Someday...I will اقدام away from this place and settle somewhere where the past won't come back to haunt me. Someday...I will help my family get whatever they need. Someday...I will make myself a better me and make a difference in where I live now...

The name's Jane Moseby. Fifteen years old. It looks pretty bad around where I live. Everything seemed to have happened in one سیکنڈ at the least. There's darkness where the light's supposed to be. I can't even fully recover from the fact that the town of Cambodia has turned into a trash land after the war planes dropped their bombs on us. I'm glad my older sister doesn't have to see this. I mean, really. She's in a better place now with greener pastures, and I'm in the same place as usual. However, this isn't a normal lifestyle for a person like me.

People have told me that this place used to be radiant and flawless. All of the significant people would come down here and make something useful out of themselves. According to some of my relatives, this area was known as Los Angeles, but that was 6,000 years ago. It was only 20 years before now that what used to be a glorious town turned into the black hole of depression یا something. Now, this so-called Los Angeles turned into the current town of Cambodia, located in the first region of our country, Elopia.

These days in my life distracted me from keeping up with things lately. I'm guessing today's a Tuesday. The big flocks of black birds seem to fly past here around this day. I walked past my neighbors' stores. They weren't in very good condition, but they were still up and running. Everyone in the town of Cambodia needed to get food, water, and heat somehow. Unfortunately, for me, my family can't afford much with the necessities that we have. See, my mother is a dependent person. My father couldn't stay with us since he was taking a business trip to another region. It's unknown where he is now, but it's been a good 10 years already. He left since I was around 5 یا 6 years old. I can't tell if he was trying to find مزید items to trade for food and blankets, یا he's trying to find himself a job so we can اقدام out of here. Either way, it's been a long time. I miss all of the father-daughter moments I've had with him years ago. We don't have any anymore. It seems like my whole family is torn apart.

"Janey! Janey! Janey!"

My little sister, Bailee called to me. She's only 9 years old. She didn't understand why we lived here, nor she knew where our dad was. If only we didn't live like this. I don't want poor Bailee to celebrate her 10th birthday sitting in a dark room full of the bomb disaster. Every سال since she was 4 years old, she wished that we lived in a different house with all the luxury one could buy. Well, Baby Bee, this place used to have all of that. Ask the war-plane pilots about everything else.

She ran to me, scared. It felt as if she was squeezing me to death. I hugged back, knowing how worried she is about where we are now. I believe she spotted another raccoon trying to break into the house. یا it could be the fact that she has to stay alone in a soot-filled room each night and have nightmares. Yep, either one. I can't really come up with any tactics to make her feel better about that, though. Sometimes, my mother tells her to think of a happy place. I look at her, thinking there's not a happy place anywhere. At least she's trying something to help her. We're all trying to help each other. It's difficult.

"You got scared again, Bee?" I asked the little girl who was literally squeezing my insides together.

She pulled me towards the house. It was a few steps away. As the wind blew, all of the charcoal-type dust blew in our faces. It smelled awful. It reeked of anger and pity. Bailee almost slipped into a dirty, black puddle when we walked into the house. We didn't have that much rainfall last night, but at least it's not as dry as a desert here, either. In fact, it's been about 2 weeks since water has fallen. It's greatly affecting the crops the families in Cambodia have. A full feast of chopped pig with a side ترکاریاں, سلاد and freshly-picked peaches would be excellent سے طرف کی now.

I sat Bailee on her bed. It was falling apart at a corner. We never got around to fixing it. If it broke any مزید than it is now, then Bailee would have to sleep with our mother. The bad part about that is the fact that the temperature lowers to about 73 degrees at night. That would be another thing to add to the فہرست of needs for this house that we don't have یا used to have.

As I sat beside my sister, she held my arm. "I'm scared to go to بستر tonight." "Why?" I ask back. I know she's only nine, but come on.

"What if someone tries to take us away? What if Dad doesn't come back to protect us?" آپ can tell she was worried سے طرف کی her worried, high-pitched, kiddie voice. She expected an answer for anything. The world doesn't have all its answers, young one. There's a lot آپ need to learn.

I look around. I'm finding trouble answering my little sister's question. What do I tell a nine-year-old who's living in poverty and danger? "One دن we'll find him, and then we can live normally. Trust me." Bailee will believe anything. Me, I need to see it to believe it. Hopefully it will happen.

We both looked out the window. It got really cloudy outside. No rain yet, though. Maybe later tonight. Bailee was getting tired. I decided to tell her a story. One story I told her, passed on سے طرف کی many of my relatives, is about a stray کتے named Nixie. She was the cutest pup in the land, but she was very poor. She had nowhere to run. But then...a miracle happened. A سٹار, ستارہ glittered in the sky and lit up a pathway. At the end of that pathway was a small house. Inside that house, a little boy and girl, hoping to have a pet, waited out on the porch. They found Nixie and kept her as their own, feeding her the right food and making her feel welcome. Bailee smiled at that story every time. It made her think if she'll find that same miracle. I did, too. That's why I loved listening to this story when our mother told it at age four.

I tucked Bailee in for bed, and went in the living room. My mother was in there, writing in a journal and depressed as usual. Every afternoon, she'll write her thoughts about being in this place we are now. She's trying to recover from this sadness, but it's difficult. At night, she can't sleep knowing that our dad wasn't here to watch out for us. Then I would come in and hug her, assuring her that everything would be alright. The majority of time it worked, but even I get emotional.

I sat down with her and asked her how she was doing. "I'm trying. It's just--I'm trying, hun." She was really nervous. I patted her on the shoulder. "Mom...I can protect آپ and Bee. It's not a problem. One day, dad's going to come back and then we'll deal with all of this together--"

"What if we don't?" My mother's voice cracked a little. "It's been years, darling. No letters, souvenirs, holiday visits--nothing!"

I really hope it's not what I think it is. I really hope it's not. I can't handle seeing another corpse. "Maybe they captured him to a place, and he can't get out. I can go find him for you. I've been practicing my hunting and scavengering." My mother had a tear running down her face. She looked at me. I couldn't help but look back. "You...you don't understand. It's not that easy, Jane."

"I know it isn't", I said, "but I have the determination to go look for him. آپ just gotta believe me." She argued back with me. "I'm not going to risk another one in this house to be missing. We need you, Jane. I can't have آپ killed."

I couldn't fight with her anymore. I do have the drive to go out risking life and limb to find my father. I want this family to be a whole again. But mom's right. Bailee needs me. I can't just leave her. And this would just add مزید pressure to my mother, who's been wishing and waiting for dad to come ہوم all this time. My dear mother cried even مزید right in front of me. I was going to, but I can't become weak even at this time in our lives. I hug her, rubbing her and trying to comfort her as best as I can.

My mother, after moments of tearing up, spoke to me. "I love آپ so much."

"I love you, too." I hugged her even tighter, lifting my head.

A while later, she was asleep as well. Both my mother and my sister needed some rest. They both have been having sleepless nights unlike me. It was about 5:00. I wasn't tired just yet. I decided to go out and watch the last few moments of the sun being up above the buildings. The little ہل, لندن behind the house was a perfect spot to sit. The گھاس wasn't really green enough, but it was still calm. I could think of happy thoughts here. The last time I was here, I thought of living here back when everything was nice-looking and peaceful. Anything would be better than this.

I decided to lay in the گھاس and look up at the sky. My eyes closed a little. There was a strange, somewhat white-noise sound. It made me really sleepy. There was also a really strange smell. It wasn't like this when I was here last. What the hell is going on? I couldn't sit back up because the smell was making me weak.

And then...nothing. I couldn't see یا hear anything. Am I dead? No, I still have a heartbeat. Well...what's going on?

The اگلے thing I know...I'm in a forest-like area. This is really strange, though, because it doesn't look like the forest that I hunt for deer and rabbits for. This forest has مالٹا, نارنگی flowers in it, dripping with rainforest water. That's not right. Maybe this is a part of my forest where I didn't explore...or not.

At least this place looks مزید beautiful than every sight in my town put together. Birds were flying around, pretty flowers sat around me, and there was so much water that I'll literally pee myself if I drink it all. But I don't get why I'm here. It looks wonderful, but I'm supposed to be ہوم with my family. Bailee and my mom may have awaken سے طرف کی now, but I'm uncertain.

At that moment, I hear an electronic voice of some sort. There was some type of recorder in a tree. Wait, a recorder? Is this درخت remote-controlled یا something?

A voice came out of it. It sounded deep, manly, and very creepy. "Hello, Jane."