Run Aaliyah Run

“Run Aaliyah, Run!”

And Aaliyah ran! The voice–her guide–was seldom wrong—‘seldom’ taken with a grain of salt that is.

But right now she had no time to argue or deliberate. She simply obeyed her instincts and ran.

She ran in the dark. Always in the dark. Helter-skelter. Directionless. Aiming for an unknown destination far away from here. Far, far away.

She ran on streets overflowing with the rotting filth of humanity on bare-naked feet, her tender skin lacerated and torn to shreds. Yet she felt no pain. Indeed she felt nothing at all.

She ran blind. Her brain a confusion of sounds that she had come to hate. She bumped into bodies. Some of whom grabbed at her tattered skirt. They let go when she screamed.

She ran. Away from the noise and the rough groping hands. From the barred windows and the locked doors and from the unbearable pain.

She ran.

—-0—-

Aaliyah is a girl who is a victim of her circumstances. She could be helped if only she had sought it on time. Unfortunately the situation perpetuated itself and her life veered on to a different path altogether. She is now standing at the crossroads and weighing her choices. Does she have any?

This is a short that will become the template of a story I hope to write in the near future. It is based on a real life experience of mine that I was tremendously affected by. It’s unlike the usual stuff I churn out. I hope you will like it.