Operation: Dard and Devotion

30 | Isolated & Irritation

In loving memory of 3 year-old, Aylan Kurdi, a little Syrian-Kurdish boy who washed up on the shores of Turkey, along with his brother and mother, in an attempt to attain a better life. This little boy will no longer be able to play with toys, learn how to tie his shoes, read and write, go to school, make friends, grow up, fall in love, get married, have a family, or be able to live. A life has been lost. Regardless of your religious views, or lack of, please do keep Aylan and people like him in your thoughts. Their lives are not worth any less than ours.  

Also, the chapter regarding Saad's death was written before that of Aylan, in other words, it was entirely coincidental, and it hurt all the more while writing this.

I refused to believe that my baby was dead.

Blood poured out fluidly from the battered hole in the middle of Saad's tiny forehead. But still, he couldn't be dead. There was no way.

"Is your gun loaded?" Faizan asked Ahsan abruptly, referring to the rifle that slung over the latter's shoulder, as though nothing had happened.

"Yes," Ahsan replied carefully, still staring at Saad's lifeless little body.

"Good. Make use of it," the devil instructed, eyeing me briefly before he left the room. At least he was finally gone.

My baby was not dead. I knew it. Saad wouldn't just leave me alone here like that.

I knelt on the floor, beside where Saad lay on the cot, and ran my fingers through his ruffled brown hair. "Saad, baby. Look at me. Mama's calling you. Please wake up, baby."

Saad did not budge. The scarlet liquid steadily trickled down his temples and heavily stained the thin bed sheet. Frowning, I shook his ankle slightly. "Sweetheart, please open your eyes. Remember I told you that we'd escape from these monsters? You got to escape, why didn't you take me with you?

"How about we play peek-a-boo? That's your favorite game, right? But we can't play unless your eyes open. Please Saad, let's play a game if that will wake you up. You've slept for some time now."

Normally, Saad always listens to me and has an understanding of what I say. Why wasn't he listening to me now?

"Baby, please look at mama. I still have to teach you how to read and write, and we haven't even finished reviewing the alphabet yet, but you were doing well so far! I can buy you a bike and teach you how to ride it! And you have to go to school, make friends, and then come to me to tell me all about your day and how much fun it was! I will also buy you crayons and markers. Have you ever seen what those look like? I think you'll love them! Maybe you can even be a great artist someday and I can hang your art in our room!" I smiled despite the tears that escaped from my eyes as I continued to rub his head. Saad would be so successful some day! "Or maybe you might like writing more and fill hundreds of books with your lovely poems and stories! Someday, you might even become famous and give out autographs! Perhaps you may be more of an athletic person? You can join a sports club if you'd like. I'll make sure you try a little bit of everything so you can properly pick out what you like the most!

"If none of those works out for you, there's still so much more you can do for the world! How about science? I'm not so good with science, but maybe you can succeed in it. There are lots of fields you can try out too. Maybe you might be able to find a cure for some disease or discover something new! You can travel the world and help the unfortunate as they battle incurable illnesses, and maybe make their lives easier. How awesome would that be! Or you can explore math. I hate math too, but perhaps you might excel in it! Maybe someday you can engineer irrigation systems in villages and improve their farming environment. Or maybe you can build bridges so people don't have to travel miles just to reach the nearest hospital or any other facility.