Chapter 14: Part 2: Chapter 14: One nurse against a militia

29 April, Bentiu, South Sudan.

It was a difficult trip. Sonia cried herself to sleep. Her dreams filled with an impossible future. The air hostess covered her with a light blanket.

Minutes before midnight her flight landed. She trailed the group through customs, then moved to the luggage wheel where her overnighter waited. The weight's added memories left her with a hefty heart. The leather bag dangled from her shoulder and the colourful scarf surrounded her shoulders.

The holiday was over, and she smiled melancholy. She missed Curt already.

The night's cooler air nipped at her flesh and she covered herself with the scarf. There was no one in sight which she found strange. Haleema said a driver would pick her up and she stepped to the curb in search for a familiar face. All she saw was pitched blackness with some flickering stars and a flash far away. The sound of a skirmish unwelcome after the idyllic weekend.