I look down the other side of the tree. There’s hardly any policemen there at all. There’s one running towards me though. I leap of the branch before he gets here. I bound off down the hill, policemen screaming and chasing after me. I run and run and run. I run down a path and there’s a bare rocky STEEP hill leading down to a lake. I have no choice but to run down. My face and hands are sweating and tears are spurting from my eyes. Everything is blurry. I can barely see. I can hear policemen screaming and shouting at me. It’s all so scary! I keep running even though I’d give anything to stop. I suddenly trip over a large rock. Screaming, I go tumbling down the hill. I try to catch hold of a rock but it comes away in my hand. I go flying right down into the lake with a splash. I go down, water in my ears and eyes and mouth. I push myself desperately up to the surface, gasping. I’m bawling crying now, trying to swim. “SKYLAR!” Granddad shouts. Some policemen grab me and haul me out of the lake. I try to pull away but I’m too weak. “Get off me!” I croak. “Skylar, please listen! We found out you did nothing wrong. We know who really started the fire.” I stop struggling. “Who?” I gasp. There is a long silence. Granddad is gulping down tears and looking guilty. “I did”, he whispers. I’m so shocked I can hardly speak! Granddad did it! “But…why?” I ask, horrified. ‘I was just so angry with them for murdering your parents. It annoyed me the way they killed people and got to live themselves! I was just passing and I couldn’t stop myself…” Granddad hides his head in his hands. “But..but you blamed it on me!” I try to shriek. “I know. When they thought it was you I wanted to say it but I couldn’t!” I feel angry for a second. He blamed it on me! Did he know how much I went through? .Then I feel a bit sad for him. He was crying and looking guilty. I knew how sorry he was. “I’m so so so so so sorry, SKYLAR!” He says. “I won’t do anything like that again!”

“Is…is my granddad going to be sent to prison?” I ask worriedly. The policemen look at each other for a minute. “We don’t know!’ One says.

Granddad has to go to court. After hours and hours and hours they finally sentence him a year in prison. I know – only a year, but it’s because they did kill my parents and Granddad’s really old. I’m scared he’s going to die in prison – but he promised me he’d write as much as he could and be out soon. I have to go and stay with an old auntie in England. I don’t want to – but I have no choice now. And when I’m there I’ll have something to look forward to – Granddad coming out of prison.

At least I’m not the one who they think did it anymore. I’m the mockingbird….