She opened her eyes to the darkness that overtook the small cell. Moonlight crept through the small opening they considered a window about 30 feet off the ground giving her barely enough visibility to see her body. Her clothing was tattered, torn, and bloodied. Most of the cuts and wounds on her body had stopped bleeding but her eyes were fixed on the bone that had torn through the skin of her forearm.
She could hear the fighting and gunfire in the not too far off distance. She could feel the ground shake from the bombs as they fell to the earth. The hunger and thirst had taken a backseat to the pain that ripped through her entire body. They had stopped feeding her over a week ago and she hadn’t seen anyone in over 3 days, she was beginning to think the prison had been abandoned and she was certain she would die in the hell that surrounded her.
She rolled over onto her side and pushed herself up so she was leaning against the cold brick wall. She cried out as she felt her insides tearing apart. She wrapped her good arm around her waist , her ribs were definitely broken. The little girl in her wanted to cry but the Marine in her wouldn’t let that happen. Instead she listened intently trying to hear anything that could help her out of there.
Suddenly the whole building shook and before she could realize that the cracking noise she heard was; the roof started tumbling down on top of her. She rolled up the best she could to protect herself from the falling rock.
After what seemed like an eternity she opened her eyes trying to figure out if she was even still alive. The smoke was thick, small fires were burning all around her, and the gunfire grew closer. The pain that had occupied her body before was nothing compared to the crushing feeling of the rocks laying atop of her.
She tried to move but realized that her body was pinned down from the rocks. Suddenly she didn’t have the strength or the will to try and free herself. She had been on the front line for over 3 months and in the Iraq prison for over fourteen days. She had lost her best friend, her husband, the father of her daughter in the same war only a few months ago. She closed her eyes and entered into the darkness that she knew she would find. Instead of darkness however, she found the images that ran through her head.
Images of her four year old daughter. Chasing after her puppy in the front yard, blowing out the candles on her last birthday, swimming in the pool with her daddy, the first time she wrapped her tiny hand around her mommy‘s finger. She thought of her growing up, getting married, having her own kids and then she thought of her doing all that as an orphan. She was too young to realize what was going on, that the flag she saluted that day in the cemetery was draped over her own father’s casket. She only hoped that her own family and friends would teach her why mommy and daddy gave their lives for the country they live in. She hoped that she would grow to understand that one of the main reasons they were there was to ensure their own daughters future. To make sure that she had the freedom to live her life by her own means, to be who she wanted to be, to live in a country that would allow her to be herself.
Her eyes reopened. "Katie." She whispered barely able to hear her own words through her cottony dry mouth. If anyone would teach those lessons and values to her daughter it would be her. Struggling against the pain and the weight on her legs she managed to get her arm free. She slowly started pushing the broken rock from her body, it must have taken hours but she finally managed to get all but one of the stones off her. She was trapped, she couldn’t budge the rock and shouldn’t couldn’t roll out from under it.
The building had been destroyed completely and she now stared up at the stars, what she could see through the smoke filled air. She remembered back to when Katie had seen her first shooting star, she had no idea what it was but giggled uncontrollably at it none the less.
She had never been an extremely religious person, it wasn’t that she didn’t believe, she just didn’t go for the traditional organized religion. She stared up to the sky once again, not sure what she was searching for strength, comfort, an answer, the end. She took a deep breath and once again tried to move the rock to no avail.
Suddenly she heard movement around her and saw the camouflage uniforms coming at her. She laid perfectly still not sure if she had been spotted and she wasn’t sure if they were American or not. As they grew closer she heard the click of a gun and now only hoped that they would be quick about her death. Once again the tears threatened to fall, not for her own life, she was willing to die for her country, for people she didn’t know, would never meet; but she wanted to cry for the daughter that probably wouldn’t even have her own memory of her. Once again however, the Marine in her took charge and if this was her final moment she would look her killer in the eye and never let them see her fear. As they grew closer yet, she saw a flash of a light and barely made out one of the faces of the soldiers.
"Andy?" Again she couldn’t speak loud enough due to the dehydration. When one of the soldiers barked out orders she realized they were speaking English. She knew they didn’t see her in the rubble and she couldn’t yell at them so she did the next best thing. She grabbed a small rock and prayed they didn’t turn and fire, she knew there was a chance they would but she also knew her injuries were worse since the explosion and she wouldn’t make it through the night. It was her only hope. She tossed the rock towards the soldiers and held her breath as they turned.
"Help me, please." She tried to speak again and this time raised her arm.
The soldiers slowly crept towards the rubble. "Look." One of them pointed to the arm that slowly waved in the air. They made their way towards it. "Who is there? Come out and throw down your weapon."
She continued to wave her arm and after a few minutes one of the soldiers moved closer. He noticed the pale, bloodied skin and moved yet closer. "Malia?" He knelt down next to the woman’s body. "She’s an American. She is in our company, captured 2 weeks ago." A few of the other soldiers pulled the final boulder off her body as another radioed for help.
"Andy?"
"Yeah, Malia it’s me. Just stay still, we are going to get you out of here." He winced as he saw the severity of her wounds and wrapped what he could to stop the bleeding and support the breaks in her bones. He honestly didn’t know how she was still alive. He saw her try to get something out of the pocket of her pants.
"Is it still there?"
"Hold on." He searched for her not sure what he was looking for. Her pants were torn and fairly wet but the waterproofing of the material had done it’s job as he pulled the paper out and handed it to her. "Here, is this it? What is it?"
She stared at the small paper then turned it too face him. He saw the big blue eyes and blond curls that he now knew kept her going. She smiled as she pulled the photo to her chest over her heart. "Katie."
2 months later
She had been taken directly to an Iraqi hospital until she was stabilized, then she was flown to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and kept in a military hospital there until she was strong enough to fly back to the states. She had been discharged with a purple heart, a few of her injuries wouldn’t allow her to ever set foot back on a military base again and that hurt her a lot. But for now she sat in her own bed, under her own roof. Her leg, arm and 3 ribs had been broken, there had been internal bleeding, she received two blood transfusions and had several cuts, bruises, and scars. There would forever be reminders all around her of those 2 weeks in hell and of her 6 years of service to the United States but for now the angel curled up in her arms fast asleep was the only thing that mattered. "Sleep well, Katie, we are being well protected tonight."
In my daughter's eyes, I am a hero.
I am strong an' wise,
And I know no fear.
But the truth is plain to see:
She was sent to rescue me,
I see who I wanna be, in my daughter's eyes.
In my daughter's eyes, everyone is equal,
Darkness turns to light,
And the world is at peace.
This miracle God gave to me,
Gives me strength when I am weak.
I find reason to believe, in my daughter's eyes.
An' when she wraps her hand around my finger,
Oh, it puts a smile in my heart.
Everything becomes a little clearer.
I realise what life is all about.
It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough;
It's givin' more when you feel like givin' up.
I've seen the light: it's in my daughter's eyes.
In my daughter's eyes, I can see the future.
A reflection of who I am,
An' what will be.
An' though she'll grow an', some day, leave:
Maybe raise a family,
When I'm gone, I hope you'll see,
How happy she made me,
For I'll be there, in my daughter's eyes.
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