Beyond Unsurvivable
The city which once used to be swarming with inhabitants, the roads of which were jammed with heavy traffic and the hustle, bustle of it encompassed the whole region with an atmosphere of radiance, now presents an utterly different version of it to the whole world.The people who are now suffering such harshness and cruelty that is beyond their imagination.Living in this exact city are Mariam along with her father Jaffar, the fate of whose is unfortunately as miserable as the rest of the people here.
It’s been more than two days since Mariam has eaten any food. During these two days, all that she and her father have survived on is meagre, muddy water. The situation is getting worse. Mariam will likely starve to death if she doesn’t eat food soon. Her stomach is empty and craving; her tongue can no longer endure the dirty water; her eyes are sinking down into the skull, and her face, her face is just lifeless. But somehow, from inside, she is still astonishingly relieved to see her father, who is the only family member apart from her to survive the bombing, firing, and most importantly, hunger.
Even though Jaffar’s condition is not better than hers, he has almost forgotten the fact that not a single grain of rice or piece of bread has entered his stomach for more than five days. All the food that he somehow managed to find by standing in long lines, jostling with people, and tolerating the scorching temperatures he brought to his seven-year-old daughter so that she could stay alive. But now, Mariam’s condition is getting out of control. Jaffar tried several times to talk about leaving their wrecked home to search for food somewhere in the city, where foreign aid boxes had landed, if they had not already been emptied by the millions of other hungry and starving people. Every time he spoke about going outside, she did not allow him. She was too frightened of losing her last remaining family member, in whose presence she felt safe and secure .She would refuse him by saying:
“Baba, those who leave the home mostly do not return . Mother and my brothers left me, and now you want to leave me as well…”
Jaffar could not refuse his dear daughter, so he did exactly what he usually does in such circumstances. When Mariam was asleep, he carefully left their home, which once used to be thriving and tranquil now nearly obliterated. He first cautiously examined the neighbourhood to see if there were any tanks or enemy soldiers. After spotting nothing, he ventured to seek some food, leaving Mariam in God’s hands.
The home began shaking. Dust started to blow everywhere, and piles of concrete from the roof began falling. A piercing noise echoed across the neighborhood and then a huge explosion. Mariam was awakened by this. She looked to her left and right, but there was no trace of Baba. Then she heard a faint sound of rattling metal chains. Her chest was being hammered by her rapidly beating heart. She called for Baba, yet there was no response. She was quivering with fear and praying to God for the safety of both herself and her Baba. The rattling noise grew louder and louder.
There was an old, broken window offering a clear view of the road, so she sat below the window and only lifted her head so that her eyes could see what was going on outside. Outside, she saw a boy in the distance screaming for help and a tank chasing after him. The poor child tried to hide behind something, but fate betrayed him because all the tall buildings had been utterly wiped out, leaving no place for him to save his life. Then it happened. Mariam couldn’t help but scream at what she had witnessed. Unfortunately, her scream was far too loud for a hungry and starving girl, and it reached the enemy’s ears.
Meanwhile, Jaffar had finally found two slices of bread along with a handful of candies in the western part of the city, after spending more than three hours in the queue. Nevertheless, he thanked Allah for this life-saving blessing and was happy that Mariam would love the candies. Without wasting any time, he used all his remaining energy to reach home as soon as possible, hoping to surprise Mariam before she wakes up. But poor Jaffar didn’t know that even a bigger surprise was waiting for him .The tank turned directly towards the window, and before Mariam could make any move, the tank did its job. It took exactly one shot to turn the already bombed home into rubble and piles of concrete.
When Jaffar reached near the home, he couldn’t comprehend what he saw. Instead of porous walls and a damaged building, he saw that there was no longer any building standing ,it was just rubble everywhere. He dropped the food and ran as fast as he could towards what was once his home. When he reached there, he neither heard the Salam of Mariam nor saw her sleeping. In fact, she was indeed sleeping, but not in one piece. Some of Mariam was lying in the rubble, some on the road, and some of Mariam in the heart of Jaffar.
Jaffar wept and wept. When his wife and sons died due to an enemy missile ,he reluctantly had to control his emotions so that he could take care of Mariam as she was too naive to bear all this pain.But at this moment,he couldn’t control himself and continued crying for his children,wife and for his horrible fortune.While he was crying there, he heard an explosion at some distance. Jaffar could not control his grief and anger, so he wiped his tears, and this nearly dead father picked up a small concrete piece and began chasing that tank. While he was running and stumbling upon after every few steps, Mariam’s last words came repeatedly into his mind:
“Baba, those who leave home mostly do not return .”
Jaffar desired to tell Mariam that he did return home but she was not there. His eyes couldn’t resist and unleashed dams of tears. He ran and ran until he hurled the tiny piece of rubble at the tank, but in return he got what? He got a huge shell on his chest.
“There you have it … Terrorist”
Screamed a soldier from inside the tank. To be honest, we all know who the real terrorist is, don’t we?
