Journey For A New Life

It was long summer day, I was nine months old and lying in my soft bed listing to music. Suddenly a strong wind travelled through my bed and in that time my life has changed.

I was lying there and could not feel my body move. My mother was out shopping and selling some vegetable for living and father was in the forest chopping tree, after being a soldier and than marrying my mother.

When my mother got home and came to hold me, she felt my whole body which was hot and she ran to the doctor who was not far from home and to check. The doctor said “your little girl has got polio and there nothing we can do for her.” My mother did not believe it so she asked my father to take her to a medicine man that near a cemetery. It was dark, freezing and she was holding me and going through the cemetery while praying to god. The medicine man had done something to me that the next day l could move a bit.

In that year my country was all blood and stench. People were running for help and the children for no reason died or lost their parents. When you walked down the road you can see people lying with pain and sadness on their face.

I said to myself “ what is happening to our country?” It was dark night and like a glacier but my body was warmed by my mother holding me and walking down the road, not bearing to look abreast but tear running down her face a d on mine too.

There 500 people was waiting for a boat to escape. There were two boats, one is small and other one is tremendous. They came to pick us up and away from the war. My mother was not sure which boat to get in to save our life. In that time we had to hurry because there was a light shining on the water and we could hear gun shot. We hopped in the small one and went to find our new life.

We had been going for three weeks and we were half way there. There was people sea sick or dying from hunger. I was crying so loudly that people on the boat said “kill her or throw her out to the sea or made her to be quiet.” My mother can not bear to do so, she sang me to sleep.

Near there was the tremendous boat that had broke down into pieces and all the people drowned. My mother and l were lucky that we chose the right one.

We survived ten weeks without rice and water, however my mother saved some rice for me and l saw my mother was hungry but she had to save for me to survived. At that time l was little girl that l don’t remember as much but l can sitting here and could feel my mother warm body during that time and could imagine she was getting skinny because she was tired and hungry, she did not eat and we had is to drink sea water.

We sat there and waited for something to come. Suddenly someone pushed me out into the water and l was about to drown and there was other girl who also been pushed too but she was older than me. My mother jumped out and swam to reach me and the girl and hopped in the boat again.

We had wait days and nights for something happen until there was something occurred on the other side and coming toward us. A large ship came to us and we jumped in with a smile on everyone’s fave and crying with happiness.

In those few days we moved to a new land and there a lot of foods to eat and a home to stay. However, in that time we found my father when we lost him in the country. My father was so happy to see us and his side was my cousin came with him together. The people on the island were kind, they gave us toys to play.

Our new life has came when the Australia Government assisted us to their country and we fly to a new land and it was big and a lot of house and also everyone in Australia is very friendly and nice. My parents went to ESL school and my cousin also went to high school with ESL.

In year 1996, l was 16 year old and it was that time when we decided to go back to my birth country that is Vietnam for the first time since we left long time ago. When l stepped down the place and feeling scared because it felt that there not much white hair around and there only black hair but then l feel happy after that when my relative that still live there and welcomed us. It was hot and there were so many motorbike and bicycle too. Some people in Vietnam can speak English and we go to church at 4:30 am every Sunday and it also funny when woman sit on the left side and the men on the right side and there nothing much to but l guess because Vietnam is just rebuild the country again, after for those year with pain, hurt and loss.

In Vietnam some people are so poor that they don’t have rice to eat and some people are very rich that they push poor people away and be treat bad to them, even until this day they still do and dose make me mad and feel sad to see people treat each other by judge them rich or poor.

Those are my year that made me understand how lucky l am to lived in Australia a d out of the war. I can’t believe how many people died in that year and died for our country. It seem like a dream for along year and now you wake up it had gone. Things never forget like this.

I hope you enjoy my short story, some part is real and some part l just add but most the story is real and what my mum had told me.

Hope you guys have a nice day and be happy and stay positive.