The Journey

Chapter 2: The Girl

Unexpectedly, bombs begin to fall, crashing down, the explosions deafening. Rubble flies through the air and great clouds of smoke erupt from where the bombs land, wrapping the village in a cloak of death. I take shelter in a crumbling barn, hoping the bombers think it empty. As I clamber inside, disturbed dust swirls around the air. I shield my eyes, coughing as I squeeze through the crevices of the collapsed timber frames of the barn. Debris covers the floor.

As I start to get comfy, expecting to be here a while, I find a small, sickly-looking girl hidden nearby. I ask her name but she shakes her head and her eyes widen in terror. Outside a man calls for his daughter and the girl suddenly pricks up and looks even more worried. I assume it must be her father. I hug her close, protectively covering her head with my arms and we wait for the bombs to stop, the smell in the barn almost unbearable.

Soon the sounds of explosions halt and with the girl close I climb out of the collapsing barn to search for her father, secretly doubting the worst but not wanting to show it in case I scare her. After a long while, the girl runs towards a lanky figure lying sprawled out on the floor near a demolished building, half covered in rubble and not moving. As we approach I realise the the man is lifeless and as limp as a ragdoll. Unfortunately the poor girl doesn't catch on and tries to wake the body, shaking it slightly and calling a name. When I try to explain we are too late and her father is dead she storms off as if defying it and refusing to accept the clear truth. I run after her, feeling like I should be the one to look after her now but I soon lose sight of her amongst the village remains.

The sun beats down viciously on my neck and back making my tanned skin start to turn red and burn. That's weird I'm not normally affected by the sun. I usually cover up or stay inside when the sun is at its highest point. I take cover in the shady jungles surrounding the village hoping the girl might have run into the dense shrubbery, also trying to avoid the harsh rays. Maybe she will have calmed down by now and we can talk it over and I can finally get her name. I feel relieved to finally be under shelter once again and away from the sights and smell of the horrifying village.
But then my neck starts to burn again.
Worse than before and I feel as though there is something dripping onto my neck and slowly running down my back. I look up. Orange? Then I realise what it is. I try to get away from the malicious rain but it follows me deep into the jungle; a continuous downpour of luminous orange. Just when I think I am safe under a giant palm tree it is suddenly consumed in liquid and starts to shrivel up, almost burning to the ground. I fall to my knees exhausted, the pain unbearable and begin to cry.
Through blurred eyes I see a man appear from the undergrowth and he grabs me by the arm, dragging me into a nearby hole sheltered by rocks. I black out.

All of the memories of my son come back to me, replacing all current events. I open my eyes but everything is still black. I assume it must be night now. How long have I been asleep? I look around to try and see my saviours face but I'm still in a lot of pain and it is excruciating just to move. Even so I can feel his presence near me and some how it relaxes me and makes me feel safer. The thoughts of my son fresh in my mind, I fall into a deep sleep.

14th November 1968

Dear Diary,

Light- headed and dizzy with hunger, I wake up and look for the man, but I cannot find him. Eventually my over whelming need for food, forces me to stop hunting for him, and instead to look for something remotely edible. I trek back to the barn in the village where I had previously seen a sack of food. I hope it hasn't gone off yet. Once there I gorge myself on the food within, relishing in the flavours, the sweetness of the fruit and crunch of the bread. I now become more aware of my surroundings and my own condition. I notice my skin is badly burnt and now my hunger pangs have faded I also realise how itchy and sore my skin is. I try to ignore it, the thought of the girl suddenly coming into my mind and realise I need to find her and check she is okay. I race back into the jungle to look for her.

I hope she is still alive but I have a small pit of worry in the bottom of my stomach and I start seeing images in my head of her lying in a clearing somewhere. Just as this thought creeps into my head I come to a clearing and sure enough, there in the middle, is the little girl. I run over to her crying. Her big brown eyes look up at the sky blankly. She must have been caught in the rain too for her face, neck and arms are all badly burned much worse than my own. I can't look at her anymore and turn my head away like a coward. This is all my fault. I had told her I would look after her but now I have let her down. Her hair lies gently on the ground around her and she holds a flower to her chest, also burnt and black but still beautiful none the less. I see a pendant hanging from her neck and delicately remove it so as not to break it. When I look inside my eyes well up. I smile to my self, finally finding out her name. I decide that if i ever have a daughters I shall name her after the poor girl and promise myself I will not let her come to the same fate. My shock and despair soon turn to rage and I pointlessly turn to the sky and call out for mercy.

After a long while, I decide what to do. I close her eyes, gently place a kiss on her forehead then lifting her from her resting place I carry her back to the village. After setting her down I look for a tool I can use to dig. I soon find a sufficiently large pebble and begin to scoop away the soft,sandy ground. I let my thoughts engulf me while I dig, not usually letting them in, but now I let my tears fall freely.

After several hours of painstaking work, I finally dig two holes. One to bury the girl and one large enough for her father. The man I bury first, spooning the soft earth back over his large form. Next I bury the girl. I place the pendant back around her neck and place her hair neatly around her, wrapping it around my finger before sprinkling dust over her petite frame. Tears stream down my cheeks as I stare at the deathly white face, once beautiful and golden. She is a ghost of the emotional and caring girl I had met hours before; now as limp and lifeless as her father. At least she will be with him once more. I see so much of myself and my son in her. Perhaps they will play together with the Gods watching over them. I continue to replace the soil until there is no trace of her or her papa. Her father's grave I leave bare, but here I place a flower. The same kind as the one she was holding when I first found her in the clearing. I allow one more tear to slither down my cheek and leave...

A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I know its quite sad and I just want to warn that the whole story is quite sad but, without spoiling too much, further on it does get happier.

Just in case anyone was confused, I referred to 'orange rain' that burnt the skin through out this chapter. When I say this I am talking about a chemical called 'Agent Orange' that the Americans used during the war to burn down the jungles in Vietnam so it was easier to find the Vietnamese soldiers, who often hid in the jungles and used them as cover. The chemical burnt when it came into contact with skin so affected a lot of people and children.
Hope this helped slightly and you are enjoying the story ;)

New update again next week. Half way through writing the chapter and really enjoying it so far so hope you will like it :)