The Pyle Inside

“The Russians have now attacked the civilian city of Mariupol. So far, there have only been ten deaths from an apartment building crash, and 30 injuries, but no major damage is being done. We expect the Russians to continue bombing until this city surrenders.”

It had been one day since the first attack, while I was at school. After my mom picked me up, we turned on the news and we never turned it off since.

I was currently lying on the couch, eating a bowl of soup, flipping and turning over the events of the bombing yesterday, when a vibration came from under me. Then it came again, more violent this time. It was clear my family members Granny, Papa, Mama, Jimmy, and Rose the Golden Retriever felt it too, since they all came out into the living room.

“Mamy,” my little brother Jimmy muttered. “Is that a dinosaur?”

“No honey,” was all Mama said.

A piercing screech came from the ceiling. It filled the whole apartment building, or so it seemed. That same piercing sound happened at school, when the bombs first fell.

Rose began howling, dashing around the room and barking at the noise. Meanwhile, 4 year old Jimmy started crying. Granny bent down and covered her ears.

“Down to the bunker!” Papa shouted over the noise. As he said this, the whole room began shaking even more violently, plaster falling off in chunks from the roof. Mama ushered Jimmy and I out of the room, arms around us like a mother chicken protecting its chicks. We dashed down the stairs in frantic panic, with the ceiling collapsing in on us, and the noise of everything bursting our eardrums. Dirt and pieces of floor and ceiling rained on us as we neared the bunker, covering our vision. As we reached the basement, a chunk of marble fell off the ceiling, and I heard a distant scream far off. Mama grabbed the doorknob and swung it wide open, quickly shoving the two of us in.

We squeezed our way through the crowd of injured families. The odor of sweat and blood was thick, and reeked in the whole room. I could see a toddler with his shirt torn off, revealing a flowing gash in his left side, pouring out blood from within, and I quickly turned away.

It was a few minutes of pure relief that we survived, before I realized what was off. “Where are Papa and Granny?” I shouted. All of us turned around in unison, searching the room for any sign of the two. We found nothing.

“Papa…Gran…” Jimmy sniffled.

I started panicking, even more than I was before. Where were they? Did they make it? They had to. They just had to.

Jimmy began crying again. Mama’s brave face that she wore throughout every day began to fade. It was almost as if years of suffering were etched into her face, her eyes brimming with water.

I, too, was crumbling inside. Minutes, hours passed. No sign of Papa or Granny, even though we searched the entire room multiple times. The suffering of families was thick in the air, and it was clear we weren’t the only ones who couldn’t find our loved ones. The stench of blood was present also, and I couldn’t help thinking of that toddler with the gash in his side, and the pain on his face.

“R–renia? Jimmy? Is that you?” A voice came from behind us.

We all turned around swiftly. There, standing in front of us, was Papa!

Jimmy and I crushed him in a bear hug. I was so relieved to finally be in his arms again, with all the tears and sweat we shed waiting for him.

His face was covered in dirt and grime, and there were a number of cuts dripping blood on his side, which Mama proceeded to patch up with some bandages stored in the bunker first-aid kit.

“Where were you?” I cried. “We were so worried.”

His face darkened into a grim and sorrowful expression. “Granny…she was too tired to move. Her legs were too slow, she had a bad back..she couldn’t make it on her own. I had to help her.”

“Where is Granny, then?” Jimmy said.

Papa knelt down on one knee. “Kids…I’m sorry. Even with my help…Granny didn’t make it.”

Granny. Granny was gone. I couldn’t believe it. One or two hours ago, Granny was making pickles and talking to me about the food shortage. Now, there was no more Granny.

Jimmy clearly didn’t understand what that meant. “Wait…gone? Was she eaten by the dinosaur?”

Papa looked at Mama, unsure of what to do. Mama shook her head, indicating that she did not want Jimmy to know what happened to Granny. “Granny is not here right now,” Papa said quietly. “That’s all.”

I wanted so badly to go into my room, curl up, and cry myself to sleep. But right now, I had to persevere. Bombs were shelling my home, and with no home left, I had to stick with my family. It was clear that Papa and Mama were thinking the same thing.

We would mourn later. Now, we had to stay alive.