Highly Commended
Zonera Ibrahim

Amena stopped in her tracks when she heard scurrying in the garden shed. She could see nothing when she peered through the window. Opening the door a crack to look inside she saw a frightened pointy face and a great bushy tail. 

Is it a monster? Amena’s heart pounding out of her chest. Just moments away from discovering the ominous creature behind the door. Her hands trembling as she reached for the handle, she took a deep breath. It was open The anxiety that was in her before had faded away. Panicked, beady eyes glared straight back at Amena. She saw a curled, fuzzy tail, small pointed ears and black and grey stripes everywhere. A racoon?!

Thousands of thoughts rushed through her mind. What’s it doing here? How long has it been here? Realization hit her like a bomb. As Amena cautiously stepped closer towards the racoon, attempting to comfort it, the racoon scurried back under an old, leaning shelf. Amena noticed a small nest made out of plastic and a missing sock that Amena had been looking for. She had also noticed a chewed-up plastic bottle and a packet of crisps. She thought nothing of it at first but then she knew that’s what the racoon had been living off of. Sympathy is all Amena felt. A poor racoons natural habitat destroyed, living in your garden shed not knowing where to go and only eating what us humans called ‘rubbish’.

A sound of pain and dread was enough to make Amena gasp. She instantly turned her head. The sound of agony grew even louder from the racoon. She immediately took a step back. Her jaw dropped. Her hands covered her mouth to something horrific, something she could never imagine…

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