Chapter 5:

5

I remember...

The neighborhood where I grew up was always lively.

Voices filled the air...
Laughter echoed through the streets...
Sometimes there were disagreements too.

There were many like me...

Going about their business...
And sometimes coming together, at least most of them, likely to celebrate something.

I was familiar with most of them...
And most of them knew me...

But new faces would appear now and then...

Some would become part of the group...|
While others would leave after a brief stay...

I remember...

It was dark and rainy that day, once more...

That's odd...

Why did I say 'once more'?
I can't remember another night like this...
Probably a memory from when I was younger, I presume...

But the feeling of it is very intense...

I remember...

It happened suddenly and unexpectedly...
They appeared out of nowhere...
No one was prepared for it...

Those outsiders...
They surrounded us...
And herded us into a large truck...

I remember...

The chaotic screams and shouts...
The loud cries of everyone...
As they desperately trying to escape with all they had...

Those who attempted to flee...
Those who were causing a commotion and making a scene...
They were swiftly subdued...

My mother and sibling were nowhere in sight...
Did they manage to get away...?
Are they out of harm's reach...?

I sincerely hope so...

However, my basic instincts were urging me to focus on my own predicament...

I remember...

Upon arriving at our destination, they divided us...

They confined us to cells...
In different cells...

There were others here as well...
Others I haven’t seen before...

Some of them were speaking different languages...
Many of them were crying and screaming...
Most of them looked desperate and scared...
All of them were trapped...

And there I was...
Seated in a corner of my cell...
Feeling utterly devoid of the will to continue living...

I remember...

Being hungry and cold...
Being lonely...

The majority of us, if not all, of the prisoners had surrendered their struggle and resistance...

Every now and then, unfamiliar faces would appear...
Some of them came to inspect us...
While others simply observed...
All the while speaking in some incomprehensible language...

At times, they would provide us with food and water...
However, these instances were less frequent than the times they did not...
But, even then, it didn’t amount to anything...

But it didn't matter...
I wasn’t eating, after all...
I would pass my food to those next to me...

Yet, I was holding onto my water...
I can't explain why...
Perhaps it's an effort to delay the inevitable...

Just a bit longer...

I remember...

How long has it been already...?

Days...
Weeks...
Months...

Numerous prisoners have changed in this time...
New faces arrived...
Old faces departed...

I can't help but wonder about their fates...
Are they no longer alive...?
Have they found their freedom...?

What lies ahead for me?

I miss my family...
I hope they're safe...
Or at least in a better situation than I am...

I'm struggling to keep myself awake by filling my mind with thoughts...
I fear that if I succumb to sleep...
I'm so worn out that...
I might never wake up again...

But resisting is becoming...
More challenging...
With each passing second...

I remember...

Lately, I find myself sleeping most of the time...
I lack the strength to move my body from this spot...
I can't even reach my water anymore...

The once unfamiliar faces have now become oddly familiar, after enduring this captivity for so long...
They frequently stare at me...
They place strange objects on my body...
And they persistently shout at one another...

But I've stopped caring now...
All I want now is to sleep...

Regrettably...
The pain is preventing me from drifting off...
From escaping the clutches of reality...

I remember...

I just don’t want to remember anymore...

Please...
Please let me sleep...
Sleep once and for all...

Please...
Let me dream of a better place than this one...

Please...
Let me see my family one last time...

And please...
Please take me out of my misery...

Grant me this one last wish...

I remember...

Someone must have been listening...
Someone granted me my wish...

I can see my family’s faces again...
Surrounded by a bright light...
They are smiling at me...
And they are calling me...