National Exile: A 21st Century Novel about Nobility, Poverty, and Cruelty

  Chapter 1

  Shattered Childhood

  Our story started in the near past. Its story lines are not really over yet. It has been happening on a land where the word is to the oppressive strong. The land is known for its big wealth and long-honorable history.

  The country is considered one of the wealthiest countries on earth. It’s a very rich country, but the majority lived in poverty. Billions of dollars disappear each year. No one really knows where the money goes. The country is known by Estil.

  While the president of Estil and his inner circle were enjoying the country's wealth, the people were missing the basic aspects to survive. Hunger, ignorance, and crimes are what Estil is known for as of now. Everyone thought for sure that life is going to get better once the president was gone. It never did. More dictators have risen than ever before.

  They had to accept the present under the fear of the future. It all began when the president of Estil declared war on a neighboring country. No one knew why. He certainly never cared to explain what he was fighting for. And his people could do nothing but obey.

  Among the pain and suffering of the people, lived a boy named Zain. He lived with his family in a very poor neighborhood. When the war was declared, his father was forced to join the military just like any other young man.

  Zain’s father had to go leaving them nothing behind at all. After his departure to the war zone, they did not even have enough to eat.

  A little by little, food ran out. There was absolutely nothing left in the house. The ill mother had to sell the old furniture and cloths that they had in order to feed her kids. It was painful going to bed every night hearing her kids cry because of how hungry they were. Nine year old Zain was the oldest sibling. He realized that he had to take things into his hands until his father return.

  He left his house one day knocking from door to door. He kept asking if he could clean or do anything in exchange for small piece of bread for his mother and siblings. However, Zain's family was not the only one suffering.

  The majority of the people are considered lower class. Almost no one, but for few rich people, have any money. Nearly every young man was called into the war. Zain had nowhere to go other than some people's trash.

  He started collecting trash from the people and took whatever he could eat or give his family. It was not enough. His mother was getting sicker by the day. They had no money for a doctor or medicine. He had to do more. He kept searching for a job until he was finally employed by a rich man. The job was to keep the back yard cleaned. Zain was getting paid small amount of money every week that was barely enough for few days’ worth of food for his family.

  The rich man was very rough on little Zain. He always looked down on him despite his age. People always feared that man because he was very wealthy. This basically meant he could do what he pleased. Zain was a very cheerful boy regardless of his situation. He always thought that life would get better as soon as his father return. His father never did. Once Zain's family received the news about their father getting killed in the battle, everything was darkened in his little eyes.

  “Why?” He screamed. “Why did my father have to die and everyone else live?"

  Little he did know. Nearly half a million men and women were killed in active duty. Zain’s mother’s condition got really bad. She needed some medicine to survive.

  “Don’t worry mother. We lost father. We are not about to lose you too.” He said. “I will take care of this.”

  Zain said that as he was running out of the room that night. His mother's heart was shattered when she heard those words come out of her son's mouth. She was too weak to follow him, but she did manage to get on her feet to go after him. Zain was already at his boss’s house explaining the situation.

  “Please, my mother is very sick. She could die. I will do anything.” Zain said. “I just need some money to buy her medicine.” He said with teary eyes while grabbing his boss’s hand.

  The rich man pushed him a way and said,

  “You people always making excuses to get money from us. You are pathetic.”

  Zain looked at the floor and left crying. His heart was filled with hate for his boss and sorrow for himself. Later on that night, Zain returned to the rich man's house and did something he always swore he would never do.

  He stole from the old man just enough to buy his mother's medicine. The rich man saw Zain steal and was very angry at him. He grabbed him from his neck, took him out to the street, and gathered the people around him. Zain's mother heard what happened and ran towards her son.

  “Please, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better.” She said.

  The rich man replied, “So you are the mother? Let me show you what I do to thieves.”

  He took his gun out and pointed it toward Zain while everyone around them just watched.

  “No, please… Kill me instead.” Zain's mother begged him and cried.

  “I will leave him alone this time, but I better not see his face again." The old man screamed.

  Zain's mother quickly took her son and walked as fast as she could. As soon as she was leaving the scene, she heard a gunshot. She looked down and saw blood all over her son’s chest.

  “NOOOO…” She screamed.

  He shot him. He killed Zain with a cold blooded heart. He took her son away from her. As she put him to rest in peace, she wanted nothing more than to die herself and put an end to all of her pain and suffering.

  Years had passed and the war had finally ended. The president claimed that they had won the war. However, it was at the price of millions of innocent people like Zain's father. The few soldiers that survived returned home, and everyone was so sure that life would go back to normal, or so they thought. It was just getting started.

  Two years after the war ended, another one started. This time it was a civil war. It started after a new president dictated his way to the throne. The president Maki Lion was all about war and power at the cost of his people. They called it “The Decisive War.” When the Decisive war first started, people thought it would end soon enough, and they would have the normal life they always dreamed about. No one knew how wrong they were. After years and years of bloodsheds, the war is still going on.

  Lots of bad things happen in life, let a long in wars. Lots of innocents’ souls just die. Millions of people suffer. But sometimes, you have to make your own destiny. You have to stop hoping for things to magically happen. You have to move. You have to lend a hand to those in need. We are a group of young men and women who decided to take matter into our own hands. I am sharing some people’s side of the story. Some of the events have already happened. Some, I am writing as they happen. Let me start by introducing Sidra.

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  Ignoring everything around her, Sidra was walking in a very beautiful garden. She was appreciating the beauty of life. She enjoyed a nice cup of tea. She listened to the birds’ songs. Short after that, she heard a sound of huge explosion that forced her to open her eyes, realizing that she was just dreaming.

  Sidra slowly put on her jacket as if she just heard nothing. She got out of her room walking slowly with one eye open and another still dreaming. Her colleague Rain, a young man, screamed at her saying,

  “Where on earth have you been? I was looking all over for you?”

  “I was a sleep. What's with all the noise?” Sidra replied.

  “Another unit was just blown up. Three of the Peacekeepers just died.”

  “Ok. What do you want me to do?”

  “OK? That’s it? Have you lost your mind? Those are actual people… They are human beings with families to care for them.”

  “I’m an engineer, not a doctor, Rain.”

  She ignored him and kept walking towards the main door of the building. She had joined the government hoping to make her country a better place. The government of Estil is referred to by the administration. Sidra never thought that her past would always hu
nt her down. She and many other young people were working and living in a thirty-story tower that was called “The Burj.”

  Rain, who is a doctor, just looked at her with a confused face. Sidra was not like that. He wondered why she changed that much.

  Sometimes, the best comes out of the people we expect the least from. This girl grew up not seeing but wars, blood, explosions, and pain in her life. Sidra grew up to be this bright, beautiful young woman whose main reason for living was to help others. Despite her attitude, she was always aware of the sorrow her people lived in. She made it her sworn duty to protect the people of Estil.

  As Sidra looked at the chaos where everyone was rushing to help the injured, she started thinking.

  “When did I stop caring? Do I really feel nothing seeing all of this almost every day? What is happening to me? Do I want to care?”

  Many thoughts popped into her head. She looked away and went back to her room. As if she had no care in the world. She started remembering how she got interested in joining the Burj which is a special unit of the administration.

  The Burj is where SANA, a super computer, was first built and developed. It is considered one of the most powerful weapons known to mankind. Its real functions are classified.

  After that crazy morning, Sidra decided to go out for a walk in the city. She was hoping for something different. Something she had not seen before. As she entered the city, she started looking around for anything exciting. She saw few people surrounding a dead body of what appeared to be an old man. She looked away and kept walking. Then, she saw some dogs eating what looked like a big meal.

  “At least, they’re happy.” she said.

  Moments later, she realized that was not a big meal. That was a human body, that people could not have taken a way after some random explosion. She just stood there not sure of what to do. All she did after that was to throw a small rock at the dogs and scared them a way.

  She just walked away. Anyone seeing the ways Sidra acted would think she was not even a human. It is not possible for a human being to react that way.

  Almost no one knew what she had been through in her life to turn out that way. As she continued her walk, she saw absolutely nothing happy. She saw the pain and sorrow in people's eyes. The entire time she was walking, she kept telling herself,

  “I will change this world we're living in. I will not allow every human born in this world to live a life like this. I don’t know how and when. But… I will change the world in my own way. I will see people happy and smiling no matter what the price is.”

  She drew a smile on her face thinking of the world she wanted to create. She told herself that she would not lose her humanity. Her ultimate goal was to see no fear at all. While she was day-dreaming, she came across few kids playing.

  “They can actually play regardless of what’s going on around? Interesting…” She thought.

  At that moment, an image of her childhood just popped into her head. It was a day when she had to spend every waking moment looking for food.

  “Do not think about that right now.” She thought as she shook her head and kept walking.