Narrative essay

Write a story that ends with:
“… This incident has made me wiser.”

                It was Monday, in the month of July 2002. I was only seven years old then but I can still remember that afternoon clearly. School was over and after saying goodbye to our classmates, my best friend, Narimah , and I headed home as usual. Our homes were about 800 meters away from school. It was actually quite a long walk for children of our age. But I had always enjoyed the walk especially since I could take short cut through the big playground, even though my mother told me again and again never take such short cut.

                That day I felt very thirsty. As we approached the playground, I saw an ice cream vendor. I decided to buy some to quench my thirst despite Narimah’s disagreement. “I don’t think we should, our mothers will be angry,” she said. But, I was adamant about having that sweet, cooling ice cream cone. Leaving her behind, I ran across the playground to the ice cream vendor.

                As I reached the van, a man came out. I had never seen his face before. He smiled and said, “Would you like an ice cream?” I did not get chance to say yes as within split seconds, he lifted me up with both hands, leaving me momentarily dumbfounded and speechless.

I quickly regained my senses and struggled to escape him. He held me tighter and carried me to an old blue van parked nearby. Recalling one kidnapping incident which I had watched on television, with all my might, I bit his hands. The man was in pain and shock that he loosened his grip. That was a moment of victory for me. I quickly ran as fast as I could towards my house. He tried to chase after me but sped off as soon as he realized that I was already in the compound of my house.

                I was shaking when I told my mother about what had happened to me. I cried so hard. She hugged me and told me everything would be fine. Later, I followed my parents to the police station to lodge a police report.

                From that moment onwards, my mother never allowed me to walk to school anymore. I learnt three things from the incident; never ever disobey your mother, never talk to strangers and take up some form of martial arts for self-defence. This incident has made me wiser.