Chapter 27: The cruelty of men.

Roberto sat close by and listened, watching her as she relived those days, all the men’s attention on her.

“I remember one day we came across an empty village and they searched for some food. Suddenly shots broke the silence and we saw the captain looking frantically around and shooting blindly into the thick bushes. When my mother and father went to investigate, they found a young pregnant woman killed. They were devastated at the cruelty of this man, but they could do nothing to prevent this senseless killing. After that, he found stray dogs, grilled them and forced us to eat. My mother refused, and father went back to the village later that night looking for food, which he found and brought to us.”

“This man, our captain, finally died after he himself became mad with the fever that killed most of the group. He wanted to kill Father in his delirious state. Out of self-defence, Father had to kill him.” She closed her eyes, the images still so clear in her mind.