the last pear from my bag and cut it in half with a plastic knife from the desk. My mouth waters at the sweet smell of it. I hand the other half to Rosa, who shoves the whole thing in her mouth. Me, I take bite by bite and put the seeds into the front of my pack.

+++++Rosa and I climb into bed and I turn off the lamp. Seconds later, I hear Rosa’s soft, steady breathing. But my mind is filled with worry about how we will get across the border the next day. I turn and look out the window and take a deep breath of the crisp, Mexican air. I see the beautiful majestic moon shaped like a sideways rainbow. Even though Abuelita and Rosa and I are so far apart, we will always be looking at the same moon. I like that thought, and my breathing slows and I fall fast asleep.

+++++Early the next morning, I shake Rosa awake. “Time to clean.”

+++++“Coming.” Rosa groggily sits up and rubs her eyes.

+++++For the next few hours, we clean the hotel. First, we take turns washing the dishes with soapy bubbles up to our elbows, then pick up the laundry from the floor, throw it into the machine, and later hang it on the drying line. We haul the garbage down to the street to be picked up. We sweep, dust, and scrub. Finally, after three hours, we are done and my whole body aches.

+++++I go outside and wait for Rosa to come. Finally, she comes with our backpacks, and we thank Pablo and say goodbye. He tells us about a short-cut through the countryside to the border and hands us a roll of freshly-baked bread. We smile in gratitude.

+++++We walk along a stream and fill the canteen with water. As we walk, we slowly nibble on the bread. After what seems like hours, we finally reach the border to America.

+++++There is a security guard and we hide under a bush. We slowly inch from bush to bush until we spot him sleeping against a tree. I grab Rosa’s hand and I pull her out of the bush and we sprint over the border.

+++++All of a sudden, someone yells, “Stop right there!” I whirl around and am face to face with a huge man with a curly mustache. I look up and see he has a badge on his uniform that reads SECURITY GUARD. Uh oh! I think we are in trouble.

+++++“Where do you think you are going?” the man spits into my face. I can feel Rosa squeezing behind my legs and her whole body shaking.

+++++“Umm…” I stammer.

+++++“Well, if you’re not going to tell me, then I’m going to take you to detention,” the guard growls.

+++++Suddenly, a loud voice screams, “HELP!”

+++++The security guard who caught us rushes to investigate and momentarily forgets about us.

+++++“Run!” I hiss to Rosa. We both scramble up a nearby tree before anybody spots us.

+++++“Where are those two girls?” We recognize the scratchy voice of the guard and exchange worried glances.

+++++The guard starts looking for us but doesn’t have any idea that we are hiding in the tree right above his head. I stifle a nervous laugh.

+++++After a useless search, the guard gives up trying to catch us and walks away. We wait until no one else is around, then Rosa and I quietly climb down the tree and dash away from the border as fast as we can.

+++++We run for about a mile, until we are sure that we are safe.

+++++“Rosa! We made it to America!” I shout, twirling around.

+++++“¡Lo sé!” she follows me, jumping about and singing, her hair flowing in the wind.

+++++I sit down on a log, pull out a piece of tattered paper, and an almost dried up pen, and write:

Escape To America story letter

Escape To America story letter