The long road home
Journal entry #1
Each night’s the same restless,long,tossing,turning,screams...and nightmares.Every time i close my eyes i see it I see a day that will be burned into my head its what we survivors call the “The day the whole world went away”.I see the fire in the sky,the loud boom that split the clouds and the sound of hope bring ripped from this earth,it keeps me up and the only time i can put that beast to rest is to drink it to bed but that doesn’t even help all the time.I hate talking about it,hell the only reason i’m writing in this is because it makes me feel like i actually have someone to talk to in a world where no one can be trusted but yourself well for the most part anyway.I also do this to leave something behind
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.”Well you stop bitching!” i yelled to the brown greenish eyed boy behind me,i could see out the corner of my eye his long face sink almost like it would hit the ground at any second.It was a face that reminded me of a face a once saw long ago from someone i use to know.”Hey Pete...i mean Echo i’m sorry i didn’t mean to yell at you it’s just the heat is getting to me and I just want to get to where we are going and fast as possible” i said upset with myself over my own actions.He looked up from that long look and said “it’s fine,but can i ask you a question”.i knew what that question would be and i know i had avoided it for as long as possible.”Who is pete?,it’s not the first time you’ve call me that either” he said with a new confused and curious look on his face.With a long sigh and a deep breath i turned to him and said”Just some you remind me of that’s all,someone i knew a long time ago”.He look right in my eyes and said “i feel like there’s more to it”I just looked down at the dirt and said one day i’ll tell you but for now we need to get off this scorched piece of highway and find someplace to sleep,it’s getting late and i …show more content…
I was there in my dream reliving that day Norfolk, Nov 22 1989 or “The day the whole world went away” I could see it my old high school an 18 year old me walking down the hall seeing all of my friends i remember asking them what they were doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow.I remember asking this girl i liked to go see back to the future 2 with me but boy was she something else long blonde hair and a face that could just make me smile thinking about it,hell i still have those tickets in my dad’s old wallet.fuck i couldn't tell if it was a dream still for if i was in hell being forced to relive this day.I was newly 18 and ready for school to be over and make my father and my country proud,I was already signed up to go to the army after all the Russians were pushing europe around and we need soldiers to fight those damn communist,we needed them so bad that I was leaving for boot camp in december they had cut my last year in half since i signed before the draft was officially put in place and I was ready to give my life if need be.I was walking into the recruiter's office and when I saw everyone looking at the TV like zombies no one said anything just looked on all the soldiers in the office started to rush off and yelled and one to ask what the hell was going on i was scared and his response still haunts me “We’re going to war son”.I looked on the TV for myself and saw it for myself the United States and the Soviet Union were now at war,Then it hit me my little brother i
When you’re asleep, the pain stops. There are no thoughts or ideas that run through your brain, you are emotionless. I wish I could feel like that now, all the thoughts start to get to you’re head. At times I wish that I could end it, just to stop the pain. But I need to stay alive, to make sure they’re all okay. Afterwards, I can do as I like but right now, they are my main priority. I can't lose them, they are my one and only family. If they’re gone, then i'm nobody. I just need to go, the longer I wait the more I put myself at risk. Even though I hate myself for what i’ve done, I still need to stay
After we ate at Dairy Queen , we rode up to the church. When we were riding up there I asked Dally if my parents were worried about me. Dally said “The boys are worried about you.” But I kept on asking him about my parents. Dally snapped at me and told me “ Blast it Johnny, what do they matter?Shoot, my old man don’t give a hung whether i’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in a gutter.” I looked at the dashboard with such hurt bewilderment. He told me that he wasn’t mad at me.He just doesn’t want me to get hurt. Sometime later we arrived at the church. As soon as we were closer to the church it was up in flames. Pony said “I bet we started it.” “We must have dropped a lighted cigarette or something.” There were some grown ups and kids near the church.
I try to open my eyes, but all I wanted to do was sleep. My mine drifted into a dark void of nothingness, and that all I remember of my last days; beside waking up here, and finding
You awake with a breeze twirling with the fragments of hair left on your scalp; a dance known only to friends of the oncoming light. You open your eyes only to see the endless ocean in the sky. You do not see your family, nor your friends. You demand your legs and arms to function, they do not. You beg them to work the one time you need them to, and in defiance to the groan of your bones, you stand. You begin to wonder if this is a dream, a nightmare. It’s not real. I will see them when I wake up. They are fine. It’s not real. The earth rises and in its presence is the rubble of your home, your brother’s home, and your neighbor’s home, scattered and utterly destroyed. With a horrible realization, you start screaming for the arms of your children and wife to wrap around you once again. You can’t hear yourself scream. You can’t hear anything except the deafening silence. You drop to our knees while your eyes are drowned in a river of sorrow. Then, you feel the small hands of your children grasp yours with surprising fierceness. Though your wife is nowhere to be seen in the mist of dust, you have never been so relieved to bask in the mist of ruins and death.
Journal Entry #17- I’ve been in Vancouver for a few hours and it is gorgeous. Earlier I went to Stanley Park and sat on a bench and fed squirrel. Afterwards, I went to the aquarium where I saw mesmerizing jellyfish and breathtaking Beta fish! The people here are also amazing they’re so welcoming it’s crazy. It’s a shame I have to leave in a few day but I’m excited to go home soon.
When I was at school the other day, my band instructor told me, “You are one of the hardest workers I have ever seen, why do you work so tirelessly if you know that you might fail? I was quite surprised because she has been teaching for 33 years. I responded with your book, Almost Home.
You can’t ever let go of the terror of the night and come to a simple closure. This feeling is a real one. Yeah, you may think it's easy, but it never is for anyone enduring a life-shattering event. If you’ve never had this feeling before, you inevitably will at some point in your life. Unfortunately, I have felt this way just recently.
I was walking home from the grocery store. As I was walking across the street, a tank rolled up to my side. I remembered when my mother was taken to prison, and my father and brother were killed for protesting about the government. It was just me and my little sister in my family’s, empty, apartment. We had to sell almost everything to afford to eat, and my parents were the only ones to work since I was in high school, my brother was in college, and my little sister was only five.
It all started on a dare, I was told to join the armed forces. So I did, but everything changed that day when I saw a petty officer sprinting down the street. Only to stop not 2 feet in front of me and say “urgent telegram for Sergeant Rose!!” Which is when I knew that something was different because I never get anything important from the air force, I had only become sergeant a month ago. The briefing was hard because we knew most wouldn’t come back. Then it was shipping day. The steps toward the plane weren’t any better most of the men were married and yet most of them knew, knew that more likely than not they weren’t making it back. As for the ones that would be able to sleep on their own beds after this, well it would be worse. They would have to live with the fact that they lost their brothers in arms, but hey I'm getting ahead of myself, gotta focus on surviving.
The room is peaceful now, it is just Aaron and I sitting here with our son. Holding him and just looking at him while he sleeps. A nurse comes in and I ask her when we can go home and she says, "it looks like you can tomorrow."
The air was crisp, with a hint smell of chili pepper only the rich will only ever be able to afford in this war. People that were 18 had to go into a military draft and the better they were, the better the chance they will get drafted into the stupid military squadron. This war has been going on for 5 years, ever since I was a 14-year-old girl. The day that it would take effect when I would be put into that draft. I know I would be put into their and picked since I was the best.
Momma always said that the war would end and everything would go back to normal, but that was before she died. A house has never felt this empty, I have never felt so alone. Here we are, in late November, trying to get back what’s left of our lives. Daddy does nothing but work, yet we’re still so poor. Jobs aren’t moving very fast here in Nevada, but Daddy still picks up anything he can to earn a little extra cash. My sister, Aliyah is only 14, and she is already looking after the house and taking care of our little brother, Liam, who is only 3. I never saw myself being someone biting their nails waiting to get drafted, but I was. I’m 17, and I sat around everyday waiting for someone
After sitting in the rain for an hour, I decided to take old Phoebe home. We decided to walk. Phoebe started talking about the guy she liked, and it reminded me of Jane, the hell I know why. Honestly, I didn't listen to her at all, all I know about this guy is that his name his Bob and that he likes playing football. And then I heard Phoebe’s voice, “Holden you are coming home right?” I didn't know what to goddam say. I knew I couldn't, but I said “Yes”, I didn’t want to make her sad. When we got home my mom opened the door and she was so goddam happy to see me but even with all the happiness in her eyes you could see that something was wrong. I bet it had something to do with Allie.
Imagine, twenty five years without knowing if your family is still alive. Twenty five years you have lived away from home. Spending a majority of your life not being able to kiss your mother, nor your siblings. A Long Way Home is an autobiography based on the story of five-year-old Sheru Munshi Khan, who finds himself lost in Calcutta, the capital of India (his country of origin). Sheru had intended that he would just tag along with his brother, Guddu, as he ventured to Khandwa for his work on the trolley but Sheru felt tired and collapsed onto a bench at the station. Guddu told his little brother to wait and promised to be back shortly. Waking up with his brother out of sight, he boards a stopped train and like he was overtaken by a jolt
Nights can sometimes be overwhelming, when you feel like crying but I hear an angel and to my ears she says softly, “Mommy everything will be all right”. Years of sweetness have now been replaced by bitterness. My home has been stricken by false misfortunes and difficulties. The ones that any ordinary family could ever bear. Through the years I have found some refuge, a lightning bolt who always knew me and who always believe in me. Yes, he was my lightning bolt and my spear- the kind that would provide, protect and respect nevertheless a receptacle of love for me and my angel. But now my lightning bolt and spear have been taken away from me. A decision I cannot even discuss nor tell my daughter. I do not know if Kafka was right about the Plague, I should have listen, I should have been more aware and conscious. My house has been shattered into so many different pieces, the ones I cannot piece together. Still I am fortunate to have my angel right by my side, she comforts, she heals and she wipes away my tears. How can justice be not fair? How can life be not just? How can days be not brighter? These are a few questions that are left stranded in my thoughts. Questions that are often left in bed while I am sleeping. The so many sleepless nights, worries, restlessness and even deprivation. These issues are non-confronting but yet are visible and aggressive like tigers in the night. My voice is light and unresponsive towards these furor. I look at myself in the mirror