i ran away once

One time when I was around 9 years old, I ran away. I can't remember the exact reason why. All I know is that my mom  had angered me to the breaking point. And it was obviously time to leave. I told my mom I was running away, and that she'd never see me again. She told me dinner would be ready in about an hour. Clearly, she hadn't heard me, because I was really leaving. I'd show her.

I packed my little yellow suitcase, grabbed couple of cookies from the jar, a juicebox from the fridge, and set out for the world. I knew I would last a long time, because I had brought a lot of cookies. And a lot of clothes. I was determined to live off the land like Brian in Gary Paulsen's Hatchet.

Keep in mind, our house was in a cul-de-sac of the most suburban subdivision of every stereotypical neighborhood you've ever heard of. But I was bound and determined to live off the land in the wilderness that was somehow nearby.

I got around the corner from our house, and realized that I was pretty tired from lugging that suitcase around. Probably shouldn't have brought all of my stuffed animals, but what would they have done, had I left them behind? So I found the nearest tree, and decided to set up my first camp. The tree was in the front yard of one of our neighbors' houses. It was as good a place as any, and I didn't mind that I was in full view of all the cars driving by on the road. I opened my suitcase, took out my favorite bear, and broke into the cookies. I ate one, and decided that would tide me over until dinner time, when I'd eat another.

The sun had sunk a little bit lower in the sky, and I decided it must be time to sleep. I pulled out my blankie (yep, still had it. my friends didn't know about it, and i only slept with it sometimes. it was my favorite), a small pillow, and lay down underneath that little tree. It was basically a sapling. And the moment I was horizontal, the sun was in my eyes.

I started to cry. Clearly, this was not going to work out. Welp, I gave it my best shot. Time to go home.

I had been gone all of half an hour. When I got home, my mom asked me where I'd been.

"I told you. I ran away."
"How did that work out for you?"
"I dunno. It was pretty hard. I had to sleep under this tree, and all I had to eat were cookies."
"That doesn't sound very fun. Go put your suitcase away, and wash up for dinner."

I couldn't even remember why I'd run away in the first place. Oh the drama.