Runaway Kid

By Afaf Tobala

الهروب لا يولد إلا هروبًا.. فقط المواجهة هي التي تطرح حلولًا.. هكذا يردد بطل الرواية الذى هرب من البيت بسبب الخلافات الاسرية، وبعد محاولات كثيرة للعيش بعيدًا عن أسرته، قرر العودة وتحمل مسئولية دعم الترابط الأسري، سواء تحت مظلة الزواج أو بعد الانفصال.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nahdet Misr
• Release date: Jan 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9789771462019

Book preview

Runaway Kid

A novel for young adults

Section00001.xhtml

Written by: Affaf Tobbala

Translated by: Amal Mostafa

Author: Affaf Tobbala

Inner illustrations: Maryam Hani

Translated by: Amal Mostafa

General Supervision: Dalia M. Ibrahim

Copyright © All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-977-14-6201-9

Legal Deposit No.: 13253 /2019

Jan. 2019

Section00002.xhtml

Established By Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim-1938

21 Ahmed Orabi St., Mohandseen, Giza, Egypt.

Tel.: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Customer Service: 16766

Website: www.nahdetmisr.com

E-mail: [e-mail]

Prologue

Section00003.xhtml

He heard his mother’s voice calling, so he froze still. The sound came from the living room, which stood closer to the front door of the apartment than the bedrooms. In his planning, he had forgotten that two days earlier she began sleeping there. He knew she was a light sleeper. Ever since he was small and up until now, she would wake up at the hint of any sound from his bedroom to make sure he was well.

He stayed still till he felt that things were once more stable and secure. He tiptoed to the door of the apartment. He turned the knob, and quietly pulled the door open. He was afraid it would let him down and creak as usual, though he had sprayed its hinges yesterday with insecticide, like he had seen his father do with his bedroom door before.

He slipped through the door, taking out of his pocket the apartment key that his mother had given him to use in days he returned from school before her return from work. She advised him to take good care of it, as losing it would be risky and could put them in harm’s way. He withdrew the latch with the key and pulled the door towards him until it closed. He then took the key out, returning the latch to its previous position without a sound. He bent down and pushed the key under the door back into the apartment.

He left himself no way to go back inside without their knowledge if he decides to return.

He didn’t call the elevator to avoid the sounds it stirred. He descended the four flights of stairs quietly on foot. As soon as he came out of the gate of the building, with his bag hanging on his back, he took flight.

Mokattam

Section00004.xhtml

From a distance, he could see the square lit by some lanterns. It was completely empty, no passers-by in sight. He looked around in search for Yasser, but to no avail. He was sure he came at exactly the agreed time. Did Yasser let him down and go back on their agreement? In the last messages they exchanged, he had confirmed their agreed meeting time. That was before he turned off his phone and hid it in the closet among his clothes. He preferred to leave it behind, to prevent it being used to track him down.

Each of them, Yasser and himself, had a different problem to deal with, but they agreed that the solution of which lied in running away from home. His friend Yasser was the first to bring the idea up, but it was him that pushed to accelerate the date of its implementation. Yasser would have preferred to postpone the project until the beginning of the school year. He hated school and studying due to the great pressure his father put on him; no going out with friends, no playing football, and no mobile games except within the limits that the father set out. He scolded him for every moment in which he wasn’t studying, even on the annual school vacation. Yasser expected the matter to become more acute in the new stage of school. After the exam results came out, he did not leave him an opportunity to rejoice his good results, and began saying: We entered the serious stage... What passed so far was only child’s play. He reminded him that middle school would determine his future, leaving no room for complacency.

As for him, the motive was different from that of Yasser, and cannot be postponed.

He walked around the square, hoping that Yasser would arrive and join him. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind that made him look around anxiously and then run off: What if Yasser had confessed to his parents about his intention? Perhaps they were trying to contact his family to inform them. He must leave the place as soon as possible and go as far away as possible.

He sprinted in a straight line like an arrow, staying in main streets that were illuminated and avoiding dark side streets. He moved from one square to another until his feet led him to a square he had never seen before, with a public bus terminal, where some busses were standing by for the start of the morning service. The station was totally empty, except for a beggar with long disheveled hair, a thick beard, and dirty shabby clothes, sleeping on the floor in a secluded corner.

He sat down on one of the benches of the station, taking his bag off his back, placing it on his lap and resting his chin on it. Having Yasser with him would have made things easier. He was the master mind of their project. He had solutions to many difficulties, making things seem easy and possible. For overnight stay -the most difficult of all problems- he planned that they stay in an apartment his father recently bought in a new neighborhood. The apartment was still being constructed and not yet ready to inhabit. The other apartments in the building were all uninhabited, and no one will notice their presence. Getting a copy of the key from his father’s drawer was not difficult!

Now he must decide alone what to do and where to go. His familiarity with the streets was limited to the scope of his neighborhood, as his movement was confined between his school, club, and the rare outings that his mother allowed him lately, in which he went with his