1 5  w e e k s

    When she first heard the sound, she mistook it for her childs heartbeat.

Gently breathing, her head layed upon the falling and rising chest of the frail, young boy who was engulfed under mounds of thin blankets. It was a cold night filled with shivering bodies and puffs of smoke-like breaths. The shadows of untouchable silhouettes  reflected off the moon and danced underneath the stars, performing plays for the restless children. Winter had come with ease, a smooth transition. The night was chilly, but not unbearable and the beauty of it was not hard to find in the cool-coloured palette of the sky. 

She looked up at the moon and performed her internal nightly ritual.

Prayers were made to the holy spirits on behalf of the health and safety of her son, the conditions of the refugees living in the camp and to ease all hardships within her beloved, war-torn country. She prayed to the trees, the water, the wind. She inhaled the foggy air and sighed, praying to mother Earth for all her blessings. 

But Mother Earth was angry.

She was being used, simply as a battlefield for its combatants. Her placement was not to guide, but to serve and be served by her people. And in return, she got burned, beat and thrown away carelessly like the vegetables off the plate of a young, privileged child. 

Mother Earth did more than just refuse prayers that night. 

She did what she was never meant to do. 

She took.

Bang! Bang!

Mistaken for a childs heartbeat rang the thunderous sounds of the gunshot. 

The woman lay, still as ever over the newly awoken child. 

Bang! Bang!

It was time to leave, time to run. People shrieked and cried, holding children, holding bloody limbs, holding onto the last droplets of tolerance left. The moon watched empathetically from the sky, age old but shining brighter than ever, providing the least it can. The woman stared back, fearlessly. Her heart pounding louder than the beat of the drum. All around her were cries of agony, sounds of despair, bombs, blows, and the scariest of them all;

silence. 

But amongst all of these noises, one in particular stood out.

The eternal rhythm of the heartbeat.

❧