Home by Ray Bear (books on motivation txt) 📖

The fire fighters weren't here yet. If they didn't come soon, our family, and dog, would be stuck in the house forever. Rebecca and me had gotten out just before the wall crashed down. My family is trapped in there, and I don't know what to do. I could go back in. There is no way in, listen to yourself, you can't even think right. STOP CRYING LILY! It didn't help to yell at myself. It made me cry even more.

I couldn't even hear the fire anymore. I was crying to hard. We lived in the forest, there are no firefighters up here. I realized, and started crying harder. The fire will spread. Me and Rebecca have to get out of here. I picked Rebecca up, who was also crying very hard, swung her onto my back, and started jogging. I couldn't run, because of the extra weight, and once we were out of sight from the house, I didn't know where we were. I didn't know how far we were from the fire. Fire. The one that probably has killed my parents, the one that is probably going to kill us. I kept walking, I didn't know where, but I just kept going. Away from the fire. Get away from the fire. Get away from the fire. Get away. Away. Away...

 I was lost. In the forest, and in my heart. I didn't know where to go in the forest, but in my heart, I didn't know whether to feel lucky to have gotten away, or sad that my parents died. Or lucky that I still have Rebecca, or sad that my house was gone. I guess I was a lot of both. I had forgotten who I was. I mean, of course I knew my name was Lily, but I had forgotten my personality and everything else. With out the rest of my family, I was alone. 

It was dark, very dark. And creepy... like one of those movies you watch, and they are creeping through the forest, and then a were wolf jumps out in front of you. Rebbeca was asleep on my back, which was a good thing, because in this nerve-racking forest, she would be even more terrified than me.

 My mind was blank. I wasn't thinking about anything, I was just walking. That is all. I wasn't thinking about a single thing. That is why it was weird when the thought popped up in my mind, it was like a balloon after the helium was just put in it. It popped up. Okay, I should probably tell you what the thought was... I needed to find shelter. I doubted I could find a cave, maybe a big tree would do. After all, I was in the forest. There were plenty of trees I could find to sleep under. But then again, I don't know if I would feel secure laying under a tree, but I couldn't think of anything else that would be good shelter. It was probably already one in the morning, but I couldn't go to sleep if I couldn't find shelter. I didn't know what to do.

It was dark, very dark. I could sleep in a tree, or under a tree, I could dig a hole and sleep in that, I could...... OH! I could find a house and sleep in that! Great, now I am not thinking right. I sighed. I was getting sleepy. Tired, in fact, I could hardly keep my eyes open. Or I could just fall asleep right here standing up with Rebecca on my back. I stopped walking to look around. I have no idea where I am... I saw a big rock, lots of trees, and dirt with a few weeds popping out of the ground. I also thought that I saw a person in the distance. Creepy, it is probably just a tree, but still. Why does it look like it's getting closer? It is just my imagination Lily, it's just my imagination. Okay, that is not my imagination, that person is definitly getting closer! "Lily? Why is there a man comming towards us?" Rebecca whispered in my ear. "Rebecca, I didn't know you were awake." I responded in a quiet voice. "I just woke up, that's a pretty creepy man Lily, we should leave." Rebbeca told me. "Yeah, he is." I said and started walking away from the silouetted man.

 The man wasn't leaving, he was getting closer. Rebecca kept looking back at him to see if he was getting closer or farther away. "Lily, I don't think he is planning on going anywhere, I think he is following us."

"Oh, don't be silly Rebbeca, he is not following us." I told her, but in my mind I knew she was right. "Okay Rebbeca, you have to be brave, I'm putting you down, and we are going to run." I set Rebbeca down, and she snatched my hand away from my side, holding it as tight as a snake, getting it's prey. I could feel the vibrations of her hand, shaking with fear. "Okay Rebbeca, on three, we run away from the man. One, Two, Three!" We both started running as fast as we could, well I wasn't running as fast as I could, or else I would leave Rebbeca behind in the dust. I glanced back at the man. He was gone, we had made it past. But just to be safe, we kept running for about two more minutes. Rebbeca stopped first. "Lily? Is that a.... house? And are those lights?" I stopped running too. We had reached a town!

It was late, so we couldn't really explore. My goal was to find a place to stay. I checked my pockets for my allouence. I almost always keep my allouence money in my pocket. With my left hand, I pulled one pocket out so that it was inside out. No money. I gently placed Rebecca's hand to her side, pulling it away from my hand so that I could use this hand to check my other pocket. I stuffed my hand inside of the warm pocket. And I felt the scratchy textured money. I pulled it out, aimed it at a street light so that I could see it better, and looked at the numbers on each dollar bill. Two tens, one five, and two ones. Twenty seven dollars. I tucked my money back into my right pocket.

"Lily, I'm tired." Rebbeca said in a voice that told me she needed a piggy back ride. I kneeled down on the side walk, and even through my thick jeans, I could tell that it was icy cold. Lily climbed on top of my back. I slowly managed to get back up, even with my stiff legs and back, and I continued to walk. Up ahead I saw a hotel with lights brightening the entrance. We would try there, I told Rebbeca, and realized she had drifted off into a deep sleep. Who knew what time it was?

We reached the hotel, and just in time. Right as we got in, it started raining. I looked back at the now wet street, then turned and walked to the front desk where a women sat. She looked around the age of twenty. She stopped what she was doing, and looked up, and as she did, a suprized, but concerned looked pulled at the womens face. "Hello. What are you guys up too?" She asked in a sympathetic voice. Rebbeca was now awake, and she answered with out me knowing until she started speaking, "Hi. We are tired, and we need a place to stay."

"And where are your parents?" She asked, and tears almost came to my eyes, but I held them back. "They are... out of town."

"And you don't have a babysitter?"

"No." I said in a sturn voice. I sensed that the women could tell something was wrong. "We have twenty six dollars. Will that be enough?" I asked in a hopeful voice.

"I'm afraid not. It would take at least eighty dollars." She said, her voice saddening for us. Rebecca hopped into the conversation, "But then we'll have to sleep in the rain!" She jumped off of my back, and  walked over to the front desk, jumping to be seen by the women, "Let me tell you a secret... I don't like sleeping in rain." She whispered softly. The women laughed a little, "Okay, it will cost eighty dollars to sleep here, but I won't give you a cost to sleep at my house. And when was the last time you ate?" Hope fired up in my eyes. "Um, not since yesterday." I told her realizing that I was very hungry. "Oh. Wow, okay... Well, you might have to hang out here at the hotel for a while, until I get off of work." She said. "We get to stay at your house???" Rebecca said.

"Yes!" The women said, and me and Rebbeca glowed with hope.