An Unjust Life

Distant Memories

It's hard to believe that I can still remember times when our country was peaceful. Our life has been a complete hell for a long time now, and I hate that I've gotten so used to it. If our life were to miraculously go back to the way it was before, then I'm sure that it would feel like stepping into another country for the first time. This is all my brother and I have left, the distant memories that will take a lifetime for us to grasp again. I'd do anything to change the events of the day that led to this one. I can still remember that traumatizing day as if it just happened. The little time that I'm able to sleep is filled with nightmares of that day, but it wasn't all bad. We went fishing a lot; probably because there was a huge lake that was within walking distance from our home. I wonder if Aiden even still remembers how our life was before now...when we were happy. "Aiden, Ava, let's get going," my dad calls out. "I'm coming, geez," I say trying to seem annoyed, but secretly excited. "Where's Aiden," my dad asks. "He's still getting ready, and why did you have to say his name first," I asked childishly. "What do you mean"? I feel like my face turned bright red before saying, "You said, 'Aiden, then you said Ava', I'm older so you should've said my name first". "I don't see why that would matter, I said Aiden's name first because it sounded better," he says laughing it off. "Nevermind," I say feeling petulant and embarrassed. Aiden walks into the living room with my mother following behind him. "You're ready for war, aren't you," my dad asks Aiden. Aiden was wearing anything you could think of; boots that looked too big for him, gloves, a jacket, and a life jacket big enough for all of us to fit in. I tried to hold back my laughter after hearing what my dad said, but nothing gets past my mother. The next thing I knew, I too, was also 'ready for war'. "Now doesn't that feel a lot safer, honey," my mother says to me. "Mom, the boat can only hold three people, not three people, and two life jackets big enough to fit a football team. "Don't be so dramatic". "Dad and I can just slip into Aiden's if we need to," I tell her. My mother wasn't budging at all. "What if the boat sinks? I'm pretty sure these life jackets are gonna make us reach over the maximum weight". "You'll be fine," she says reassuringly. And that's the day my mother tried to kill us. "Hey buddy, don't forget to grab the broom before we leave," my dad says to Aiden. "Okay," Aiden says enthusiastically. I felt like my dad was the friendliest dad in the world, and I'm not saying that just because he's my dad. When me, Aiden, and my dad left the house, my dad was having full-blown conversations with everyone we passed. I'm pretty sure he didn't know these people, and if he does, it can't be well enough to talk for so long. When we eventually got to our small boat on the edge of the lake, it was still as rusty as ever. I doubt if my dad bought it himself considering how old it always looked, but I never cared to ask him. There was only one paddle so we could only go in one direction. That's what the broom was for, the other paddle. I swear my family is so ghetto. "All right buddy, let's give the broom to Ava, and you can take the paddle". Embarrassment was written all over my face and I guess my dad saw it as well. "We're going to let Ava be the ghetto one today," my dad says laughing. Is he reading my mind? We were fishing for hours and none of us caught anything. "All right guys, let's call it a day, besides, mom's probably about done with dinner," my dad tells us. Suddenly, Aiden gets a bite and starts getting dragged at the edge of the boat. "Gotcha," my dad says holding on to Aiden. "It must be a big one since it's pulling both of us together". I was kinda impressed that Aiden was going to catch such a big fish. When they finally pulled it from the water, I went from feeling impressed to pity. It was the tiniest fish I've ever seen. I wanted to laugh so hard, but I didn't want to hurt Aiden's feelings at the same time. In retrospect, I should've known that the fish was stronger than my dad, after all, he's not the muscular type. I thought Aiden was going to cry because of the size of the fish, until he jumps up and down, and yells "whoa, dad, did you see me, did you see me"? Yeah, he saw you, even though it was really dad who caught it. "Yeah, you fish better than your old man," my dad tells him. He's saying that, but after the struggle I've just witnessed, I believe it. Of course, we didn't keep the fish, it was the size of a pebble after all. Aiden was talking about his pea-sized fish the entire walk back, but I was happy that he had so much fun. "Hey dad, can we come back tomorrow," Aiden asks. "Sure, but for now, let's go eat, I'm starving". My mother was standing outside the front door when we got back. "You guys made it back, I thought I was gonna have to eat all of the food myself," my mother says. "No way, dad's starving," Aiden defends him. Suddenly, a huge explosion goes off just over hill. "What was that," my mother asks scared. "All of you stay here," my dad yells with so much fear on his face. My dad, along with a handful of neighbors runs toward the hill. I was so afraid, I couldn't hear or speak when my dad came back, he looks like he just saw hell. He was yelling something to us, but I couldn't hear him. My mother and Aiden started running toward the woods, and my dad grabs me and started following them. When we got deep into the woods, we hid behind trees and bushes to rest. "Mommy, I'm scared," Aiden says crying. "Oh baby, it's okay to be afraid, fear is what alerts us of danger, which keeps us alive". I was in a daze trying to process what just happened. I guess I was dazed for too long because my dad started shaking me. "Ava, are you okay? Your mother kept calling your name, but you didn't answer". My hearing was good but I still couldn't speak so I just nodded. "Listen, Ava, we have to be strong, okay? Everything's going to be fine". Suddenly, gunfire started going off like we were at a gun range; only we were the targets. I have always trusted my dad, but somehow the fear that surrounded me clouded my trust.