I take him to the disposal area.  He asks what we’re doing, and I say something fun. He looks at me like he’s trying to remember what it means. Fun. I take his hand and start running. I don't stop until my eyes land on something interesting. Burnt paper with some drawings on it. A story about two friends, they’re fighting, but it’s funny. As I read, my brother smiles and giggles.

Engine rumbling, sand crunching.

I could barely think. I didn’t understand at first, the two mountains, towering like the pillars of the universe. Below spread a sea of green. No one could believe it. We all cheered as we pushed forward. We were free from this prison.

      Andrew kept making car noises until all of a sudden he stopped. I turned. He was gone. Cato and I looked for him until we found him talking to a nice couple. Apparently, his bike had gotten detached and the couple saw. 

      Now whenever Jessica starts to complain, I’ll take them out and spend time with them.

 “There’s still time!” She exclaimed, “With everyone’s help, we can save the environment.” Over time, people started believing her, but I knew something was off. From the moment I set eyes on her, I recognized her as the face behind it all, Anja Mercia, founder of Neofuels.

“Hold on tight!”  I shout, gripping the rope. 

Now 5 years later, I’m slumped in an armchair wondering, what went wrong?  I sink deeper into the soft folds, reminiscing about the times when the blissful ignorance of childhood cradled me. Times when I didn't know how to file taxes or had to worry about how much this week's groceries cost. Times when I could enjoy my life, the times when I was free.

I stare from the old bench, to the field. I notice a bird in the grass, enjoying itself. It has no rules, no responsibilities. It takes flight and escapes. I wish to fly away from problems and responsibilities. That’s freedom.

     Alone with my thoughts, realizing I've already found love – Prince Kwame, whom I met at an event. My parents' worries restricted my life, but not my heart.

An invitation to a ball excites me. I approach Kwame at the ball and overhear him say, "I'll get you the money once the princess trusts me," Kwame says. A lump forms in my throat and I leave the palace, my world shattered. I feel heartbroken.

It was smoggy out when I heard the news. 

“The wildfires have been spreading. Evacuate to the salt.”  

I jumped up to tell my parents as Biscuit followed, wagging his tail. They sprung out of bed to get packed. The drive was long, almost 30 minutes. When we arrived, we saw many other people there. Our neighbors waved to us frantically as we drove onto the dried-up flats. We drove out farther, we couldn't see anything but salt. I looked back at land to see the faint smoke cloud. I've never felt more scared. I looked around, where is Biscuit? 

I was startled when I arrived. There are over 2000 people. I felt trapped giving the speech. Some people obviously hated the speech. 

“Are you trying to bore us to death?” someone nearby asked sarcastically. I could feel the passive aggressiveness emanating from him. 

“No, I’m trying to empower you,” I said.

I started noticing how many people were cheering. Over two-thirds were. Knowing this made me feel free again.

“Bathroom?” She said,

the teacher nodded.

“FFFFFFFFF!”

Fire bursted in, then we quickly ran outside, there, a ring of fire surrounded us.

“There is no way out.” I said.

“No, it is a maze.” Said my sister, holding a map.

“A green dragon dropped it, then a red dragon blew fire.”

 At the end, there laid the slain red dragon, and empty gasoline containers.

“I made a map.” Said the green dragon.

“Why?” I said.

“I am done attacking.” it responded, before flying into the distance. 

I should run now but the prison is comfortable. Oh dear, my captor arrived, restraining me with pets. I’ll act asleep. Closing my eyes, and letting human continue. The rest of me didn’t comprehend I was faking and began falling sleep. I still have 8 lives to spare and can’t complain about a comfortable coffin.

The clouds above me, that’s freedom. Not zooming around, tied to people. Actually, really, truly flying. Able to go wherever you want, to disperse at will.

But I’m not a cloud. I’m a person, and that sucks.

Eventually, Dad stops and walks over, brandishing three plane tickets. Alex squeals with joy. Dad turns to me with a questioning expression.

And then it hits me. 

Guess I’ll fly after all.

When I got home from school I ate quickly after finishing all my homework, I wanted to go play with my friend and I got a little sad because I didn't have any toys to play with so I decided to go play where there were some. pieces of old paper lying around. There and there I realized that sometimes when I start playing with these pieces of old paper I think that I can be happy no matter if I'm playing with expensive toys or I'm just playing with some pieces of paper. and I smile again. In conclusion, whether you have money or not, you have the freedom to be happy, because as they say, money cannot buy happiness.