They said that they were targeting only military installation. They indicated that they were not going to bomb civilian targets like schools, hospitals, retail shopping areas, or civilian housing. That’s what they said when they started this war.
Three days ago, a high-rise apartment building with retail stores on the street level was bombed. I was a half block away with my two young children when the bombs fell. My babies were just finishing their breakfasts when the deafening sounds of explosions rocked the area. The ground shook, windows in our apartment shattered, shards of glass flying everywhere.
I pulled my babies down onto the floor and laid down on top of them, hoping to protect them from whatever might be coming next. My babies were crying because they were scared. I was crying because I thought we were going to perish that morning.
Another bomb, more explosions. The sky orange from the fires that broke out. The smell of smoke in the air. The awful sounds of buildings collapsing and the cries of human agony.
That was three days ago. My girls and I didn’t perish. Our building didn’t take a direct hit. But several buildings on our block did. The search and rescue operations continue, but I’ve heard that hundreds of innocent men, women, and children were killed. I’m afraid. My babies are afraid. I don’t know what to do.
They said that they were targeting only military installation. They indicated that they were not going to bomb civilian targets like schools, hospitals, retail shopping areas, or civilian housing. That’s what they said when they started this war.
They lied.
Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: Joshua Kettle @ Unsplash.
The policeman examined the door and knew the homeowner had lied. He told him that someone broke the glass from the outside to get into the house. If that were the case, the broken glass would have been inside the house, not on the ground outside. He’s hiding something. But what?
This, That, and the Other 