The Escape!

It was on a harsh wintry night when we all stood huddled together more from anticipation and trepidation than cold. The mother of four children who seemed barely an year apart from one another was trying to hush the youngest who was beginning to sob. The old lady with a small bundle tucked under her arm leaned into the wall. The group of men who seemed not much older than I were playing a game of cards without a word. We had all been waiting there under the bridge in the dark for a day now. Some of us had packed very lightly and some their entire belongings, though meager. We were afraid and stayed as quiet as best we could.

The toughest part of the journey lay ahead, the last stretch. Once we made through this stretch, that's it. We will be able realize our dreams or atleast that is the hope we all shared unanimously.

My sister and I looked at one another and she seemed to say, she was scared. So was I , but I cannot let her know this so I gave a meek understanding smile and squeezed her tiny hand . She breathed audibly.

The man who was guiding us , stood up and walked to the edge of the bank and started to pace. It had already been 39 minutes since he had told us to expect the boat soon. His pacing didn't help calm my nerves. It was as if a stone was bouncing in my stomach in an attempt to get out every once in a while. I kept inhaling sharply to avoid passing out from nervousness.

The dark shadow of a boat formed at the end of the bridge's tunnel. I could hear a single collective inhale and everyone seemed to hold that breath until the boat was in front of us. We were herded onto it it, silently like a herd of sheep. There were no benches to sit on. Some of us used our extra jackets or bundles , others flopped onto the floor. My sister sat beside me and laid her head on my shoulder and I felt a sudden overpowering responsibility to protect her. I gently touched her head and patted. I wished and prayed to my highest belief for courage and strength . An arduous journey lay ahead of us. All of us.

As the boat moved slowly and soundlessly towards the bay, I was lost in my thoughts not noticing how the night sky was changing. I thought of my mother, her sad worried face as she kissed us goodbye and the smell of her apron . She was married young and bore fifteen children by the time she turned 31. She worked hard all day and never rested. She never complained. She had held me for a while and though there were no tears in her eyes, I knew she was crying inside.

My father is a man of few words and when he spoke it was mainly to tell us all what needed to be done. He had hugged me tight and kissed my forehead . They want only the best for me and my sister. Our country would not let us grow, let us aspire or live our dreams. The politicians were corrupt and didn't want to do anything with the people. We lived in constant poverty, no electricity, no hot water even in winters.

If we survived the harsh winters, it was only because of the heat from our gasoline stoves.

I want to live my dream. I want to be able to live free. Live, because life is supposed to be lived. Not for others, not by others. But for myself.

When I first suggested going away, my brothers laughed, they mocked. They ridiculed saying I will not survive even a day. That my dreams are unachievable. I wanted to prove them wrong. I want to live my life on my terms, not dictated by others. For six months, I had planned, saved up, convinced them to let me do this. Italy would only be the port of entry. I dream of Finland. I want to be able to live in a wooden house with heating and a beautiful wife who will cook for me and I can take care of and have a family and we watch the northern lights without anyone objecting to my simple pleasures.

I broke off from my reverie with the cries of the baby. It was crying out of hunger. The woman seemed too frail and weak to be able to feed the baby. I felt sad. I wish I could do something to help. We were all in the same boat. Each of us had a different story with the same goal. A hope to live our lives, away from dictatorship, away from poverty, away from oppression, and corruption.

There was a sudden gush of wind and I shivered and pulled up the collar of my jacket closer to my chin. The others seemed to huddle closer. The boat swayed and moved slower.

I did not dare close my eyes for the fear of falling asleep. Few more hours and I will be a free man and I didn't want to miss out on the feeling of this trepidation . It is what I desire to be free off forever.

The wind on the waters and the rocking of the boat, was lulling me to sleep, and without meaning to I drifted off into a dream of my hometown.

The market place where I saw her first...was surrounded by a group of friends. They were laughing, without a care and I envied it immediately.

Those clandestine meetings after I caught her eye, those stolen moments with one another. It wasn't meant to be. She was the daughter of the politician of our town. She had everything we struggled to have. She would never understand what it is to be on our side.

I woke up to reality of a scream this time. The day break on the horizon also brought in heavy gusts of wind and rain. The others on the boat tried to get cover under their jackets and sheets of polyethylene covering parts of the boat. In a hurry to get away from the cold rain, they gathered together to one side of the boat. The captain of the boat started yelling and gesturing frantically at all of us but it was impossible to hear him over the roaring wind and now heavy rain. The boat started to sway rough and some of us were being thrown around the hull. The captain blew a whistle and picked up life jacket to show we better put them on. We panicked but followed his orders. There weren't enough of life jackets on board and some of us debated with family and decided who gets to put them on. My sister got the life jacket and I stayed without one. I started to pray aloud to keep calm and others followed suit. Soon the chanting seemed to overtake the sound of heavy downpour and gushing winds .

I held onto my sister dearly, and she was shaking uncontrollably. I tried to calm her down while I held onto my courage with every last straw. The boat was swaying even harder than before and the waves seemed to crash into the boat and the boat was slowly filling up with water.

The mother of the four children started to cry in panic as she tried to hug her children close to her and clutch her one bag tight . The younger ones were hysterical and wailing . The others forgot their chanting and were either screaming or yelling.

The anxious and hopeful crowd quickly turned to frenzied chaos.

Before any one of us could understand how or what had happened, the boat capsized and the icy cold water sent up sharp shivers in my spine. I felt an urgency to inhale and I wanted to keep afloat . As soon as I gulped down water and air, my mind became more alert and I looked around for my sister. Her head was bobbing in and out of the water. I took control of my panic and swam to her and held onto her .. I noticed an old lady struggling not an arms distance away and with my other arm grabbed on to her and treaded waters..there was a lot of commotion and the Captain's whistle was blowing...and the sky was almost a pale pink by now. The boat had turned upside down and people were holding onto it with dear life. I swam close to the boat too dragging the old lady and my sister. I spotted a tiny head floating a little further from the boat and I quickly swam towards it and get hold of the child. Luckily he was in a child life vest and stayed above the waters. I dragged him back to the boat.

We must have been in the water a good 25 minutes before the water rescue patrol managed to come to our rescue. We were all picked up and brought back to the port we set off from. I had lost my bundle of savings I hid in my inner pocket. I had lost my phone. I was back where I started from. The fated rough morning saw a casuality, sadly it was the mother of the four children. They were huddled together again . Only without their mother this time. After the officers took our details, all of us were confined in a camp for a week.

My mother was relieved to see my sister and I return home after ten days..