Secrets. Everyone has them. Doesn’t matter how big or small they are, everyone has them. But my secret is not like others. If someone were to find out, something bad would happen. I don’t really like thinking about it. I have been holding onto this secret for 3 years. For three years I haven't been able to breathe. To just let go and live a normal life. I have had to live in the shadows. I have lost friends because of this. I don’t talk to anyone because of this. I just wake up, go to school, then come home and hide out in my room. I am always hiding. I don’t think anyone has truly seen me since the last three years ago. Sometimes I wish I used to live like how I used to live. Always in the light. But then I remember it can’t be that way. No one can ever find out about this secret. So, I must live this way. My parents think I am depressed and have been trying to send me to therapy. No matter how many times I tell them though they won't believe. I have thought about telling them. Just letting go of my secret. Then I get back to reality and realize that can NEVER happen.

 

I live every day the same. Every single day the same thing happens. Until this morning when we had a knock on the door. I was in my room. I heard my mom unlock the door; I didn’t really think anything of it. Until my mom called me to go downstairs. I slowly crept down the stairs. There was this older man standing on our porch. He had a hat one and was carrying this black briefcase. He looked simple yet complex at the same time. His eyes just looked like eyes but when you really looked into them you could see a thousand stories. When I finally made it to my mom, my body went tense. I don’t know why. I just had a bad feeling.

“What is it mom?” I asked.

“This nice man here wants to speak with you” she said with a small, worried tone.

“Hello Luna, would you mind stepping outside with me for a second” he asked me.

Something about him was off. It did not sit right with me. I looked at my mom for permission, hoping she would say now. But instead, she said yes. I walked through the door and sat on a bench.

“So, what do you want to talk to me about?” I asked hoping for this to be over soon.

“I think you know something, Luna. Is that true?” my heart dropped. I felt my face go red. He knows I'm hiding something. I knew there was something weird about this man. I must leave. I must get away from him. I sat there in silence for a second, trying to think of a plan. While sitting I saw a badge in his briefcase. The words on it were so tiny, I could barely see them. I squinched my eyes, and I could somewhat read it. On the badge there were a bunch of tiny words than these three big letters in the middle. I scooched forward a little because I really needed to see it. F, B, I. The FBI?!?!? I have to go. Okay, I made my plan. I am going to run to my room and go out of my window down my secret escape. This is crazy. This whole thing is crazy. Okay, I am going to run in three seconds. One, two, three. I quickly sat up and made a run for upstairs. I

could hear my mom and the man shouting at me, but I ignored them. I went down the ladder and ran. Ran as fast as I could. Where was I going to go? There’s a train track by my house, I’ll go there, and hide beneath a bench.

After 10 minutes of sprinting, I finally made it to the train track. They're never going to find me here. That’s what I kept on telling myself. I found a bench and hid behind it. I do not know how long I was there until I heard him.

“Luna, are you here? You do not need to be scared. I am not going to hurt you” he yelled out.

I just sat there trembling, praying this would all be over soon. He was coming closer; it would not be long before he saw me. If he catches me, it will be the end. I need to get up and fight. I have held on to this secret for three years, it’s worth fighting for. I slowly got up to where he could see me.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying not to sound scared.

“Just walk over to me, I am not going to hurt you” he answered back.

He was going to say something else but was interrupted by the loud noise of a train on its way here. I looked at where the train was and tried to calculate how long it would be before it passed us. About 30 seconds. So, I slowly walked over to him. The train was about 10 seconds away now.

“Luna you better speed up, or this train is going to hit you, and I can’t have that happen” he told me.

“Why, so you can know what I’m hiding. Well jokes on you because no one will ever know” I confidently said.

I had about 5 seconds to decide if this is really what I wanted to do. I could still turn around and run. But. they would still find me. No matter how much I hide in the shadows, they will always find me. My life will be over no matter what I decide. This secret has already taken up so much of my life, why not just let it take over completely. So that’s what I let it do.

 

The train was about three seconds away. I stepped onto the track and slowly counted to three.