THE FLIGHT
Bernard woke up very in the morning at about 3am as he could not sleep any longer. He was buried in thoughts as he pondered on the implication of the war to his family and his businesses which he has built for years.
His wife noticed he was awake and woke up to sit beside him rested her head on his shoulders and rubbed his bare chest.
She told her husband not to worry that everything is going to be fine soon and that peace would be restored soon. Her words of consolation and encouragement were haulted by a resonating sound of a bomb, followed by gun shots and people screaming.
They both rushed into the children's room to comfort them as they were all awake and frightened. The gunshots lasted for 1 hour before it finally came to a fault.
Bernard needed no soothsayer to tell him that there is fire on the mountain and that his life and that of his family could be endangered if they continue to staying in the city of Anya.
He told his wife and children to that they will be leaving the city to the village so as to be shielded from the fierceness of the war.
At about 7am he decided to go and look for a vehicle that could transport him and his family to the village. When he reached the car park, low and behold the car park was the place hit by the bomb blast. The cars were damaged, there were so many casualties and people whom probably their family members were victims were at the scene crying out loud.
Bernard was just left to bask in the ocean of discombobulation. He condoned with the mourning families and urged them to vacate the park as it was dangerous to stay there after which he left.
On reaching home he related the situation to his family.
Christiana suggested they trek to the neighboring town, perhaps they could find a vehicle that would take them to the village.
Then, Felix was 15, Thomas was 9, Benita was 6 and Jake was just 3 years old.
This is definitely not going to be an easy task, there should be another option, Felix thought. He opined that they should just stay indoors as moving out might increase the risk of them being hit by the war.
"This is quite true" Susan thought. She beckoned on her husband that they stay indoors as they would be much more safe indoors.
The question now is, for how long will they stay indoors? And as the park is in close proximity with their house, what if their house becomes the next target to be hit by attacks? They were really in a dilemma whether or not to leave or stay indoors.
However, Bernard being the man of the house having thought about the consequences of both options decided that they start walking their way out of the city because the city is no longer safe.
He urged them all to pick up their valuables and clothes as they would definitely return in no distant time pending the end of the war.
He used his bicycle to tie up all their loads while they all trekked.
As the saying goes:
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.
They began the journey to the nearby city in search of a vehicle that could take them to the village.
All of a sudden, there was sporadic shooting by the federal military troops.
Was this flight the actually the best option?
TBC...
Episode Two next.