There he was.
Our night hawk was getting ready for duty; as he has done for the past week.
Because of the instructions everyone has been given for the past week.
Stay at home and save lives, so that this virus does not spread.
Ahmed was nine years old.
It is 10 at night and he makes his last set of checks.
Mother, asleep.
Father, asleep.
Brother, asleep.
Sister, asleep.
No pets.
He grabs his face mask and walks to the front door to the apartment.
He finds the staircase and walks down to the main entrance of the building..
Straight away, Ahmed sees the blue and red flashing of a police car.
"What are you doing?" asked the police officer.
"I am helping you, sir," replied Ahmed."I want to make sure everyone is at home."
"You should be at home, keeping safe," said the police officer
"But, I want to help. How can I help?"
"Here's how you can help," said the officer. "You need to go home and keep safe. Look after yourself and your family."
"But I want to help," said Ahmed.
"Let me finish. We need people like you to be our police officers of the future."
"Can I be a police officer?" asked Ahmed.
"Yes. Go home and stay home. Keep yourself studying. Keep yourself fit. Eat good food. Then, when you are older, you could be a police officer."
"Do you promise?" asked Ahmed.
"Only if you work hard," replied the officer. "You are certainly brave enough."
Ahmed went home. That was the last time he went out. He followed the advice of the police officer. He studied hard, he ate good food and he kept himself fit and healthy.
Please remember; stay home and stay safe.
Pixabay
Freewrite task, @mariannewest
It is the catch phrase for all..stay safe.
I was expecting this boy to encounter some danger and after being bailed out, he'd learn his lesson the hard way. It's refreshing to see a story resolved with the wiser, older cop giving advice that the child actually heeds. To me, that was more surprising than if the kid had donned a cape and started flying. :) Bravo!
Yes, I've given myself a challenge for the next month. I want my stories to be suitable for young children. It's good to be trying something different.