Week 4 Story: Leave

Freedom from pexel.

AFTER countless days staying awake thinking about this moment it was finally Arthur’s chance to escape. The clock struck twelve and he was now 18-years-old. He was officially old enough to count as a man. 

Arthur thought, “I will find a better place to live. A place where I will find joy, find my peace, and endure whatever that comes my way. I will be all alone. That is okay. I will survive. The hour has come; I am on the road to deliverance.”

He swiftly packed his bags in the middle of the night taking only the essential items needed to survive. Arthur’s closest friend was his German Shepard, Ka. Taking a few minutes to debate if he should take Ka along or leave him as he depart…

Ka was strong and supple. At the same time he was also gentle, but only with Arthur. He was a noble friend and was there for Arthur through all his good times and bad. They were best companions. Arthur could not bare to desert him; Ka’s strength kept him motivated.

They snuck downstairs and through the kitchen. Arthur grabbed removed some of his belongings to make room for food and dog essentials for Ka. Slowly they made way past his parent’s master bedroom and through the hallway. Delicately Arthur slowly turned one of notches to the front door.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise.

They did not know where it came from, but Arthur knew if they did not get out now then they will never have the courage to again. It was time.

In quick motions Arthur was able to rapidly get all the door notches unlocked. Arthur and Ka took their first step outdoors and never looked back. This is what freedom feels like.

The night was foggy and an eerie aura lurked around. The moon was alive, but the world around him was lost in a haze. This didn’t seem real.

Arthur and Ka made it to a bus station and went to the furthest city possible. They needed to get some rest before their day full of adventures tomorrow. The sun will rise and his parents will wake up and start an investigation to find Arthur and Ka.

All his life Arthur was expected to live a certain way. He had to become a doctor or engineer or else he would be considered the disappointment of his family. Arthur was forced to attend an all boys Catholic school, and frankly he was not even fond of this forced religious path.

Arthur was thankful to live in a prestigious neighborhood and never went to bed hungry… but somewhere along the way… this was not the life he wanted to live. Arthur knew he was different from the others.

He wanted freedom. Arthur wanted to be his own person and not be molded into the person his family expected him to be. He wanted a life outside of this and the only way out Arthur could think of was to escape.

His parents were never able to locate him and Ka. They hitchhiked through countless towns and made it past the border. In that moment Arthur thought, “until I shall have seen the end of life and death, I shall never return home.”

Author’s Note: Based off of the story of Siddhartha leaving home. This is a more modern approach. Siddhartha was changed to Arthur. The horse, Kanthaka, changed to a dog named Ka. The story seemed a little all over the place, but I based that set up on the original way it was told. The idea and setting is different, yet still holds the idea of escaping for a better life.

Bibliography: Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold