Waves

• Erika Ahern, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2021

‘Ma! Where are you going?’ Ma looks at me silently and rushes out the door. I peek out the dusty window to see her walking to the market. A man starts shouting at Ma and then I hear the sound of tomatoes splatting. The door clicks open and Ma steps in, angry, dripping from head to toe in tomatoes. I snicker and go over to her. I stick my finger into the gooey, red juice. ‘Mmm, delicious!’ Even Ma gives a little smirk.

There is a war on in our country and the Iranian people are going to bomb us. Ma told me that. But I’m not scared of wars, even though I don’t know why each country even wants to fight. Here in Syria, there are many wars. Not that there are any I know of or have been in.

I woke up. I hear screams, I hear shouts. Are the Iranians here to bomb us? I scramble out of bed and tiptoe to the door and crawl into the shadow. I crawl closer and closer to the ear-splitting scream to see two muscular men in black masks, beating up a small, exhausted girl. She has blood smeared across her arms and legs and she has an innocent but sad look on her face. Sobbing, she whimpers, ‘Please don’t hurt me anymore.’ She looks up at one of the men with hopefulness in her eye. ‘Fine’ One of the men said. ‘You are excused…’. But the man continued. ‘...From life.’ The girl screeched and wailed, but as much as she tried, she could not get loose from his grip. He lifted his fist and with one slam, the girl was gone. A tear ran down my cheek. This was absolute horror. I ran home, hoping to never see this again.

The next day, I woke up to a knock on the door. It was a policeman. ‘Hello, officer.’ I stammered. ‘Hello. Is your mum home now?’ I nodded. Ma made me go to my room so she could talk to him. As I heard the door shut, I stepped out to see Ma packing my stuff in a bag. ‘Ma! What are you doing?’ She frowned. ‘The Iranians are coming.’

I sobbed hysterically as I left Ma’s arms. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. As soon as I left home. Someone grabbed me. I gasped. It was the two men from before. ‘We saw you watching us. You didn’t think you were gonna get away with it did you?’ He lifted his arm in the air… and everything went blank.

As I woke up I saw I was tied up with thick rope and one of the men were hauling me into the ocean. I wriggled for my life, but it was no use. I splashed around like a useless worm and plunged deep into the sea. I screamed but instead swallowed a mouthful of sea water. I stopped moving. I thought about how Ma and me used to cuddle up next to each other on cold winter nights. I thought about how I used to dream about having a real, cozy mattress. It was fun. Ma! Come take me home! I whisper. But only the waves hear me.