Page 198 - My Home on the Earth

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It wasn’t difficult to lift the metal latch on the heavy wooden gate. Melanie had persuaded her carer to let her out into the grounds at the back of Shatford Lodge. ‘All right,’ the woman had said, ‘but only for a couple of minutes for a bit of fresh air.’
That’s all it took for Melanie to escape. She’d strolled past shrubs and tall patches of nettles before seeing a gate hidden from view. Ignoring the nettles, she rushed in and lifted the latch. Amazingly, it opened. Outside, she ran along a pathway, through a pocket park, and out into a housing estate not daring to look back. Having a rough idea of her whereabouts she headed for a thoroughfare that would take her to a main road. This one did. Up ahead, on the opposite side of the road was a sign post that she could just make out: Town Centre.
With no idea of how far to walk, she weaved in and out of dense shrubs that lined the grass verge. At a junction, she waited for a lull in the traffic before stepping across the road. Looming on the horizon sat a landmark, the town’s parish church. Veering away from the traffic, she took a side road and rested a moment on a garden wall where she breathed in the salty air and murmured: ‘I’m getting closer to the sea.’ Somewhere behind her, a police siren rang out and she felt uneasy. She hurried away believing her destination was calling to her by strengthening her stride and determination. A view in the distance brought her to a sudden halt. ‘There it is, waiting for me.’
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