When she was startled awake by the bright fire of lights and explosions of noise, the child screamed and squealed with terror. Her mother and father made the same frightened screams as they ran around the room, before they both fell over and went to sleep. While they slept, the familiar calm of night returned. In her young and innocent mind, she sensed that something was not quite as it should be, but her three-year-old brain couldn't quite grasp what that something was.

She huddled herself into the very corner of her bed, scared, wailing and pleading for her mamma and papa to wake up, to come and hold her, but they never did. They just lay where they had fallen over, and she even noticed in the semi-darkness that her father was asleep with his eyes and mouth wide open.

A tall man with dark glasses then strode into the room and swept her up in his arms. Even though he was a stranger, she grasped at the comfort and safety that an adult brought to her, and her tight hug upon him was mostly instinct, as he carried her out of her home and into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anna flicked a passive gaze down from the podium and over the assembled crowd. Her eyes quickly scanning the expectant faces of the event organizers, local dignitaries, the elected member of parliament for the area, school friends and their parents, as they waited for her short statement.

She stole a glance for a moment at her scribbled notes, paused for breath, then began:
'In July 1995, in the town of Srebrenica, the Bosnian Serb Zvornik Brigade began the systematical eradication of the local population. It was a spree that lasted a whole week.

At the end of that week, more than seven thousand Srebrenicans were missing.
To this day, most have still not been accounted for. Mass burial graves in the nearby woodland have proved beyond doubt that many, if not all, were victims of ethnic cleansing.

My parents were victims of this ethnic cleansing. I witnessed their killing.
If my father's good friend hadn't come to rescue me when he did,'� Her eyes found Dragan in the crowd as she spoke these words. He was smiling up at her, so proud and loving. Beautiful Dragan, her saviour and mentor, 'I believe that I would have died also.'�

She paused, sipped water momentarily, stifling the tremble she felt rise in her voice.
'Srebrenica, The Balkans, and all that happened there, has been well documented. For me personally, it has become the catalyst for my values and morals in life. We as a democratic and humane society must never again stand idly by, and let a minority people suffer at the hands of those who would seek to murder, exterminate, or persecute purely on racial grounds.'�

Dragan smiled and felt his eyes moisten with pride and love as he listened to his Anna. She was rapidly becoming a lovely young girl: A young and sweet girl who would make any man proud to be able to call her 'daughter'.

He had called her his daughter since that evening so long ago in Srebrenica. He had been a father to her. He had cared for her, taught her well, provided for her and also brought her to the safety of Western Europe. She in turn had provided him with a daughter' s love. It was more than he could ever have wished for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He silently crawled around to the window and peered inside.
As his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness, he could see them both laying on the sofa bed, huddled in a sleeping embrace. His instinct was to shoot and kill them there and then, but of course he had to control himself, to make sure that Anna wasn't in the bed also.

He edged himself around to the other side of the window to where he knew her bed to be. There she was, his little angel, so beautiful and wonderful in sleep.
He would take his daughter with him tonight. No longer would the whore and her useless lover keep him from the child he instinctively knew to be his.

Moving back, he broke the window with his pistol and began firing.

His face contorted with hate as they both jumped in panic and terror, screaming from pain and shock as bullet after bullet ploughed into their naked bodies. He silently cursed them to Hell as they fell down, dead.

It had taken only seconds to rid himself of them and to claim what was rightfully his.
He moved around to the door, kicked it open and grabbed Anna into his arms.
Her screams and fear subsided almost immediately as they left.


© Mike Stewart, 2006, All Rights Reserved.

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