Alice

Hi! My name is Alice and I am 13 years old. I've been living in Russia for a while now and to be honest, I don't like it here. [[Parents]]

My parents always act weird and they started arguing quite often and I have no idea why. I hear them whisper from time to time and it is really bothering me. I have nobody to talk to except for my virtual friend named Katy. We got acquainted not long time ago in the online game and sometimes we text each other. But she is always busy, so we barely communicate. [[Confusion]]

One day I came home and saw a lot of broken glass on the floor and heard shouting. I got really scared. What if someone broke into our house? [[Mother]] <img src="http://www.tipsnips.com//upload/1358730349How%20to%20clean%20up%20broken%20glass.jpg">

I went into the living room and saw my mom crying. I immediately approached her and asked what was happening. She said that everything would be alright and I should not worry about anything. My father was just in a bad mood and that is all. [[push for answers]] [[leave it]]

Later my father came home. My mom was in the kitchen and I hid behind the door because I wanted to know what was going on but they would never tell me what is wrong. They started talking about my school and how I cannot go there. My mother got angry but dad said it was a final decision. [[The Truth]] <img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/b4/8d/3eb48d6ab661ca74a7e1e5a7df435428.jpg">

"Are you sure that everything is fine? You know you can tell me everything, right?" "Yes, I know. Everything is fine, honey. Don't you worry." [[Father]]

Of course it didn't sound convincing at all. But I knew that I would find out the answers eventually, one way or another. [[Father]]

Then I heard something that completely shocked me. Dad said that there was a problem with kidnapping and we should not waste anymore time. We had to leave the country. My mom was terrified and so was I. But we did not have any choice. I could not handle this, I just had to get out of there. I needed to be alone for awhile. [[Which way?]]

I went out outside and decided to go to a park that I have found recently. It was very lovely. It was getting dark and I couldn't remember how to reach the park exactly. I wanted to get there quicker. I had few options. [[go right]] [[go left]] <img src="https://www.dnevno.rs/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/street-789626_960_720.jpg">

I decided to go right. It took me about 8 minutes to reach my destination. Here it was. It was so peaceful here. However, there were two girls sitting on the bench there. I approached them, why not? [[New friends?]] <img src="http://absfreepic.com/absolutely_free_photos/small_photos/lonely-park-bench-at-night-3872x2592_72901.jpg">

I decided to go left. I was walking for about 2 minutes until I reached a dead end. There was a construction there, so I went back. And went the right way. When I finally came to the park, I saw 2 girls sitting on the bench. [[New friends?]] <img src="https://www.dnevnik.rs/sites/default/files/2019-07/site-232191_960_720.jpg">

When I approached them, they were laughing and talking. Then they saw me. "Hi. Are alright?" - One of the girls asked me. "Not really. Just some family problems." "Oh, we've all been there. Want to join us? I'm Anna and this is Clare." "Nice to meet you. I am Alice." [[Search]] <img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/10/17/16/30/night-3754297_960_720.jpg">

Just when I was about to join them, I saw my parents storming out of nowhere. Wow, they looked quite angry. "Alice, where have you been? We were worried sick! We've been searching for you everywhere!" "Sorry, I just needed to clear my head." "To clear your head? Are you serious? You can't just go out like this! What if something happened to you? We need to leave. Now." [[Leaving]]

I was embarassed a little because other girls heard that conversation. They looked confused and I am not surprised. But I guess I didn't have any choice. My mom took my hand before I could even say anything and we left.