Outstanding Story (Sub-junior) - A Day I Will Never Forget!

“A Day I Will Never Forget!” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2019 written by Giuseppe Farrugia, St. Clare College – Primary B, San Gwann, Malta.

A Day I Will Never Forget!

It was September last year, whilst I was on holiday with my family in London. My grandma Helen, my aunties, my uncle and all my cousins were there with us. It was the first time we were on a holiday all together and we were having a whale of a time!

On a beautiful sunny day during our holiday, we decided to go to a Fun Park. As we approached the gate, we could hear the thick clanking of the rides moving, the shuddering of rails and tracks, and the screams of their passengers as they are whipped around. We could also hear the animals in the far distance and see people doing horse riding. Before we paid our entrance ticket, I knew that this was going to be a day I will never forget….and it was but for all the different reasons I was imagining at that very moment!!

After everyone made their plans after we consulted the handy park map, the girls decided to play it safe and hit an easy log ride, whilst the boys decided to go on the highest and scariest ride there was in the park! We agreed to meet up later for lunch and parted away.

The world turned upside down for a moment on the ride and I can still feel the excitement and thrill whilst the ground came rushing towards me and then just when it seemed like I’m touching the asphalt, the cart turned sharply to the right, then to the left. It all happened so fast that all I could make out, it was a blur of color.

After some rides, we decided to go to the animals section. There I gave the horses some apples, cuddled some rabbits, learnt how to milk a goat and even got to hold a snake on my neck and touch its’ scaly skin!

Before I knew it, it was lunch time and so we had to meet the girls next to the souvenir shop. The first person I recognized was my grandma. She was wearing a bright red top and she stood out from the rest of the group. I quickly ran to hug her.

Whilst the grownups were discussing which restaurant was the best option for us to have lunch in; I was having an argument with my brother and got very angry. Due to this, I started walking away from my family on my own and didn’t realize that I was getting further away from them. At a point I decided to look back and was shocked to realize that there was no one I knew! I tried to walk back from where I came from but I got lost and couldn’t find my family. Everything was bright in happy colors; from the light poles to the benches, to the garbage cans, to the T-shirts of the employees; who looked like the happiest persons on Earth…to the contrary of what I was feeling. I felt sad, anxious and scared.

In panic, I started running towards the places that we had already been, but there were crowds of people everywhere, the place was bustling with activities and I couldn’t see any familiar faces. I was in hot water! Tears started coming down my cheeks and soon a man in uniform approached me and asked me what had happened. He was very gentle and the security badge on his shirt made me feel that I could trust him. I told him my story and he took me to a building, very close to the entrance. We went inside an office, he pressed a switch and spoke on the microphone; “Lost Boy! Parents of Giuseppe Farrugia come to the main gate please!” I heard this announcement being repeated three times.

I never recall feeling as happy as that moment when from the office window, I saw my mother running towards the building I was in. My grandma was crying like a baby rushing after my mother and as soon as they saw me, they both started hugging me and telling me that they love me! I thought I was going to be punished for my actions, but they were all so relieved that I was safe, that the thought didn’t even cross their minds….to my relief!!

It was very selfish of me to go away like that and I felt very frightened when I got lost. From that day on I never left my parents’ side ever again. The events that happened that day will remain in my memory for a very long time!