Sahar tried to rise up, but she was weak. She couldn't even move without wincing in pain. Aaron gave her a hand, propped up a pillow and made her sit. "What did you do then" asked Aaron. "I started to train."
My brother's memory kept me awake at nights. I started to train like any another militant. I woke up with them before the dawn, I trained with them. I ate what they ate. I picked the rifles and marched till I fainted. Even if I was thirteen, I was throwing my grenades as far as they older boys you could throw. They did hate me for that. I even got in fights and beat the crap out of them.
I learned everything to shoot guns, to throw grenades, prop up rocket launchers, Anti-aircraft guns, RDX explosives everything. I learned hand to hand combat and martial arts too. I had nothing else in my mind, I wanted to be a weapon of their destruction. I wanted to revenge from the ones who took away my parents, my house and then they even took my brother from me. I was turning cold, like that missile which burst on our house. Something built of Metal from outside and fire from within. I wanted to destroy.
And then came the opportunity. I was called in the office of our camp leader. He was known to be a Shadow, he never talked with anyone in public, he would just observe us from the distance. I remember I was shaking while waiting to be called in his office. When I was finally allowed in his office, I saw him sitting on the floor, there was no one else. The room was cold, not because the man was scary but because he had a cooler in his office. And also, maybe because my blood pressure was going low.
I was in front of the man who was running this huge camp. It was a mini village. So many men and kids, were following his orders, they did as he told. There was never a soul who betrayed his words. He looked very calm to me. He asked me to sit and showed me a photograph. It was of a white man in some Uniform. I had never seen a man like him. He looked different.
And the camp leader as if reading my mind said, "He is not one of us, he doesn't belong on our land. They come to destroy us. Men like him destroy our homes and families. He is the one who killed your brother." The last words made my blood burn. If this is the man who took away my brother from me. Then I will kill him. The leader saw the anger in my eyes and gave a gun to me. "Go and take your revenge, let these other men know, that they can't come to our country and kill our loved ones. And if they do, they will die too."
I took the gun with me and then I was prepared for a mission. I was supposed to be transported to a town. I was to be taken there by a truck. But I also had to memorize the route, in case any thing happens to the truck or somebody catches us. I will have to walk to the town. "Who will stop us?" I had asked them. The other men are all around us and they have corrupted our own people too. They are scared of us. They will do anything to stop us.
I was given a bag filled with maps, ammo, dry fruits and water bottles. There was no stopping on the way. Not even for fuel. Cans of diesel were loaded in the truck too. I thought, I would be allowed to meet my friends before leaving. But they said, "you shouldn't distract yourself. Focus on your mission and remember what they did to you."
For two days I hid myself in a truck and kept munching the dry fruits that were given to me. The driver did not talk. He just drove and would only stop the car in night, and would go for a small walk. Maybe to stretch his legs or to give me some privacy to finish my business. Finally, we reached the town one morning, the car reached a building. Now, the driver talked to me to give me my final orders. "Shoot the man from the photograph and blast this place down." "What is this place?" I had asked him. If I knew how to read, I would know it was a school. But I did not know it back then, so the driver told me, "This is the place where the others corrupt our young minds."
I walked in, there were guards but they did not pay any attention to a twelve-year-old girl. I was determined to shoot them if they stopped me. I had trained and travelled a lot for this day. I was not going back without finishing my mission. It was a school; children were expected to roam around. So, I walked into the classroom. There were lot of kids. They looked happy and the white man was laughing too. I took my gun out and aimed at him. But I did not pull the trigger he couldn't be the one who destroyed my family. And I cannot blast this place with so many kids in it.
I couldn't shoot him, I fell on my knees and started to cry. The commander saw me, he picked me and took me into an army base. He sheltered me and taught me to read and write. He was the one who gave me the confidence and vision that, I can help children who had a past like me and save them from the fates that I had to face. Aaron now knew what Sahar had gone through. He looked at the guards on the gate. He will not let Sahar go to a prison. He will talk to Lieutenant Mike. Aaron rose and walked to Mike's office.