“Hurry along, Marco. We don’t have much time.” I shouted back at my son who was lagging behind. We were walking through the charred streets of our hometown, Lockson. We were the lucky ones; out on vacation at the time of the bombing. I stopped and stared at a pile of rubble for a moment.

“Mom… Dad…” I whispered so my children did not hear my pain. This pile of rubble was the home of my parents who I presume were just sitting and reading the newspaper when they were killed. I held back the tears. I must be strong for my children, I thought.

“Come on mommy, don’t lag behind.” Marco yelled back at me. I ran up to catch him.

“Sorry sweetie just caught up in memories.” I said. Kamrin gave me a strange look as we turned the corner onto Mulberry Street.

“Memories? How could you have memories there? We have never seen this place before.” He asked in his confusion. I have tried to tell them so many times, that this is their home, but they just do not understand. It is better for them not to know what happened two months ago, at such a young age.

“Remember what I have told you. This is our hometown, and right down this street…” I looked up and saw the charred remain of what use to be our home gone. “…Home…”

“No mommy this cannot be our home. How home is big and white. This looks nothing like our home.” Marco tried to reassure me. Unfortunately for him he is not the adult here who knows what has happened. I knelt beside my two boys.

“Marco, Kamrin, this is the remains of our home. Bad people came and bombed our town and took away everyone that lived here, we were lucky and were away at the time so we were not taken away.” I explained to them. I could tell they barely understood, by the looks on their faces, but they now at least they know that this is their home.

“Where did they take Grandma, Grandpa, and the others?” Karmin asked. I could not think of an answer right off the top of my head. They are just too young to understand that all these people will never come back.

“Well they were taken some place far, far away. I’m not really sure where they are exactly and I am not sure if they will ever come back.” I explained.

“They will come back mommy. If I know Grandpa, he can’t stay away from his grandchildren, specially his favorite, me.” Marco boasted. Tears slipped from my eyes, but I could not help but to smile at the thought of my father with his two grandchildren. At that same moment Marco and Kamrin got into a fight.

“Stop it you two.” They stopped immediately. “Now I have a very important mission for you two.”

“What is it mommy?” they questioned at the same time.

“I want you two to go to look around the piles of rubble and see if you can find anything that is not too badly burned. Can you two do that?”

“Yep.” Off the two ran digging through the piles of rubble yelling at each other that they are the ones that will get the most items.

I looked around at what use to be our house and the tears fell. I walked through what use to be our entryway down into the hall where we hung our pictures. I looked down in the pile of soot and ash and saw a gleam. I walked over to investigate it.

I picked the object up to find that is a picture frame and it was the glass that caught my eye. I had no idea how it made it through the bombing. I cleaned the glass to find that it was my favorite picture of all of us from the neighborhood together. The tears just flowed from my eyes and hit the picture frame. How will I ever get along without them? How will I bear this pain without my husband? I thought.

I fell to my knees and held my picture to my heart. I heard the footsteps of my children running over to me shouting that they had found something. I looked up to see Kamrin holding his hands out to me with a gold heart locket; the one Gabriel gave me for my birthday.

“Here mommy I found your locket in the pile over there.” Kamrin announced as he dropped the locket into my hands. I sat there and stared at the locket in my hands. I took a breath and opened it. The pictures inside were of my husband, Gabriel and I, on one side and Kamrin and Marco on the other. Kamrin and Marco are the spitting image of their father. Tall, dark hair and eyes, mysterious and dark looking yet has the kindest heart of all; this is my love, my soul mate, and he is off fighting to protect us.

“Lady over there you better get out of here before the enemy comes.” A voice hollered behind me. I shot around to see that the army was marching behind me. I just sat there and stared at the army. “Come one Lady the enemy is close on our tails. If you don’t want to be killed you better get out of here quickly.” There was only on thought on my mind as the army passed.

“Do you know what happened to my husband, Gabriel Wilson? I’m his wife Sylvia.” I shouted back. The soldier stood there for a moment thinking. Then he looked up as if he remembered something.

“I remember a fellow named Gabriel Wilson. He joined the army about two months ago. He was sure a nice fellow. Unfortunately he was shot down last week.” As the soldier said that my world crashed down around me. I slumped down not knowing what was going on in the world. My soul mate is gone from the world. What was I to do now?

The next moments were all a blur. The soldiers tried to move but I refused and my children stayed with me. Then the soldiers all left and we were surrounded by peace and quiet for a few moments.

When I heard the march of the enemy army is when reality came back. I knew we had to hide in these piles if we had any chance of surviving. “Marco, Kamrin quickly find a place to hide.” I howled at them. I found a nice place to hide and so did Kamrin. Marco did not; he remained out in the open when the enemy’s army arrived.
“Che cosa abbiamo qui?” one soldier asked. He spoke in a language unknown to me. I wanted to help Marco but I was too scared to move any of my muscles.
“Un ragazzo dal lato del nemico. Che cosa dovremmo fare con lui signore?” Another responded. I wanted with all my heart that Marco and Kamrin would make it out of there alive, but with Marco out in the open his chances were slim.
“Sparigli. inutile a noi.” The first soldier replied back. The second soldier lifted his gun and shot. I sprang from the pile I was hiding in and went to my fallen child.
“No Marco don’t leave me. Marco you can’t die on me.” I shrieked. I cradled him in my arms.
“Ora chi questo?” The first solder questioned. I took no notice of the others around me and just held my baby.
“Mommy, will I see daddy and the others soon?” Marco asked. His eyes were slowly closing; his body was going limp.
“Deve essere la madre del ragazzo. Dovrei fare prima come lo stessi?”
“Yes you will sweetie.” Marco’s eye’s closed and his body went completely limp. “NO!”
“Se gradite.” The second soldier took his gun, aimed and fired into my back and I fell over Marco’s body. My head landed near where Kamrin was hiding. He was about ready to reveal his hiding spot to help me.
“Don’t move or say anything Kamrin, you’ll give away where you are hidden. I don’t want you to die as well. Wait till they have completely passed before you come out.” I whispered to him. He nodded and remained completely silent and still.
“Cui sta parlando con?” The second soldier asked.
“Probabilmente sta dicendo che le sue preghiere la lasciano essere. Otteniamo indietro al gruppo.” The first soldier replied. With that the two soldiers returned to the rest of the army and headed out.
“Remember Kamrin, I love you and I have always loved you.” I muttered with my last breath. With that I passed into unconsciousness and into the world of the unknown.