Night is a time of silent
tears for me, but I know my father
only wants to protect me. We walk and walk until I am too tired to
take one more step. My father can see how tired I am, and says, 'We
will sleep here. You
sleep and I will stay awake to protect you.'
He is a strong and brave man. I hope to have a husband just like my
father in a few years time. Although, I don't want a daughter like
myself! I am too
strong-willed. I want two sons too. Two strong handsome boys. We try to
sleep under the stars, but I feel cold and a long way from home. I
cuddle my mother to keep warm. She is fat and so she is a very good
pillow. It is difficult to sleep as I keep thinking about our
home and our village. And I keep thinking about my storybook, and my
future.
The next day is hot and humid. The rains are coming soon. In the distance there are heavy clouds on the horizon. I know my father is thinking about our animals. Perhaps the soldiers will take them all. Life is so unfair. My father and mother work so hard, but now we have lost everything. Why do the soldiers kill my people? I just don't understand. We have done nothing to them. It is wrong for them to destroy our lives. I am so angry that my fear disappears. Anger is good, I will stay angry.
We walk for four days. My father says we are close to the border, but he does not know where it is. There are other people walking the same way and we talk to them. We hear some terrible stories about what has happened. How can people do such bad things? We hope we can find the UN camp, where we will be safe. But can we ever go home? We have little food left now and there is nothing to eat in this area. It is much drier than our home valley. Mother keeps saying everything is okay, but she looks worried, and my little brother is starting to look sick; he looks very pale and is not eating anything.
We are sitting by a small river when we hear a noise in the sky. It is like a plane, but it stops in the sky near us. My father tells me it is a helicopter. I have never seen such a thing before. I want to learn about the world so much. There are so many things I don't know about. The helicopter lands. There are white soldiers wearing blue helmets. My father tells us not to be afraid, they are UN soldiers and they will not hurt us. There is an African with them and he speaks to my father. They can take my mother and little brother to the camp, but there is no room this time for me and my father. They will come back later to collect us. Thanks to God, we are safe.
My mother does not want to leave me, but the African man tells her everything is okay. She takes my brother onto the helicopter and we watch them fly away. The dust from the helicopter gets in my eyes and makes me cry. i am not crying because my mother has gone. I am strong. I sit with my father in the shade of a tree. We hope they return soon. Suddenly, there is another noise behind us. It is the sound of a truck or Jeep. Perhaps more UN soldiers are coming to help us? We stand up and wait for them to come. But when the truck is close, we realise it is full of the bad men. It is too late to run. The truck stops and four men jump out the back. They are shouting at my father. He tries to fight them but they shoot him dead. My father is dead. His body falls in front of me.