Run, Run, Run

Run, Run, Run

My Ma often tells me, let’s play a game!

When the sky makes loud noises, run as fast as you can! The ground trembles and I jump like a rabbit, hopping quickly before the foxes catch me. Ma shouts my name, but I’m faster than her voice, whooshing through the air like lightning. The soaking rain could never catch up to me.

At first, I hated the game. My feet hurt, my breath huffed, and my tummy rumbled. But it made Ma happy, so I still did it. Ma would always praise me. “Good job, sunshine. Now, you’re ready to save the world!”

“It is so fun! You’ll see,” Ma would tell me if I tried to complain. But her words often sounded more like plea than play.

Ma even made a song to sing for when we’re playing the game. She calls it the “Thunder Tune”. When I run to hide in the shelter, I can almost hear Ma’s recital of the Tune echo through the streets:

Run, run, run,

Fast, fast, fast!

Like little mice,

Past, past, past!

Quick, quick, quick!

Don’t be last!

Ma can be so silly. But sometimes, when we sing our song, her hands tremble like the shaking ground. I wonder if it’s part of the game. When I ask her about it, she only ever fixes my hair. “Nothing for you to worry about, sunshine.”

Okay…fine. I’ll tell you a secret: I don’t think Ma likes the game!

But, if I run fast enough, she promised to give me a chocolate bar later.

So now, I dash like a rabbit when the sky roars like a lion!

Ah…Ma tells me to always properly introduce myself when people ask. Start with your name first, how old you are, and…well, I forgot how the rest goes.

Whatever. I’ll just do it my way!

I’m Zara, and I’m six and a half. I mean, I’m almost seven, but Ma says I can’t round it just yet.

I hate broccoli and math - they’re both yucky. I hate the thunder strikes outside - they never stop, day or night. My favorite color is pink! And I really, really love puppies, my Ma, and Barbies! At night, when the thunder hits, my Barbies are there to protect me. I hold them tight before sleep.

When I grow up, I want to be a unicorn ballerina. I’ve been a dancer since I was three! Soon, they’ll move me to the junior group because I’m so advanced. Advanced: isn’t that such a cool word?! Ma taught me it! Ma also told me ballet doesn’t make for a proper job. But she’s wrong. I will be the best ballerina in the whole wide world - no, in the universe!

My favorite show is about a ballerina named Belle who dances with her unicorn. Belle is so pretty, and everyone loves her, and her unicorn sparkles in the dark. So, when I grow up, I don’t want to be just any ballerina. Belle and I will dance together! And I’ll be so good, I’ll have my very own glowing unicorn.

Ma says ballet will help me in the game. I can run really fast because I dance. So, I have to show off my skills!

And now, I’m darting through the street like a rabbit.

But…I’m not showing off my skills.

I’m running because…

I lost Ma.

My head hurts, and I feel all sick and dizzy.

I don’t know when it happened, okay?

I was playing outside with Leila, and she said we should buy a gummy bear pack. Leila is my BFF - best friend forever! She’s already eight. So, Leila’s practically a grown-up - she even has her own allowance money. I mean, I have to listen to her.

Plus, I really wanted those gummy bears…

Yet when we went into the shop, Mr. Nazim said there were no gummy bears left.

Leila asked if they will be back soon. Mr. Nazim said, “Come back in a week.” But he said that last week!

Leila pouted when we went outside.

“I really wanted those gummy bears,” she said.

“Me, too. I’m so hungry,” I said.

And then, boom!

The noise Ma warned of!

The high pitch of buzzing filled our ears.

As soon as I heard the noise, I told Leila we had to run.

Ma said we have to be quick, quick, quick, like mice!

When the grown-ups whispered about it yesterday, Grandmama said the strikes will be a sign from God. But, Ma said not to listen to Grandmama. She’s a little bit nutty.

Leila’s jaw trembled. She probably feared I’d beat her at the game. I jump really high, spin really fast, and run like the wind! Maybe Leila can’t catch up.

Well, now I feel bad. “Leila, you have to be fast, okay?” I yell over to her anyway, because I’m a good friend.

And then - we start dashing across the street! Mr. Nazim’s store’s suddenly closed, and people are rushing to their houses. They’re all so funny! Don’t they know the point of the game is to run, not hide?

Well…don’t tell anyone.

But Ma said we have to run, run, run until we get to the…secret lair!

And there…

A princess is waiting!

Here’s the deal: Leila and I are actually warrior princesses, and we have to defeat the villain and save the real princess. That’s the whole point of the game! We have to be quick, or the bad guys will catch her before us!

I think of the princess, and run even faster. My legs are aching, and the thunder strikes somewhere close. People on the street scream. They must be scared for their princess.

Don’t be afraid - I will save the day!

Ma said the lair is really close to our house. So, after Leila and I turn right from Mr. Nazim’s shop, we don’t have a whole lot more to run!

And then, boom.

1, 2, 3 seconds pass.

A high beep splits the air into pieces. White light blinds me. Leila wraps me in her arms, and covers my eyes.

For a while, everything is silent.

Then, a crashing sound starts to pour out of the sky. High-pitch beeping turns into screeching.

When I open my eyes again, Leila and I are on the ground. I cough, and Leila tries to scream, but no sound leaves her throat.

Snow falls thick next to us. I love snowflakes! They’re so white and pretty, like sparkling crystals. But when I stretch out my tongue to lick them, it’s bitter - they’re not white at all. The snowflakes are grey, like the skies above.

In the distance, I spot Mr. Nazim’s shop covered in a gust of grey snow.

“We have to help him!” I say, turning to face Leila. Her face is dusty from the debris.

She doesn’t say anything. Only whimpers.

When I look down to her tummy, there is some dirty rubble covering her.

Oh, no.

Red paint…or is it not paint? Spilt all over Leila’s white T-shirt! She is so careless.

“Leila! Now you have to wash it! We can’t waste water, remember?” I yell, my voice sounding somehow raspy.

Leila smiles, but I can tell she’s scared. She wipes some grey snow off my eyebrows. “Zara, I’ve fallen. You have to go save the princess alone.”

I frown. There is no way I’m leaving without Leila! How am I supposed to battle the villains alone?

“Zara…” Leila says softly. Her eyes shimmer like broken glass. “Go. Now. Find your mom and the shelter.”

Shelter…? Does she mean the secret lair? That is so unfair! I have to listen to Leila, because she’s older and smarter…but it’s still stupid!

“Okay, but…I’ll come back as soon as I rescue the princess, soldier!”

I salute her and put on a tight smile. I have to stay brave for Leila.

She salutes back with her free hand, the other tightly clutching her paint-stained shirt. I have no idea how she’ll wash that later.

I push myself to stand up, when I hear deep voices echoing across the street.

“Surrender!” Suddenly, three tall men are walking towards me.

Uh-oh. The villains! They are trying to capture the princess.

I don’t think - my legs sprint from the rubble, carrying me like a flying dragon through the street.

I jump across another puddle of red paint - are all the people painting their fences today, or what?

And then, I twist my leg.

Ah!

I wince, and fall to the ground. Ouch - now even my knee is scraped…

Obviously, that doesn’t happen to real ballerinas. Ever.

So, about that…I guess it’s time. I have to admit something. I lied earlier.

I’m not the best unicorn ballerina in the universe. If Belle knew me, she probably wouldn’t even talk to me. Actually, I haven’t been to ballet in a year.

Ma says going outside is unsafe because of the thunder, and the studio closed down. But, I won’t give up.

One day, I’m going to become a real ballerina. And I’m going to dance away from here! I’ll even learn how to jump. And Leila will come with me.

But for now, I just want Ma. I really want my Ma.

The villains can’t win. They won’t catch me. I’m so close to the lair! So, I push myself from the ground.

Tears spill from my face. My knee really hurts. Ma will kiss it better when I see her. I miss Ma…

The villains are far behind me now. I drag my scraped knee towards our house. Now, I just have to go through the garden behind…

Can I be honest? You’re my friend.

I really don’t want to do this anymore. And I don’t care about the princess.

I just want my mom.

———————

I win the game when I reach the secret hole before the second thunder booms. Ma calls it a “bunker”. My feet glide on the mushy dirt when I jump inside. Ma is waiting there, pacing around the small space and biting her nails.

“Ma!” when I cry out, she turns around. Ma gasps and crushes me in a tight hug. She doesn’t let go.

“You’re here…oh, Zara…”

When Ma asks me where Leila is, I tell her she was hurt in our rescue mission. I’ll come back for her later!

Hearing my words, Ma gasps loudly. She wraps her warm palms around my head.

Grandmama’s here too. She says it’s a miracle I’m alive, and that Leila’s resting in the heavens now. But Grandmama is nutty. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. Leila’s right there, on the street, waiting for me…right?

I spot Leila’s Mom and Dad behind us. When Ma shakes her head and lowers her eyes, they choke down a sob. Leila’s Ma collapses to the floor.

Softly, Ma explains to me how the red on Leila’s shirt isn't from spilled paint. She can’t kiss it better this time. I turn grey and blue. I wish a real warrior princess would save Leila.

Ma tells me I won the game. But I’m not happy. When I ask her for a chocolate bar, she doesn’t have any.

I’m hungry. So is she. There is no food at Mr. Nazim’s store. I haven’t eaten in three whole days.

Then the second thunder hits. Grandmama whispers of drone strikes, and the buzzing in my head grows louder.

In the distance, someone has turned on the radio. Words of “military aggression" and “bombings of capital” tear at my mind.

Ma tells me not to look up, but I do. She covers my ears, yet I still hear.

I still see it all. The sky is breaking apart, spilling into thousands of colorful fireworks. But it isn’t pretty. Mad dragons are spitting smoke and fire, and the grey snow isn’t all that grey anymore.

It lingers in the air and falls on our heads, dark and thick.

Red.

I don’t want to play the game anymore.