Throw it all away and run

I don't remember how many hours I sat on the school roof. My phone rang continuously. It was my mother. She had probably already gotten a call from the school, telling her I'd been suspended for a week for "cruel treatment of classmates."

The fact that I was the one being bullied didn't interest anyone: not my classmates, not the teachers, and not my mom. I was sure of it.

It was getting colder. I curled up against a sudden gust of wind, hugging my knees to my chest. It was already getting dark.

“I should go somewhere,” I said to myself. “But where?”

I straightened my legs, leaned back on my hands, and thought. “Should I go to the river? To the embankment?”

I put my backpack on and got up. My phone only had a 10% charge.

The embankment was my favorite place in the city. All my most vivid memories, both good and bad, were associated with it. The long, dark river had been my only friend for years. It was the only one I could tell my problems to.

It was already about 6 p.m. I reached the Dark Forest metro station. There, I had to change trains to get to the Light Forest station. Whoever named these stations clearly had no creativity.

It was about a six-minute walk from Dark Forest to Light Forest if you knew the shortcut. The long way would take 15 or even 20 minutes. The local authorities didn't care about the inconvenient station locations. So, everyone making the transfer took the short but dangerous path through backyards and narrow alleys.

“I'm going to get murdered here someday,” I thought, grinning nervously.

“I should take the long way,” I told myself. But I had absolutely no strength. The fight had worn me out, both physically and emotionally.

The moon was already visible on the horizon. I looked at it and held out my hand when suddenly a guy ran past me. He pushed me so hard I almost fell flat on my face.

“Hey—”

It took me a second to realize, and then I screamed.

“My wallet! It's gone! It was in my left jacket pocket!”

I dropped my bag and ran after the thief.

“Hey! Thief! Stop! Give me back my wallet!” “No!” he shouted back. “What? What do you mean, no? It's my wallet!” “I don't care! I need to buy something to eat! That's your problem!” “You think I don't want to eat?! Have some pity, I'm a poor schoolgirl! I have no money!” I shouted, out of breath.

I ran out of breath and stopped. “Mom is going to kill me,” I sobbed.

The thief stopped for a second. “Do you have a strict mother?” he asked, a hint of regret in his voice. “Yes,” I said pitifully. I must have looked like a kicked puppy. A flicker of hope sparked in my chest. “I'm sorry,” he said, and then took off running again. “What?!” I shouted in surprise. “What was that?! You bastard!” I shouted and tried to take a step forward, but I fell to my knees from fatigue.

Thunder cracked. I looked up at the sky with wide eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” I shouted at the clouds, slapping a hand to my forehead. I tried to calm down.

“Okay, calm down. I'll go get my backpack before it starts to rain.”

I hadn't run that far after the thief, so my backpack had to be close. I walked 100 meters, then 200, then another 200. But it wasn't there.

“It's just dark out here,” I said uncertainly. “It probably fell in the bushes, not on the path,” I thought.

I turned on my phone's flashlight and started examining the bushes. Suddenly, in the distance, something flashed. It was small and swung from left to right, then right to left. And then I realized: it was the keychain on my backpack. It was swinging because someone was running with my backpack.

“You thief! Stop! If you don't stop, I'll kill you!” I shouted with all my might.

I pulled myself together and started running toward him. “I will not be robbed twice in one day!”

The thief stopped for a second, but when he realized I was chasing him, he started running again.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Please! Wait!”

Bushes snagged at me, and tree branches whipped against my body.

“This is the worst day of my life!”

I fell again, scraping my knee on a stone. My eyes began to fill with tears. At that moment, a terrible downpour began. My hair was soaked in seconds. My knee was bleeding. My wallet and backpack were gone. My phone had 8% battery left. My mother was going to kill me anyway. I started to cry.

After a few seconds of numb sobbing, I got up and decided to walk to the embankment. It would take longer, but with no money, it was my only option.

There weren't many people on the street. Everyone had run for cover or gotten into a taxi. I was the only one walking like a madwoman down the street—with a bloody knee, tear-filled eyes, completely soaked, wearing a lightweight blue and white jacket and a school skirt. Exhausted, I decided to cross the road to get to the embankment.

A car passing on the right slowed to a stop to let me cross. I smiled and nodded to thank the driver when, out of nowhere, a truck appeared, barreling toward me at breakneck speed. I panicked and scrambled forward, falling onto the pavement on the other side. One more second and I would have been dead.

Nothing could have prepared me for this. I don't know if Mercury was in retrograde or if the stars were misaligned, but this was the worst day of my life.

I took a deep breath, got up, and kept walking. The downpour had eased into a steady rain. I finally made it to the embankment.

I took out my phone. Only 6% charge remained. I turned it off to save the battery.

Behind me was a huge, dark forest. Ahead of me was the immense, dark water. I walked to the very edge of the bank, closed my eyes, and spread my arms wide. The rain fell on me, but I felt completely free. Suddenly, a terrible gust of wind hit me, and I couldn't keep my balance. The stone under my feet was slick with rain. I slipped and started to fall into the cold river.