War Kids (9 page)

GERARD

I knock on the hospital door. “Can we come in?” I need to see Faith. I thought I’d lost her in the hospital bomb attack, the same way I lost Mia… just the thought sends a shiver through my spine.

Yet, after all this time, I find out that until just recently, Mia’s been alive and with León. How could they fucking do this to me? My best friend and girlfriend together all this time, making me think they were dead!

I cannot tell Faith. She’ll ask too many questions about me and my past. I’ll lose her once I tell her everything, so she must never know.

Anis pushes me out of the way. I take a step back as he runs through the door straight to his sister. Anis was silent in the truck before. He kept his head down and his eyes to the ground. He was the smart one of the group, looking away from the nightmare images all around us.

I stared out of the window on the way back to the hospital, still in complete shock at seeing Mia. There were bodies piled up on the roadside.

The villages were like ghost towns. From the corner of my eye, I could see movement, but just as fast as I’d seen it, it was gone. It was people hiding in the shadows, terrified of being seen.

Anis hugs his sister, and she smiles at him as they whisper to each other. “Bye, Faith,” the little girl says, and then they are both gone. I guess they want to leave us alone together. Had Anis seen me break down at Jada’s house?

“Did you find Jada?” Faith asks. “Was she there?”

“No, sorry, she wasn’t.” I frown. “But I’m not giving up. I have photos of her, and I called --” Before I finish my sentence, as if on cue, she walks in.

“Hi, Faith,” Laura says as she enters with her cameraman. “Gérard called me and told me about Jada. I’m here to help.”

Faith looks a bit puzzled. “Hi, Laura. How exactly are you going to help?”

I stand next to Faith and hold her hand. She is still recovering from the attack, and this is a lot to take in.

“I’m going to the refugee camp in the next town. Everyone is leaving their homes and heading there. Gérard, do you have the photograph of Jada?”

I hand Laura some pictures, but I keep the one of the family hidden in my pocket.

“When we get there, we’ll see if we can find her. They have everyone register when they arrive. I just hope she hasn’t already left. The camp is full, so they’re moving people to other places.”

“Thank you, Laura. It means the world to me. I just cannot live with myself, knowing that I sent her out there…” Faith stares out of the hospital window. I can see smoke in the sky from villages on fire, but we are safe here for the moment.

“I’ll do everything I can, I promise you,” Laura adds with a caring tone. She can see the guilt eating away at Faith. Maybe Victoria was right. Faith is not strong enough for war.

“Faith, I have a favor to ask of you,” Laura says.

“Anything.”

“I would like another interview,” Laura says. “The public needs to know what is happening. You did a wonderful job last time. Everyone is talking about it. You made a difference all around the world.”

“I’ll do it!” Faith replies without hesitation. “What do you want me to speak about?”

“Can you talk about the hospital attack? And we’re going to do it now, if that’s okay, because we have to head on to the refugee camp.”

Faith sits up straight and brushes her hair flat with her hand.

“Okay, let’s go. The quicker you do it, the quicker you leave. I mean that in a good way,” Faith adds, smiling.

The cameraman comes over, and the light goes on. With his fingers, he signals three, two, and one.

“Laura Leeming, reporting from a hospital in Syria. Today I am here with Dr. Faith Miller. She was injured in the latest hospital bombing attack. Faith, do you have anything you would like to say to President Obama?” Laura turns to Faith and holds out her microphone.

Faith looks directly into the camera. “Hospitals and medical personnel are being deliberately targeted. People are being denied medical care. This is one of the most alarming weapons of war that I have witnessed in the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government and anti-government groups are taking over hospitals, turning them into military bases. President Obama and all other leaders around the world, I plead for you to send in troops, peacefully, and help the innocent people trapped in this bloody war. They need your help. Do not stand by and watch, or you are as bad as they.” Faith looks angry as she speaks.

“Thank you, Faith. That was perfect.” Laura smiles. The cameraman puts down his camera and leaves.

“Did you get everything you need?” I ask.

“Yes, thank you. People want to know what is happening. I’m going to go now. I’ll call you if I find her.” Laura reaches over to Faith and hugs her goodbye.

I just hope Faith can find Jada.

JADA

I can feel eyes on me. Great. I'm walking down the wrong road. Out of all the streets in the city, I selected the quietest one. How stupid of me. Now I’m an easier target for them. Their eyes are burning into me like a hungry hawk waiting to eat its prey.

“How am I going to get out of this?” I mutter to myself. I’m in the middle of their sights; I have no choice but to keep walking. I’ve come this far. I cannot give up; I refuse to let them kill me! My gun is tucked into the back of my jeans, and I am ready for them.

Slowly, I continue on through the once-glorious city that is now all but destroyed. Entire facades of buildings have been ripped away -- they look naked. I used to like cities -- I felt like I could get lost in them as if I were invisible, hidden amongst the sea of people. But today there is no one to hide me. I am all alone.

I try to keep my eyes low, focusing on my feet and the rubble beneath them, and clearing out any noises other than that of a human. As my father taught me, it’s all about focus and blocking everything else out.

A glimmer of rainbows fills the floor in front of my eyes. I look up to the source of the light show – it’s a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of an apartment. Overwhelmed at the unexpected treat, I just stare at it dreamily. My eyes trail down to the rest of the room. I haven’t slept in so long, and the bed looks amazing. I can practically see myself curling up in it right now and falling fast asleep.

My gaze travels farther down and locks in with another pair of eyes. I gasp in shock. I hadn’t expected to see someone there.

She looks a little older than Lucas, and seems just as surprised to see me as I am to see her. She has lovely brown hair flowing down her face. She is sitting up in the bed beneath the chandelier. Was she like me, tired from walking and hiding in the only pretty place left in the city? She cannot be on her own… she looks too young.

Maybe it’s a trap.

Panic washes over me, and I frantically glance around to see if anyone else is here.

I do not need to look far. Standing at the end of the bed is a tall, slim boy around my age, with big brown eyes boring into me.

He’s protecting her the same way I would’ve protected Lucas. They must be brother and sister.

If only my brother was alive. The boy and I are having a staring competition. Who will win? I can’t help noticing that he is kinda cute.

He blinks.
Yay, I win
. He looks away to another room of the apartment, across from the one he's in. There are more people here than I was expecting. I see another boy in the corner and a woman who seems to be his heavily pregnant mother.

They are all staring down at me. Jesus, I feel really uncomfortable. What should I do? What if they have weapons? They look like a group of scared kids, but I know I shouldn’t underestimate them.

Lowering my backpack to the ground, I’m very conscious of everyone’s gaze on me. Slowly, I take off my cap; they may be less concerned if they see I’m a girl. I’m cautious not to make any sudden movements, as I don’t want to give them any reason to attack me.

My brown hair falls free, and I reach over and give Liquorice a quick pat. Gradually, I raise my hands up to the sky as a sign that I am surrendering. The same way Father did when he was taken.

The air is silent; tension is mounting.

What will they do?

“Child, what is your name?” the mother addresses me with her soft, caring voice.

“My name is Jada. My dog’s name is Liquorice.”

“Hello, Jada. My name is Sahar. This is Haytham, my son.” She looks over to the boy and smiles back at me.

I know I’m no longer in danger. They want to help me. Thank God, I finally get a break from this nightmare. It’s about bloody time!

“Over there is Zak, and his sister Tilly is in the bed.” I look over to the boy, Zak, and he smiles and gives me a wave. He is really cute. Tilly looks over at me and her face lights up with a big smile and twinkling eyes. This pretty little girl looks happy; I feel safe.

Sahar holds out her hand and signals me to come forward. I pick up my backpack, place it over my shoulder, and walk over to her.

“Child, have you eaten? Do you need to rest? We have room here for you.” Sahar has the loving and reassuring voice only a mother could have. I can already feel the stress moving from my shoulders as she speaks.

“I am hungry and tired,” I say. “I would like to rest here, if that is okay with you.”

I look up toward Haytham, and he nods with approval.

I climb up to the second floor room, and Liquorice follows me. Haytham is standing there. He looks younger than me, a bit shorter and a little overweight. But he looks strong.

He has short hair, kept very neat, and you can tell his mother makes sure he looks nice, even with everything going on. He has a happy smile, but I can see in his eyes that he’s witnessed a lot of horror, just like me.

There’s a large bed in the room, and next to it are blankets covering sleeping children. They all look younger than me… I guess they are on the path to find freedom. A band of brave kids, tied together with fear and hope.

“Jada, we have a bathroom there.” Sahar points to the door next to the bedroom. “And there’s some food in the kitchen. We have no power, so the fridge isn’t working, but they have food in the cupboard. We have plenty of water, so fill up your bottle.” She looks down at my bottle and notices that it is empty -- I just ran out.

“Thank you, Sahar. That is very kind of you,” I say, and I smile over at Haytham. “I would like to use the bathroom, and get some food and rest. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Our home is your home. Please feel free to take whatever you need. This apartment has plenty of food for all of us, and we found extra bed linens in the cupboard over there. Please make yourself a bed,” Sahar says, pointing next to the children sleeping on the floor.

Nodding, I head over to the bathroom. Sahar goes back to sleep, and Haytham sits down on the floor.

Once I get into the bathroom, I close the door and let out a big sigh of relief. Placing the backpack on the ground, I remove the gun from my pants, check to make sure the safety cap is still on, and then I set it down next to my backpack, out of sight of anyone coming in. Thank God they didn’t pull any weapons out on me, or things could’ve gotten really ugly, really fast.

Time to select some clean clothes to change into
. I’ve been wearing these smelly clothes for the last two days. I carefully place the gun under two layers of clothing, but in a spot I can easily reach if there is a need.

Refreshed from changing, I start to feel a bit safer with these people. I take some cereal from the cupboard and grab some dog food for Liquorice. Quietly, I sit in the bedroom area with the other children, trying not to wake them.

This is the first time in weeks that I feel safe enough to take a moment to myself. I take my family photos out of my backpack and the tin. As I browse through my mother’s passport, I see stamps of places she visited. This must’ve been from before I was born, because I’ve never been abroad. I’ve always wanted to travel, to see what was beyond our village. But now, all I want to do is go back there.

Flicking to the last page, I notice a photo of my mother from when she was younger.

A piece of paper drops out onto my bed. I unfold the note and begin to read it.

Dearest Jada,

If you are reading this, it means I have gone to live with saints in heaven. I am sorry. I wish I could be there for you.

Remember everything that your father taught you and what I told you. Always protect yourself, no matter what. You have to protect yourself. Get out of this country. It's too dangerous for you, for a child. Yes, you are a child, but you have to be strong when you are in this country. Once you get out, you will be a child again. I believe your father is still alive. God will bring you both back together. Trust your heart. I will always watch over you and love you.

Goodbye, Jada. God bless my beautiful daughter xxx

My mother
… I feel so alone right now. I miss her so much, and the words in the letter bounce around as my eyes fill up with tears and roll down my face. I will never see her again. But there is a little bit of hope… she thinks Father is alive. I have to find him. He’s the only family I have left.

Haytham and Liquorice are both watching me.
Great.
I’ve only just met him, and I look like a bubbling mess! Liquorice walks over to me and licks my tears away. It makes me feel a little bit better. Haytham kneels down next to me and picks up the photograph of my family.

“You look just like your mother,” he says quietly.

I sob more.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Unable to speak, I just pass him the letter. It explains everything without my having to say anything. Haytham reads it quickly and looks over toward me.

“I’m sorry. Zak’s and my fathers were taken too. They killed Zak’s mother and set his village on fire, and killed his brother in front of him. Tilly is all he has left, until he finds his father. All the children’s parents have been killed or kidnapped. You are not alone in your grief, and you are not alone with us. We are your family now.” Haytham places his arm around me. He’s so caring for a young boy.

I guess he and his mother have probably said these words a lot over the past few days or weeks. It’s comforting to have someone hug me, even a stranger.

“Thank you, Haytham. How long have you been traveling?”

“At least two weeks.”

Haytham continues telling me his story of how he ended up here.