The Soldier by Higgins M.G

Author:Higgins M.G.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630780333
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Published: 2015-05-07T15:01:58+00:00

6

BATTLE

I hear my brothers’ voices. They are coming this way. I lean my head into the alley.

“Hello!” I call to the GI.

She raises her gun. Her eyes are wide. She sees me. Lowers the rifle.

I wave her over. The heavy footsteps come closer. She pauses only a second. Then she is inside. I close the door behind us.

She is breathing hard. So am I.

She looks around the empty room. So do I.

The wooden box. I point at it. She nods. I lift it up. Pull out my art supplies. She curls herself into a small ball. I set it over her. I sit. Lean against it. Pull my knees up to my chest. Footsteps run past the room. Doors open and slam closed. My door opens. My brother Sifet points a rifle at my head.

“Leyla!” my brother Fadi shouts. He slams his hand down on Sifet’s rifle. They both stare at me. They’re panting. Faces streaked with dirt. “What are you doing here?”

I don’t answer. By now I’ve wrapped my arms around my knees. I’m rocking back and forth. I’m crying. It has just hit me how scared I am.

“You should be in the sewing shop!”

I nod.

“A GI came this way,” Sifet says. “Did you see him?”

I shake my head.

“Stay here. Until we come for you. Do not leave. Do you understand?” They slip away. Close the door.

My heart has never beaten so fast. I think it might explode. Air gushes in and out of my chest. I take the deepest breath I can. Then another. I unwrap my arms from my legs. My hands shake. I lift up the box.

The woman GI sits up. She looks at me. She scoots back until she hits the wall. She presses her face into her hands. I listen to her ragged breathing. Soon she breathes slower. She lowers her trembling hands. She looks at me again.

She says something I don’t understand. Then she says, “Shukran jazilan.” She’s thanking me. “You are the strong one,” she adds.

I nod. But I think, No. I am the stupid one. I disobeyed my father. I disobeyed my mother. I am hiding an American GI. What will happen if they find out? How will I explain?

The GI points to herself. “Kim,” she says. That must be her name.

I pause. “Leyla.”

There is more gunfire. Another bomb blast. Dust falls from the ceiling. We cover our heads with our arms. I sit against the wall near Kim. Perhaps we will both die today. Then I will not have to decide what to do next.

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