Starting Over

STARTING OVER 

 "Asim get you brother ," Pa whispers to me. I take the bundle from him, holing it close.

I've never done wrong. All I want is to stay and defend my country from war but my brother and father need me. The war was awful and so was the Russian base. People fleeing from war and from what Russia had planned. I look down at the bundle in my arms. 

"La taqlaq'akhi alssaghir," I lean down kissing his forehead.

 "Ana 'ahibbuk 'akhi alssaghir,"  I start repeating in his ear, rocking him back to sleep.

I need to stay here and protect my country. I'm Asim- a warrior, a defender. I can't abandon my country when they need me the most. My brother needs Tartus, it's the place that holds my mother in it. Our mother was killed by a bomb three months after he was born. Now he'll only hear the stories father and I tell.

My father walks back over with two men following him. 

"Asim take your brother and follow these men,"

"Where are you going?,"

"On another truck. Its cheaper this way. But what Take care of yourself and your brother, young warrior,"   my father mumbles before turning and walking away from me. I sigh and grab our bag and began to follow the men.

"Get in the truck and keep the baby quiet,"   one of the men growl out. I do as told and hold Mu'adh close. "you'll be in here for a couple hours then you'll get on a boat and a smuggler will take you from there."

The doors slam shut and the truck starts moving. Please let pa and us survive. I whisper into the air

I'm woken up by shouting and the whimpers of my brother. Hes hungry. I reach into my bag and pull out the little bag of crackers, put it into my mouth then give it to my brother. The shouting gets closer then I hear a BAM. Everything in the truck goes silent. Then the doors open and the two men usher us out and tells us that guards have been alerted and that we should hurry into the boat. I look around for Pa but don't see him. 

"I hope you're okay pa,"  I whisper into the air, heading onto the boat that isn't over crowed.

After being in a boat for about a week then riding in a car smugglers car for another two hours, my brother and I reach Spain. A cousin of fathers lives in Spain with her husband and said we could stay with her for as long as needed. When we arrive at her house she quickly guides us into her house. Father is no where to be seen. The house is beautiful and my great cousin and her husband are very nice and welcoming . Rima(cousin) even offered to watch Mu'adh so I could get some rest. I declined her offer telling her that I'm his protector. She smiles at me then shows me the room I'll be sleeping in and the bathroom where I can freshen up. When Pa arrives this'll be the best thing that's happened since before the war.

      Its been three months since I arrived in Spain. Father called us and told us it would be a couple of months before he could come. Father decided to stay in Syria for a little longer and help smuggle other people out. I wasn't happy at first but there isn't anything I can do to bring him here. the first month was very hard. Rima and her husband got brother and I papers saying we are citizens here. (Rima knows lots of people that deal with government)Then I had to learn spanish, which was hard for me. Then when I did start school the people there made fun of me and pushed my head into toilets and locked me in lockers. Sometimes I thought being in Syria would be better but then I thought about how my brother deserves a good life without war. Making friends with people my age wasn't that easy. The only people that I count as my friends are really old but I'm okay with it because they teach me how to take care of my brother.

I do have hopes for the future. I hope:

· That I get to see father soon

· That mother will watch out for us from above

· That ill make friends and get married

· That I can graduate and become a teacher

· That I can tell brother stories about mother and not cry.

· But most importantly that I can be a great brother and parent figure for Mu'adh.