I can hear the rumbling of the erupting volcano. The shakes and rumbles feel as if they are all taking place right in my chest. I am not sure if that shaking in my chest is the feeling of the volcano, or the fierce, pounding of my heart. As I sit in my tiny mud hut, where I had lived all my life with my family, I can feel my hands getting very warm and moist. I try not to show how nervous I am, but the constant shaking of my hands and the shakiness in my voice shows how I am really screaming with fear on the inside. Only a few more minutes until the rest of my family will be done packing, and we will leave this place forever. I know I will miss this place like no other, but if my family and I want to survive we have to leave our homes.

So then my family, my village, and I all set off into the distance. It would be a long walk to the nearest town, but we had no choice. We only had 2 options. Stay in our village and face sure death by the burning lava, or risk death hiking in the desert, searching for the nearest safe town. We had only enough food and water to survive for about a week, so we needed to find a town fast. It’s a pretty odd thing, when you are faced with death with any option you choose, you start to sort of embrace death, I am not sure I have fully accepted the fact that this might be my last day on this earth, along with my family, but I sure have embraced the fact that I might die along with my family.

As I turned around and looked at my village for the last time, I couldn’t help but to cry. I began to think of all of the people that lived there before me. My ancestors had built that village, and our family has lived there ever since it began. I felt so helpless and weak. Many questions came to my mind at that very moment. Questions like “why did this have to happen to me”, and “why can’t I protect and provide for my family, by keeping them in their home”.

For some reason I felt that I was responsible for all of this. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me like a giant wave. This was surely the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. If you have ever felt absolutely horrible about not being able to provide for your family you must know what I feel like right at this moment. I felt as if the volcano had taken everything from me. But that didn’t bother me as much as the feeling that I couldn’t save my family from this dreadful mess. I knew that if anything ever happened to my family I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I knew I was in charge of this village, and being the leader I am supposed to be able to protect my village. But I guess I am not a very good leader because my generation was the first out of many to have to flee the village for any reason. I just felt disgusted with myself.

So we left our village and walked through the desert for many days. As we began to run out of food, things began to get worse and worse. Hunger and thirst was growing, and all of the elders and young children are beginning to have extreme exhaustion. If we don’t find a village soon, we will surely die. Then a really great thing happened to us. Finally a good thing happened out of all the things that have happened out of all these devastating things. In the distance, we saw a town. We began walking faster and faster towards it, my mouth began to water at the thought of all the foods and water available at this town. I suddenly got a burst of energy and my family and I were in the village in no time.

Now my village and I live with this new village that we have found. If I had a choice I would rather be back in my hometown, but that is surely destroyed now. Even though I wish I could be in my home, I am very thankful that my village and I are even alive. One day I hope to return to my village with my people, and rebuild what we have lost. But until then I guess we will just have to stay in this village, and figure out what my next move is. But that story is for another day to come.