Once upon atime in Somalia by Evans Egualeona (phonics reading books txt) 📖

left side of my belly, wondering how I got shot but yet never felt the pain until I was awaken to such tragedy. I struggled to hold myself because I could barely stand up right, walking towards these dead bodies, checking if any was still alive. I saw tracks of vehicle tires all over the place and wondered why I didn’t hear anything the night before. Was I drugged or something? I asked myself countless times without having a clue of what the answer could be. The air was so empty and sad, the cloud looked angry and thundered loud, the wind that blew was harsh and unfriendly, filled with death in its wings. I couldn’t see clearly but yet I knew I lived and survived somehow. But how did I survive? That to me was a mystery.

I tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure on it but couldn’t remove the bullet from my belly because I had not the equipments to carry out such operation on myself. I had to tie the surface with a piece of rag, torn from one of the clothes worn by one of the deceased men on the floor and used his machine gun that was out of bullets as a wage to support my movement, which was very difficult to do. As I stood for few minutes, contemplating what to do, I hard a distress call coming from the east. It was a female voice crying afar for help. I rain as fast but helpless as I could towards the direction the voice was coming from, in getting there to my amazement, it was Fatima bleeding all over her body, lying helplessly on the floor, struggling with death. I quickly held her up, tied the area she was bleeding from and applied pressure on it, in order to stop the bleeding. I ran around, checking empty cans in search of water but found just a little from one of the can’s laying beside one of the deceased men and ran back to where she lay, to give her a drink.

[Coughing in pain and sobering] thank God you are alive! She said

I don’t understand, what the hell happened? I asked

[Coughing again] it happened so fast like a flash of light, within a twinkling of an eye

[Sobering] they came so fast, with gunshots everywhere

Who are they? What are you talking about Fatima? I asked

Hassan! The man they called the butcher...She answered [coughing]

Where is Stephaney? I asked

They took us away and threw me off the moving truck because I was struggling with them [coughing] they shot my leg and left me to die here, then drove off with Stephaney, Nadifa and Peterson... She answered

What happened to me? I asked amazed

Nadifa hit you with the head of her gun the very moment you woke and quickly shot you on your belly. You blacked out... she said

What! Why will she shoot me? I asked

To save you I guess [still coughing],

The moment we were captured, we all thought you were dead. They left your body because they thought you were one among the four victims of the cross fire.

She probably saved your ass I guess [coughing and smiling]…

She dropped something inside your pocket during all this and kissed your head... she answered

I quickly put my hand in my pocket to see what it was and discovered that it was the picture of her little daughter Awa, the little girl that was butchered back in the camp, days ago. I burst into tears bitterly, holding Fatima fist to myself and cried out loud like a little child

It was so hot and windy, I could barely see. I prayed the gods to help me but yet they mocked me with sands all over my mouths and feet’s. Fatima was dying; we were at the desert with no water or food to eat. The night was coming, deep darkness embraced the sky. It sounded as though the clouds where angry but yet it didn’t cry at all. I had to carry her as much and as far as I could but as I walked and stumbled, I noticed that she was dead already.

Bitter and rage filled my soul, I was mad at every point and cried at every thought that crossed my heart. I had no tools to dig; I had no clothes to bury her with. So I had to cover her up with heaps of sands so as to prevents her body from been eaten by scavengers or wild beast.

After I did that, I set out on my way to the north, not knowing where I was going or coming from. All I wanted was to see myself in Mogadishu or embassies were I could get help for my friends that were kidnapped by the insurgence. As I walked, losing strength and lots of blood, I saw what looked like trucks from afar charging towards my direction. I couldn’t see them clearly because I was so weak, dehydrated and hungry. The people in the trucks seem to carrying weapons, shooting to the air. As I attempted running back towards the direction I was coming from, I fell down on the ground and passed out.

 

 

 

 

 

Imprint

Text: Evans Egualeona
Images: google
Editing: Persian Khushi, Evans Egualeona
Translation: Evans
Publication Date: 09-18-2014

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To God Almighty and all the Children that were victims and used as soldiers of war in Somalia...