War And A Country

• Georgia Tatham-joyce, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2009

My name is Rajii and my story is about my country. Ever since I was young Peer-ter, where I live, has been at war with our neighbouring country Kashanu. Every night I dream about living in a country where you don’t have to hide underground in a cramped basement all day, so the Kashanu Army won’t find you. In a place where I live it’s impossible to think that there is a world out there that isn’t fighting and that has peace among them. People say that this war will stop when my great, great, great grandchildren die, but I believe someone, one day will stop the war and bring peace to us.

Every week a boat leaves to take the wealthy to another country, and many others have tried to get on this boat including my father. Mother says he made it to this country we know as Weitere, but I don’t believe her. I know he got taken by the Kashanu Army and was held captive like many others. Yesterday my only friend Teenu told me that his parents had been killed and I told him he could stay with mother and me as long as he wanted.

Teenu and I would be alone today, as mother had left to go to the markets to get some cabbages. I was thinking about what father had said, just before he tried to get on the boat. He had warned me that the Kashanu Army were coming closer to our home, and that soon they would hold us captive. Suddenly a loud bang disturbed me from my thoughts. Teenu went to window hole to check it out, when suddenly our mud door was knocked down. It was the Kashanu Army. Teenu and I ran to the basement hole but it was too late.

I woke up in a dirt cell that smelt of mother’s cabbage soup mixed with the smell of some type of manure. Someone is talking to me but I can’t quite make it out."Rajii re yo ake","Rajii, listen to me are you awake”. It was mother. She offered me some soup before asking how I got here. “Well I don’t really remember anything; all I remember is being taken out to a small bus with Teenu, then waking up here”. I told her I was tired and that I would talk to her soon.

Two years have been since we were taken, and it’s four days until my 15th birthday. I only feel a little bit of joy, but that soon changed when someone came banging on mother's and my cell door. They told us that we were taking the next boat to Weitere. I was amazed, I mean what else could I say?

On my 15th birthday we arrived in Weitere, where we were greeted by my aunt’s cousin. We were taken to her house where I met Teenu. We celebrated with Bah-Sahn (my favourite traditional dish) and then rested.