ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 1

“David, wake up”, Sussan shouted and shook her husband's shoulder who was sleeping next to her.

Her face filled with dread while tears rolled down her eyes uncontrollably that clearly meant their small world had turned upside down overnight once again. David did not respond to her and just turned around a little to continue his sleep.

Sussan understood that he was tired but right now he had to wake up so that they could find their son who was not with them right now.

"David... David..." She continued to shake him in hopes of waking him up.

After a long time, David slightly opened his eyes and looked at her with irritation. He had just got a few hours of sleep after three days and his wife had to wake him up so soon.

“What’s wrong, Sussan? Whatever it may be, it can wait until morning. You do know that I have tried my best but right now even I want some rest or else do you expect me to die as well?” David asked her with annoyance.

“David, please... I know you are tired but... It's Peter! He is missing! I cannot find him anywhere”, Sussan cried while holding his hands tightly.

“Don’t worry, he must have gone somewhere nearby to answer his nature’s call. He will be back in a few minutes. Just relax and go to sleep,” After saying that he pulled the blanket on top of him and continued his sleep.

But Sussan could not rest her mind at ease and started to worry a lot. She did not want to sit around and wait for Peter to come back. So, she went out of their tent and started to search the area around them. 

It was already too dark outside the campsite and she knew that her little boy was too afraid of the dark. She was sure that something was not right but couldn't point out what went wrong. 

She searched as far as she could but still could not find any trace of him anywhere. She started to imagine the worst and suddenly remembered him saying that he wants to go search for Elly. She half walked and half ran to the tent while holding her chest. 

"No, please no. It is a war out there and I cannot afford to lose them both at the same time. Please be safe, Pete. Please! Please! Please..." She mumbled and rushed towards the campsite.

When she reached the tent, she saw David fully awakened and even the other tent mates were standing next to him. They were discussing something very seriously until they noticed her and then they immediately went silent while looking at her with sympathy.

When she walked near them, she heard David talking to Sommer, “Are you sure? What your son said is true?”

Sommer looked irritated for being woken up in the middle of the night. Moreover, when David did not believe him and started questioning his son’s authenticity of the news, he felt upset. So, he just stared at David and let out a grunt without answering him.

When David saw Sussan coming faster towards them, his heart twitched in pain. He was sure that she would not be able to take the harsh news.

He wondered, 'Should I just hide the truth and not tell her?' 

“What happened, David? Did you find out anything about Peter? Where is he?” She asked him while searching around them for Peter.

When she couldn't find Peter, she wiped the sweat on her forehead and looked at him with a troubled face. David noticed her sweat-drenched body, his heart ached and he held her close to him. As she saw David was hesitating to open up, she gave him a nudge on his arm to force him to speak.

“Sommer’s son overheard Peter talking with Robert that they are both going to find Elly across the border,” David said while holding his breath.

He knew that Sussan would have an outburst after hearing this. But when he did not see any reaction on her face, with a little more hesitation, he added,

“I checked with Brenda... Her son, Robert is still with them. She swears that Robert never met Peter so she says that the discussion did not happen between them. When I asked Brenda if she could let me talk to Robert, she would not let me,” He informed Sussan.

Sussan listened to everything in silence and clenched her fist. She then asked him,

“How could she not let us talk to her son? This is ridiculous. How much would we have helped them back then? Let me see her and ask one more time.” 

Sussan said and started to move towards her best friend's tent. But David held her arm and stopped her.

“They both left with Robert long ago. Also, even some other families are moving out from this place, as it is not safe for anyone to stay here any longer. They highly doubt that if the military finds out about Peter, then he might bring them here to cause more trouble for them. So, everyone is packing and leaving this place at once.”

Sommer patted David’s back once he saw that his family also packed and got ready to leave. He nodded his head at the couple and went to his family. Within minutes, the whole place became empty and the darkness that surrounded them made the area look eerie.

Left with no one around them and having to stare at the wide desert with people moving away from them, they both were rendered dumbstruck. They recalled the happy times living harmoniously when they were a whole family.  Now in contrast, how much everything had changed around them in a matter of a few days, leaving their dreams scattered. 

Both their kids have gone missing and right now they do not have any idea what they should do next. Sussan Squatted on the ground while holding her head with both her hands. She bawled her eyes out while crying with a loud noise.

David looked around them with fearful eyes as he was worried that they may get caught if his wife continued to wail so loudly. Without knowing David's thought, Sussan asked him,

“What do we do now David? What do we do…? Where are we going to find our children?”

She just could not figure out what she had done wrong for such a thing to happen to her. All they wanted was a place to live peacefully but why can’t they have that? It was a wide world but nowhere they were allowed to go nor anyone would let them stay. 

Since they don't have any identity and nor anyone want to give them one, even after they struggled and fought a lot for their freedom. They were now basically homeless beings roaming on one part of the galactic system. Everyone called them different names and insulted them. 

Few of them used words like lambani's, nomads, tramps, hobo and some even described them as witches and dark craft people. Sussan could not understand why these people cannot understand that they were also just like everyone else as normal as anyone can be.

'How long do they have to run around and how long do they have to pretend everything is okay. No, it has to stop, everything has come to a stop right this minute. I am tired of running and living in fear,' With determination, Sussan stood up from the ground and stared at David with red eyes.

David felt his heart skip a beat, as he understood what Sussan was thinking. He knows for sure that it was not going to be good for anyone right now. So he hurriedly said,

“No, Sussan. I don’t agree with your decision. Let us just stop for a minute and think of a real practical solution. I promise I will do whatever it may take to find our children but going across the border is out of the question. That's almost suicidal.”

David knew that whatever he says, won't stop Sussan from changing her mind. But he still wanted to give it a try as if by chance she changed her decision then it would work out in their favor. 

Currently, they really cannot afford to expose themselves and he also understood what it would mean by revealing their true self. They would lose everything that they have worked so far. 

'What should I do to stop her from going back to the land? Think of something fast...' David racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything useful.

Meanwhile, Sussan had almost lost her cool and stared at David with an astounding look.