Day 5

Day 5
Today as we were getting ready the captain told us we would be going on patrol. Lolo, Ignacio, and I just looked at each other in mystery. I remember even feeling a bit of anxiety or excitement in me. If only I knew then what I know now, we weren’t just going on patrol we were hunting for loyalist groups trying to scout in our area. If only I knew we would come across the village that changed my life. When the first gunshots reached my ears I was scared and didn’t know what to do. My mind started to race when we followed the sound. Only when we reached the village itself did my feelings rush out of me at the first sight of a dead body. The shock and the horror of seeing the aftermath of the slaughter was unbearable. The sensation to just run away and keep running until I was far, far away from that place almost took me over. It was only when the Captain started to give orders again did I regain my senses. The bodies of children were the ones that really got to me. Mainly because they were almost all even younger then I was. The girl and young baby we found in the forest was a sign of hope to me. I don’t know why, maybe because to me it said that people could out live the war. Ever since we found them I feel that I have to watch over them, especially the baby. It hurt so bad when I had to hand him over to the women who I knew would take good care of him. I wished him goodbye with my last prayer for him knowing we would never meet again. I still see his little face in my dreams and can picture him growing up. Those moments will be forever etched into my heart and mind. I will never be the same since that experience, in mind and in heart. They have taught me the lesson of giving and not taking, caring and not harming, and to be selfless to help others when in need.

Picture site:http://blackpanthercreations.com/westcottdesigns/bio.html