(Undecided)

Chapter 1 ~ Change

I woke up to the sound of rain hitting my bedroom window. The moon was full and bright, shining through the clouds onto my face. I looked over at my clock. « Huh, it's still pretty early » I turned to look out my window and admire the moon. A noise from downstairs startled me. I got out of bed and decided to investigate. I had no light other than the moon shining onto the old oak floors. As I walked down the creaking stairs, I heard my mother talking to someone at the door. I listened in to the conversation between my mother and the strange man at the door,
    "Ma'am, I bring unsettling news for your family... you might want to sit down for this."
     "What's wrong?" My mother was very concerned.
    "Your husband was taken hostage by the terrorist group "The New Republic of the North" We believe he is dead..."
    "W-what?! it can't be... He said he was being deployed not for another week." my mother's voice trembled.
    My heart dropped. I felt as if the world was spinning. All I could hear was my mother crying downstairs. I ran back upstairs, into my room and my bed. Tears began to drip from my eyes to my nose to the floor. The thought of never seeing my father again brought chills to my spine. Later that day, I walked down to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. My mother came in behind me, holding a cup of coffee.
    "N'aje... (morning...)"
    "Morning Ma," I said
    "Hey... I have something to tell you-"
    "I know- It's about dad."
    "Y-yes, your father he-he's gone..."
    "I heard you talking to that man this morning. About Dad. How he was killed, by those terrorists."
   She stood still and sighed as she gazed into her cup of coffee. I got ready and headed off to school. I wasn't the most popular kid at school, people didn't notice me. I was that quiet kid who always stayed in the back. I knew that we would have to move. We had no money. My mother couldn't get a job after struggling with an addiction, and my father, the only one who worked, was now gone. That day at school, I didn't pay attention. All I did was gaze at the window. I watched the water droplets run down the old yellow stained glass. I had forgotten my umbrella at home. I had to walk in the cold rain. The rain was comforting.
   As soon as I got home, I saw boxes piled up, ready to be shipped away. My mother came around from the kitchen with her hands full of boxes.
   "Welcome home o'olah, how was school?"
   "It was fine."
   "Just fine? Did you see any of your friends?"
   I blankly stared at the floor "no, they weren't at school."
   "Oh, well, I set some boxes outside your room. So, start packing anything you want to take."
   "Nej."
   I headed upstairs into my room. Why did he have to leave? If he hadn't tried to fight and be a hero, he would be here right now. We wouldn't have to move! Why? I grabbed my suitcase and filled it with as many clothes as possible. My eyes began to water, and I felt angry. I didn't want to move! I wiped everything off my desk onto the floor.
   "Is everything alright up there?" My mother asked
   I whipped the tears from my eyes and sniffed "yeah, everything is fine. I just dropped a few things. The bottom of the box broke."
   "Oh, alright... do you need another box?"
   "No, I don't have a lot of stuff. It's alright."
   "Okay, be careful!"
   I sat on the floor next to my bed, looking through old photos of my father, crying. Later that night, I finished packing all my belongings into boxes ready to be moved. With the money we had left, we found a place in a small village called Tłena'he near the border.
   The next day I woke up to birds chirping outside my window. Boxes flooded my room with a small path to walk to and from the door to my bed. Downstairs, my mom was packing the car up.
   "O'olah! Bring all your stuff. I'm almost ready to go! I want to get there before dark! "
   "Nej!!! Be down in a second"
I got on my shoes and headed downstairs. The walls are so barren, only decorated with wires and hooks. My mom came through the front door and asked if I was ready to go. I said I was ready. We got in the car and said our last goodbyes to the house and city.
   On the road to our new home, we passed by hundreds of caravans of people migrating from the city to the border. We were lucky enough that the war hadn't impacted our wealth or status. we would be out there with them. We drove through a small town a few miles out from the capital. The streets were dead, Graffiti all over the buildings crying for freedom and war. As we drove through the town, two people holding signs stood on the side of the road. They read, "Kenae qi ke, do'onejh" (may your souls be set free) A loud bang came out of nowhere and startled my mother and me. A bomb had gone off at the city hall, and people ran out on fire, burning alive. Their skin, melting, was imprinted in my brain. My mother told me to look ahead and to cover my ears. People were screaming and crying for help. We continued out of the city. Soon we were out in the open plains. The countryside was quiet and peaceful. Unlike the city, there was no traffic, people, or sound. Everything was quiet.