First Place Winner (January 2025) "The Escape"

At least I had a plan. Most children who ran away simply ran from something, but I was smarter than that. I knew I needed a place to run to. That was the most difficult part of my scheme, and I still hadn't figured it out as I left, but I hoped to find a way. Staying at home another night was not an option. The aura of being unloved attracted the Snatchers and last night, they had almost gotten to me. All thanks to my neglectful parents.

I was pretty good at taking care of myself, so it wasn't too difficult to find my way around when I took the bus to the train station instead of school. My plan was to stay there for a couple of hours and figure things out. It was a good place, I hoped, because with so many people coming and going, I wouldn't draw any attention to me. In the worst case, if some overzealous cop would start asking me too many questions, I just could say that my mum was in the bathroom.

I would never ask the officer for help, of course. Everyone knew what would happen if the authorities found out you were on the run. Those "safe places" they took you to were supposedly protected from the Snatchers, but I didn't trust all this talk about how technology can thicken the veil and create a safe place for all the unloved children. Anyway, how could anyone think that tech is a good substitute for love? It may stop some Snatchers from getting in, but I'd heard that children were still being pulled from there. A house full of unloved children must look like a big supermarket to them. No, I would take my chance somewhere else.

I got off the bus and sat down on a plastic bench in the waiting hall, wondering what to do next. In the end, I had to find someone who would love me. That way, the Snatchers wouldn't get to me. But for now, I needed somewhere to stay for the night. If only I had hand more time to prepare, I thout, it would have been easier. I'd looked up some pages online before I left, and they were full of stories and advice on how to avoid the Snatchers. But I did not know which ones I could trust and which ones would make me into a meal.

I sighted. Being a child was a difficult thing, and I hated it dearly.

My backup plan, I decided, was to stay on a train for a few days. I had read online that they were relatively safe. Apparently, the Snatchers didn't like entering moving objects. I hoped that was true. So, if I couldn't find someone who would love me before sunset, the train would be my choice of action.

I settled down as comfortably as I could on the hard bench, waiting for the sun to set or a person to walk by that I could approach. How do you get someone to love you, anyway? As I was wondering about that, I noticed another girl looking at me from the other side of the room. She sat there quietly and pretended to play with her phone, but she glanced at me sometimes and her eyes had a stare I wasn't used to. I tried to ignore here, but after a while, and to my dismay, she got up and came over to me.

"Go home," she said quietly as she sat down next to me.

I glanced at her nervously. How did she know I had run away from home?

"Just go back, or the Snatchers will get you," she added with a frown.

Her comment triggered my fear. I stared around me wildly as if her words would manifest them here i nthe hall. She nodded at my reaction and said, "Exactly. You know what will happen tonight if you stay here."

"But I cannot go back," I said weakly, staring at the hands in my lap. "They almost got me there last night."

The girl sighed and looked away. I tried another tactic.

"Don't worry," I said, trying to cheer myself up. "I have a plan. I will get on a train before sunset." I tried to smile, but my hands started to shake, so I tucked them into my pockets.

"Then the cops will get you," she grumbled.

I fumbled, trying to tell her my plan, but she just shook her head.

"No use, all your tricks come from some crappy website they've probably read long before you did. They will get you and put you in a safe place, and you know what that means, right?"

I stopped my fumbling and looked at her pleadingly, trying to hold back my tears.

"What shall I do?" I whispered, and to my dismay, the tears started to roll down my cheeks.

"Don't make a scene!" she hushed. "With so many people around, someone will wonder where our parents are. You don't want that, right?" she added coldly.

I shook my head faintly. "No, I don't."

She took my hand. "Let's go outside. It's not good to be in one place for too long."

I nodded and silently followed her to the small park next to the station. She sat on the swing and started to swing vigorously. A few people sat by the playground, but as soon as they'd lost interest in us, she stopped and looked at me disapprovingly.

"Behave like a child when you are outside."

I sighed and sat on the swing next to hers. "I guess I forgot how to..."

"Just pretend," she said as she started to swing again.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

Then the realisation hit me. "You must be on the run, too..."

She laughed at my expression. "Finally, you figured it out, huh?"

I looked at her, hopeful for the first time since I left home. "How did you manage to survive? Did you find someone who would...?"

She looked away. "Nope."

"So how...?" I whispered.

I always knew this would be the most difficult part of my plan, but her reaction made it clear how foolish I'd been believing I would find someone who would love me. It wasn't fair.

She stopped swinging and looked at me sadly.

"I was lucky," she said quietly. "On my first night, I was so terrified that I looked for any hole to crawl into, hoping they would never find me."

She tried to smile.

"I was so naive back then, but by luck, I found a small window open in one of the backstreets, and it led me to a cat cafe.

"Cat cafe?" I asked.

She nodded with a smile. "It protects me, somehow. I sleep there with all the cats, and the Snatchers have never found me.

I looked at her, anxious and excited all at once. Maybe I could do the same, and stay with her in her cat cafe, I thought.

"So, if I could find a place like that, I would be safe, too," I said, trying to see how she would react.

She nodded slowly but avoided my gaze, and my heart sank.

"You would still need to find a way to avoid them in the evenings. Especially in the winter when the cafe stays open long after the sunset," she said.

I nodded, staring at my feet. Maybe it was hopeless after all. Maybe I wasn't destined to find someone to love me and get away from the Snatchers.

"It would be easier if I weren't alone," I whispered to the sand beneath me.

"It isn't easy living on your own," she replied matter-of-factly.

We sat in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to do next. I should go. If she didn't want to take me in, I had to find a train to stay on for the night. I stopped the swing and got off.

"Thank you for your help. I wish you luck." I took my backpack and started walking back to the station. The sun was setting soon. I had to find a train.

"Wait!"

I turned. She'd stopped swinging and looked at me hesitantly.

"Did...Did you want to come with me to the cafe."

I nodded slowly, not sure what she was trying to say.

"I...didn't understand. I'm sorry. It was such a long time since I had friends."

She got off the swing and came over to me.

"You can stay there with me if you want."

I smiled. So my plan worked out pretty well after all.

About the Author

Mara (they/them)  is an autistic and queer writer. For as long as they remember, they have loved to make stories, build fantastical worlds, and spend most of their time there. They never saw themself represented in any of the books they read, and it made them wonder if something was wrong with them. They say that if we don't see ourselves in the stories we read, we somehow don't exist. Years later, with the encouragement of their partner, they started to write the stories they always wanted to read when they were younger.

You can read more of Mara's work on Booksie at https://www.booksie.com/users/mara-tells-stories-302112, or listen to their readings on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@maratellsstories.