Russia launched bombs to Ukraine today. We were compelled to go. My mother compelled my brother and me to board a train. We were terrified, and without our parents, we felt abandoned. My father was summoned by the president to fight for the country just a few days before these occurrences. We said our final goodbyes and haven’t seen him since. Following this, the bombing occurred. We live about a mile away from where the bombs exploded, yet the odours were too strong for us to stay in our home.
We collected our belongings and left the next day, after the fumes had subsided. We thought Ukraine was too hazardous for us, so we were going to board a train and leave. We had to keep close together because the train terminals were so crowded. My mum had forgotten one important bag and had to return home to collected it. My brother and I were terrified, but we boarded the train nevertheless, in order to secure seats.
After what seemed like an eternity, I spotted my mother in the distance, weaving her way through the shouting crowds of people on the platform, all attempting to board the same train. “Mama, mama,” I yelled, but with all the noise and shuffling going on, she couldn’t hear me. I observed she was suddenly and unexpectedly stopped by a security guard. At that point, I looked down and saw I was carrying my mother’s train ticket. Mama had left her ticket with me just before leaving. “Mama, we’re here, and I have your ticket, look.” I yelled, but she couldn’t hear me. I attempted to get closer, but the train was too crowded to move.
Without warning, the train began to move. I’ve never felt more afraid as I did that night. As the train began to accelerate, I observed my brother shivering across the aisle. I looked around now that we were alone and saw my mother crying in the distance. I, too, began to cry. We didn’t know where we were or what would happen to us.
We were on the crammed, hot train for what seemed like days, with no idea what time it was. I was fatigued and felt faint at times. There was insufficient water and food on the train, and all I could hear was the wailing and sobbing of the babies and small children. We eventually came to a halt and were instructed to exit the train. I looked around but couldn’t figure out where we were. I heard somebody say that we were in France. As I turned to wake my brother up…. he was gone, dead. Now, it’s just me venturing into a new world that I refer to as ‘The Unknown.’ I am now all alone determined to make it for the rest of my family. Blackout.