The Dream

Alex

      There is a dream that has been haunting me for years. It always seems to return whenever the winter months approach. The dream forces you to think about the path you have taken. Where all your choices right? It happens every year on the anniversary of the raid on the village in South Africa where my best friend and her family lived. It's the same dream every year and every year, I have the same questions. What would have happened if I had been there that day? Could I have saved them? I will never know the answer to any of them and it haunts me every day, even though it happened over twelve years ago.

     The dream is always the same. I can see everything as it happens, but I can't do anything to stop it. I see Malachi's army speeding toward the village where my best friend, Raquel and her family are living while she and her husband are working with Doctor's without Borders. I try to scream to warn them, but they can't hear me all I can do is watch. Malachi's goons go from hut to hut dragging everyone into the middle of the village. He orders them to line up the children on one side and everyone else on the other.

     He begins speaking to the elders, "What have I told you about accepting help from the American's?"

     The village elder replies, "We don't have control of who is sent here to help us, and we need the help. Our children and elders die to early from bad water and sicknesses that the American's can cure. They have saved so many in the short time they have been here. Why does it matter to you?"

     Malachi replies, "This is my country and I don't need help from outsiders. If you needed medicine or medical care you should have came to me. You know that."

     The elder says, "Your price is too high. We cannot afford what you ask, and you can't have our children for your fights."

     Malachi laughs, "You thought my price was to high before, I will take all of your children now including the Americans."

     Raquel screams, "No you can't take them!" She gets up and starts to run toward Cameron and Jessie but one of Malachi's thugs, trips her and throws her back in the line.

     Malachi just laughs harder and says, "There is no one here that can stop me. Line them up boys and get them ready."

     His goons begin lining up all the adults in front of their children, the kids are crying and so are the parents. I'm not sure what is about to happen, but I know that it isn't going to be good. As soon as everyone is lined up, Malachi says, "Now is the time to say goodbye to your children because you will never see them again. They will become slaves in my army, either as fighters or servants."

     I can only look between Raquel and her kids, I hear her tell Cameron to take care of Jessie no matter what and not to let her see what was about to happen. Then Malachi told his guys to line up in front of the adults and execute them. I watch as my best friend and her husband are murdered right in front of their kids and I could do nothing about it. As the shots rang out, I woke up in a cold sweat just like every other night I had this dream.

     Of course, I wasn't there when all of this happened and the only way I know the details is from what I have pieced together over the years and what Cameron told me once I finally found him and Jessie. I found them twelve years later while breaking up a fight in Cape Town were Jessie almost died. I risked my whole operation to get them out and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I only wish I could have found them sooner before Malachi enslaved them. They had to endure so much because I wasn't there that night. It was all my fault!

     I ask myself all the time, did I make the right choice when I left? It seemed right at the time. Could I have saved them all? Maybe, I will always wonder what would have happened if I had stayed to protect my family instead of running off to help everyone else's, but there is no way to ever know for sure.

     What I do know now that I have finally found them, I will never leave them unprotected again. I will do whatever I have to in order to make sure my family is safe, and that Malachi will never hurt them again! I especially hate what Jessie had to go through at the hands of that monster. One day I will kill him for what he has done, until then I must protect what is mine.