THE DAWNING

Chapter four

She was still sited in front of the camera, "As I lay there in the train weak, dehydrated, all filthy and devastated, I thought to myself what next? I'm just an eight year old young girl, I just killed a man, buried a group of people, friends, parents (she sheds tears).... m.... my parents. I don't even know where this train leads, what if it goes to Afghanistan or something? I had so many confusions for an eight-year old, I felt like I was going crazy, but one thing was certain; it felt good seeing that man dead. Yes crazy right? I wanted to do it again I want to kill them all they'll pay for this. I want the man with the golden gun, black hat and black jacket like a movie I saw, I want to kill him slowly, painfully. He'll pay for this!! Here I am, a forty-two year old woman. Women of my age are married, with kids, a great husband, a good job, very emotional and have a heart. I have accomplished what a real man could only dream of and money isn't a problem of mine. In fact I don't think I want a man in my life. I'd obviously be more successful, stronger, smarter and I would protect him not the usual way."

The train finally stopped, it has been moving for at least some weeks now. She barely even slept.

Mariana: [says to herself] so that's insomnia.

She walks for a couple of kilometres, crosses through some rivers and finally gets to a town with people. A beautiful city with tall buildings and they were speaking a language that she thought sounded familiar, but she couldn't grasp it. She stood by a store door and saw on the television a group of soldiers digging up the people she took days to bury. They put them into a truck and drove them back to Spain.

Mariana: if I had just waited

She walks through the city and realizes her parents would have really liked such a place. Perhaps they'd already visited it since they were travellers. She stands by a glass door and sees how dirty she looked. Her once bright coloured dress was all black and her skin bruised on many places. She was starving, thirsty and very exhausted. She saw a kid of her age begging for money with no luck. It was getting dark so she found a corner and lay there. A man looked ragged and poor sat a few inches away from her.

Mariana: hello, excuse me. Do you speak English?
Man: [just looked at her]
Mariana: cuan por español?
Man: ah, que estés desde Spain también?
Mariana: sí
Man: yes I do speak English, just wanted to see what nationality you are. Who knows maybe the Iraqi now hire kids?
Mariana: that's true. What place is this?
Man: you're in Pau of France.
Mariana: how far is it from Spain?
Man: not so far, just a bus ticket away. What happened to you?
Mariana: I'm a product of Iraqi killings just fled from far got here by train
Man: you're a brave little girl.
Mariana: (remembers her parents, aunt, uncle and Aamiina when they say she is a warrior) I have a warriors heart

The next morning she awakes and finds the man gone. The town is already filled with a lot of people. She walks into a small store and asks the man for any work she could do for money to get a ticket to Spain. He agrees to let her sweep he's shop for two weeks for money to get her to Spain and to buy some food on the way.

He feeds her as well and as promised after two weeks, he gives her the fair and takes her to the station, ensures she gets in and tells the driver to ensure she gets safely to her destination.

About some ten hours later she finally arrived in Spain, when she got out of the bus she could already remember her way to the estate and she ran there. When she got there, she hoped to find her uncle and aunt, but she saw Iraqi men inside turning it upside down and put it ablaze. She ran inside from a back window and ran throughout the house in case her uncle and aunt were trapped somewhere, but they weren't there. She sat by a corner for a minute and cried. Then she saw the box that was written her parents names, she pulled it out and ran out through the same window.