This place terrified me. I didn’t want to open my eyes.
Pain.
Why do we cross borders? If borders make me sick to my stomach, then why did we have to cross? The moment I reached the beginning of the border my heart raced and skipped a beat. I had to get on one of the boats without getting caught. Could I pull this off? I hoped with all my might.
Relieved. I managed to sneak on.
Confused faces surrounded me. But I just looked out to sea. I got distracted by another child next to me. Their shrieking continued until their lungs ruptured. My ears began to ache. My head was pounding, as I tried to stay balanced. Until, a sudden gust of wind blew me off the boat sending me into the ice cold waters.
Petrified. I was sinking. I thought this wouldn’t be how I died, would it?
I felt rushes of water swaying past me almost as if it was fate that I fell in. I was wrong.
A brave young knight came to my rescue. Gasping, I had reached the surface of the water. The ripples whispered, this silence sent shivers down my spine, and killed me even more.
“Thank you!” I screamed with relief and joy.
He kindly helped me back on the boat among the large crowd.
Embarrassed.
I had brought attention to myself. This was exactly what mother said not to do.
I missed her. But what happened to her?
It felt like an eternity, but by the look on everyone’s faces we were close to the end of the border. Squeals from the child next to me started to wrack my brain, but I remembered to stay focused.
The moment I stepped off the boat , relief floated off of my shoulder. I made it!
Vile, disgusting, spine-chilling: the rooms we were sleeping in. The whispers spoke again but from the shadows this time. I was buried in whispers. For some reason I wanted to go back to the boat, back home, back to mother, but I knew that was not possible.
This place terrified me. I didn’t want to open my eyes.