Abiba's Decision To Go: A Narrative Fiction

Tan’s grandfather encouraged her mother to understand and help others, and urged her to consider the possibility of escape from Vietnam. Aged sixteen, Mai married a wealthy pharmacist eighteen years her senior. By 1981 she was preparing to escape Vietnam by boat. In early morning darkness, she left with her daughters Tan and Min, her mother, sister and brother, and 161 fellow passengers on a boat disguised as a fishing vessel. At the time, Tan Le was aged 4, her sister aged 3 and her mother, Mai Ho aged 18.

“I am going to get the kids meal though because I am not that hungry. I won’t eat it if we take it go.”

Finally we see a pinnacle of the heartache that Kamau had been successful at keeping away for the past five years in prison. He had manage to keep a flickering light of hope alive in the darkest of places. The emotion and pain had caught up to him. The regret of what he had done had finally come knocking. Kamau is overcome and runs to the river. At the river Kamau sees his little belongings floating away. He understands that this is an exact symbol of what his day had been. He had watched all he knew and cherished float away moment by moment. Thoughts of suicide are gone.

As his journey continued, it seemed as if his hope was slowly left behind with the remnants of the villages that were attacked by the rebels. The uncertainty of when he is going to see his loved ones again lessened his hope of surviving but he kept pushing through each obstacle that was in his way, always reminding himself of what his father

Karly Segrave was a fifteen year old girl when Hurricane Katrina Hit. Her mother worked at St. Tammany Parish Hospital, so when it was time to evacuate she stuffed everything she could into a backpack and went on her way. Most of the employees at the hospital brought their familys with them, so space was limited. Karly slept under her mothers cubical for three weeks. “At first it was fun,” she watched movies, played games, and had tons of people to talk to. Then days turned into weeks and the hospital begun to run low on food. She began to realize that it wasn’t all fun and games.

“Hey what's going on down here,” dad shouts in confusion.“You guys need to quiet down. It's 4AM and you need to get some sleep.”

I couldn’t leave the only brother I ever had. Tears were streaming down my face. I had kept my composure all throughout this hellish event. But now, I couldn’t lose my brother. I was trying to rip the debris up to somehow form an exit for him. He grabbed my hand and gave me his badge and his lucky necklace. I screamed that I wasn’t leaving him. I was going to die with my brother. His exact words were, “Get out and take care of Shelly (his wife) and Kate(His daughter). Tell them Daddy loves them very much and will see them when they come to heaven. Rus, it has been a good run for me. I love you man. You were the best brother any man could have. Take care of my wife and daughter. Make sure she gets to college and marries a good man. Now go! You need to survive to take care of them and your kids!” Tears streaming down my face I told him he has a deal and took off running. I got to lobby of the building when the most horrific sound emerged from the ceiling. The building was coming down and I had seconds to exit if I was going to keep John’s promise. With his necklace and badge clutched in my fist, I sprinted to the door and as far as i could go.

Makayla looked out of the window, when she noticed there was a storm coming. “It sure is getting dark”, said her father. Makayla nodded. “Don’t forget we’re leaving for the weekend”, said her mother. “Yeah, I remembered”, responded Makayla.

We were going to make it. Both of us, together. We had enough time to reach the city border.

When the women went back to work and realized this, they started to cry for mercy and prayed so the Gods might help them. Some said they would have rather stayed with their abusive husbands and die slowly, than die here today. Jacolin was holding Christopher tightly in her arms, and her sister, Amber, was holding her sister, and whispering to her that the she will be all right. The waters were rough and the current was in control of the ship, and was headed right to the sharp, jagged rocks up ahead, and there was no hope insight.

Her family and her, were one of the few lucky. Being able to escape in an airplane was a luxury, even for them. As she stared down the window, witnessing the violence; fires rising and guns shooting. When the plane elevated, she could feel her relief taking over her.

Her breath rushed out in ragged gasps as she searched for a place to hide on the giant ship. She couldn’t go back there, not again. Going back meant that they had won, and she couldn’t let that happen, even if she had to change her name and move to a new state. She hurried through the shadows of the ship as quietly as she could, all the while listening for any evidence that they were chasing her. Having lived with her sailor grandfather, she knew how to walk while the ship was moving, but the rain made the floor slippery, and making it difficult for her to catch her footing. Finally finding a small row boat to hide in, she began to hear numerous footsteps coming from the opposite side of the deck, and she tried to control her breathing

The necklace suddenly felt like it had stabbed her. She looked around, the pain making her wince. To her left, she saw him. The man who looked like Crash from earlier, but this time with an enormous figure beside him. Burn. The burning from the cat’s eye combined with what she was seeing made her cry. What are they doing here? Where are they going? Are they ok? As much as she wanted to get the answers to her questions, the truth overpowered. Sora knew that she couldn’t go to them. She knew they were busy and she was a burden. After all that is why they left her. They were so close, but they didn’t tell me. Even if she wanted to she felt frozen in place and it was so sudden. It almost seemed like they were only there for a single second in time. Before Sora could blink properly, once again they disappeared. Just like that day 3 years ago when they left, the tears flowed down her

Just then Laura and Timothy’s mom appeared. “You have to have your breakfast first,” she said.

“Give her a few more minutes Mehmet she will be done soon”, she responded. As soon as she was done speaking, a girl came trotting down the stairs carrying a black backpack. “Good morning mom!” She greeted. Elif turned towards her dad, gave him a glare, and said,“ I am ready, ”. Her father stood up, grabbed his suitcase and waved to his wife before leading Elif outside their home and to their car.