THE MARK THAT BINDS US

The cold stormy air of Ali Khan village hung heavy with despair, a chilling reminder of the terror that had unfolded. Cries echoed through the desolate streets a reminder of the brutal reality that had gripped the small village. Soldiers killed anyone they found mercilessly. There was no hope of life remaining.

In a small little hut hid a young eighteen year old pregnant mother in active labor with her little sister as a beacon of hope and support. Her name was Nina. She held on to Amira, her sister, with so much desperation, unable to handle the pain of labor that pierced through every part of her body.

“You have to push through, sister.” Amira said gazing at her sister with her eyes watery, failing to navigate the pain of seeing her hero and protector in so much anguish.

Nina raised the upper part of her body with the little strength she had and leaned on the thin wall made of sticks. “ I can’t do this anymore.” She mattered, crying, her voice breaking under the weight of her anguish.

The water rose in the little hut as the rain poured heavily, the thunder growled and lightning struck. The water was filled with sewage and body parts of victims who died in the war. Nina gazed at the water completely numb, unable to bury the feeling that those body parts floating could be their family and friends. Those they loved and grew up with.

Amira gathered all her strength as she saw that Nina got emotional seeing the body parts. “ Come on, let’s go to the huts at the river side. They are on higher land so there won’t be much water.” She said standing up and wiping the tears off her face.

With great effort, Amira lifted Nina and placed her in a broken wooden wheelbarrow. “ You have to try to not make any sound okay? or else the soldiers will find us and kill us.” She said, kneeling down, holding Nina’s hand.

Nina nodded, grunting in pain.

Amira was a young educated woman who had always aspired to become a nurse one day, but she grew up in a village and there were no opportunities.

Nina, on the other hand, was a young eighteen-year-old woman who was raped by a military soldier and fell pregnant. At a very young age, Nina had taken care of Amira like a mother after their parents were killed, leaving Amira only two years old.

The rain poured restlessly, gunshots rang out in every direction, cries of people being slaughtered to death haunted the roads. Amira pushed Nina through the muddy slippery roads with all her strength as she stumbled on dead decaying bodies . She had to push as fast as she could knowing very well if the soldiers found them. It was the end.

As they reached the hut, Nina’s pain intensified as her labor reached its peak. She could no longer suppress her cries, despite Amira’s desperate pleas for silence. “Sister, I know you are in pain, but you need to stop screaming or the soldiers will come,” Amira urged, her heart racing with fear.

Nina’s body trembled as waves of pain tore through her. She clutched her sister’s arm tightly, her nails digging into her skin.

“You have to push, Nina… please,” Amira whispered, her voice shaking.

“I can’t… I can’t do this anymore,” Nina cried, punching the muddy clay floor in the hut with her fists.

An old woman passing near the river, waiting for rescue, heard screams coming from the hut. She quickly ran to check, thinking it was a child looking for their parents.

“I can’t…” Nina sobbed. “I can’t…”

Before Amira could respond, the door flew open.

The old woman stepped in, her eyes wide with urgency. “There’s no time. Spread her legs.” She said, her voice trembling.

She tore a piece of cloth and knelt beside Nina.

“Hold her legs.” she ordered.

Amira obeyed instantly, her hands shaking with fear.

Amira held Nina’s legs while the old woman supported her, telling her to push. After what felt like an eternity, Nina pushed with all her strength, and two beautiful lives emerged into a world filled with darkness.

They are so beautiful… oh my,” Amira gasped, looking down at the twins laying on a dirty wet rug.

“Are they both girls?” Nina muttered weakly, taking in slow deep breaths.

“No, it’s a boy and a girl,” the old woman replied, smiling softly.

Nina was so happy to finally hear the cries of her babies, but her joy was short-lived as the sound of gunfires erupted outside hut, shattering the fragile moment. “Oh no… they are going to kill my babies,” Nina cried in a panic. “What should I do?”

You can’t stay with them here,” the old woman warned. “They killed my daughter’s children with no mercy. They won’t spare yours.”

“But what can we do?” Amira asked, holding the crying babies. “They’ll hear them.”

Desperation clawed at Nina’s heart. “I can’t let my babies die the way my parents did. I can’t.” She cried out.

Then, a distant sound broke through the chaos—a ship, the LIFE OF THE RICHES TRADING SHIP, a vessel that brought hope to struggling villages.

“What if… what if we put the twins on the ship?” Nina stammered, her voice shaky but filled with determination. “Maybe someone will find them.”

“But what if they don’t?” Amira cried, her eyes wide with fear.

“I can’t let them die in front of me, Amira. I can’t,” Nina muttered, her voice breaking.

Suddenly, the old woman had an idea.

“We can all go with the ship if we sneak in. Maybe we can hide in the fish boxes.”

Gunshots rang out again, followed by sounds of screams.

“It won’t be long before they come here. We need to go now,” the old woman urged.

The soldiers started shooting towards the hut. They all bent down. Amira covered the babies with the dirty rug. When the shooting stopped, the old woman lifted Nina and placed her back into the wheelbarrow because she couldn’t walk after giving birth.

“Let’s go now,” the old woman whispered.

Amira hurried forward with the babies, while the old woman pushed Nina with all her strength.

With urgency, they left the hut, navigating through the rain-soaked ground littered with the remnants of war. The air was thick with the stench of decay, a constant reminder of the lives lost.

The ship was parked at the south side of the sea near a village that was close to Ali Khan village called maul. The war had just finished in maul village.

The ship was surrounded by guards, and the panic of the villagers echoed in the air.

“How do we get in?” Amira asked, her heart pounding.

Before Nina could respond, soldiers began firing at the shore, and blood splattered across the sand and the ship slowly began to move.

“Oh no, it’s leaving!” Amira cried.

Nina’s eyes darted around until they landed on two wooden containers used for fish. “Amira… bring those,” she said weakly.

With trembling hands, they prepared the containers, using torn cloth to cushion the babies inside. Nina, in a moment of heartbreaking clarity, made a decision that would mark them forever. She picked up a sharp piece of stone and cut them.

One on the back.

One on the shoulder.

“If you survive…She whispered, tears streaming down her face. “You will find each other.”The babies cried softly as if they understood.

With a heavy heart, Amira and the old woman, sneaked by the guards who were busy pushing the villagers away from the ship and placed the babies in the fish crates. Before they could react, the soldiers captured them, dragging them away as the ship sailed off.

And just like that, It was gone.The ship drifted into the darkness. Taking the twins with it.

Nina collapsed onto the sand, her body weak, her heart shattered. “I didn’t even hold them…” she whispered, her heart shattering under the weight of her sacrifice.

Her tears fell endlessly. “Not because of the war. Not because of the pain of birth.”

But because somewhere out there—Her children were alive…And she might never see them again. With that thought she wept bitterly.