The Arrival

"Close the windows. Quickly!" I quickly shut and locked the windows. My brother, Attia, pulled the blinds and locked the doors. My mother, Natiro, was running around the house gathering our very little valuables. We didn't have many things or much money. We lived in a small 2 bedroom crumbling cottage in the small village on Akinqe. Once a year, we had a special guest arriving in the village. We called this day The Arrival. I ran up the stairs and grabbed my little sister. Her name is Hednira and I had to grab her since she was only three years old and didn't know how to understand what was happening yet. Oh right. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kieshan. I am a 14-year-old girl, and my world is falling apart.

My mother had got our valuables, as well as our only blankets and pillows. We didn't carry much. Each of us had a small blanket and a pillow. My mother had gotten a picture of my father, our bedtime book from Granna, and our 4x4x4 box of jewelry. All we had in there were five coins and an old necklace from Granna.

My mother looked for the special board that revealed a hatch. After she opened that, she took a lamp and lead us down to the basement. In the basement, we already had two cots set up, one for my mother and Hednira, and one for me. Attia slept on the floor since he said that I could have the bed. He was two years older than me but he was very responsible and mature. We placed our blankets and pillows on the cots and my mother placed the valuables in a box hidden between the mattress and the bedboard.

I looked outside. It was almost sunset. My mother must have noticed that as well. "*Ckanghrei mi sirnd*" (*Come my children*)

"Hensre auteno navenshing Arrieviene**" (Get ready for the Arrival**) We all stood up and walked back upstairs. Except for Hednira. My mother tucked her safely into a small hideout under the cot. She was not allowed to be seen. Or heard. She wasn't supposed to be alive. Since she was very young, she didn't understand this yet, but every household was allowed to have only two children. The only exception was if you had three boys or three girls. Each year, families with more than two children, or three girls or three boys, suffered tremendously. The Government feeds us all. Unless you are rich and have a farm. Each Monday, we travel two miles to the square and pick up our food for the week. The younger children got mostly vegetables, grain, and a slice of bread. If you are over 12, you get the same meal, but you also get one fruit on the side, usually an apple. Over 18 got mashed potatoes, rice, sliced and stewed vegetables, fruit on the side, and a whole loaf of bread. They were expected to eat all the food, but most people shared it with their families. It may seem like a lot of food, but you get a sort of tray that is deep and you have to save your food to last you till next week. Since Hedira was not supposed to be alive, my mother had to share her portion of food with her. Hednira ate a lot and most of the time my mother only ate 2 slices of bread, a spoonful of vegetables, and a bowl of rice during the whole week. Hednira got the fruit, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and 2 slices of bread. Attia and I wanted to share our food as well but my mother wouldn't let us.

We all stood in a straight line in front of the door. Then we saw the mad. Most families didn't have money to buy new clothes. Most people didn't have the luxury of wearing shoes. This man was different. He worked for the government. He wore a suit and tie, he also had business shows on. I had never seen anyone else in our village who wore anything like him. Whenever he came, he "hired" a few people around the village, mostly the 12-18-year-olds that didn't have a house or family, to come with him into each house, and take any children that weren't supposed to be there. We saw him walk into the first house and pull out two screaming babies. His assistants, Nerven and Ashkint carried them out and I was about to cry. I knew those kids. They had no home and could use the extra money, but this was no way to earn it. Behind them, Hegrij was crying and begging the man to give back her babies. I wanted to close my eyes and turn around. Go back into the house. Pretend this never happened. But I saw it all. Crystal clear. The man pushed Hegrij down to the ground and started kicking her. He started yelling at her in a language that most of us didn't understand. They tried to teach us English so that we could understand them when they came over, but we only knew a few words. Attia and I had to learn it at school, so we translated it for our mom. "Do you not know the law, you will be punished for keeping these items inside of your home. You will be taken to main headquarters and-" I stopped. My mother looked at me. "Qjua?*" (What?*) I took a deep breath. "We will revoke your children's food privileges for two months, and you will be killed if this happens again." The man had handcuffed Hegrij and taken her with him. Another man came and took her away. Her three daughters starred out the window as they watched their mother beaten and asked questions which she didn't know how to answer. They were asking her personal information questions but Hegrij didn't know English. I looked away but caught a glimpse as they carried her away. They were dragging her away and she was unconscious. There were some thin blood streaks against the floor where they had taken her away. I looked at her and saw very little hope. They had found four more children. Another baby, a three-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a two-year-old. We watched them all get thrown into a cage-type containment and get placed on a cart to be taken away. Probably to be killed. By the time the man had gotten to our house, my palms were sweating and I was about to faint. "Names?" He asked. I looked at my mom and translated for her. She looked at the man and said, "Natiro, Attia, Kieshan." The man checked off our names on a checklist and asked for permission to enter the house. We moved out of the way and my mother nodded to let him in. He looked around the house and checked every cabinet, closet, and anywhere a child could fit. He was about to leave when he looked at me and asked," what's your name?" I looked at him and said "Kieshan." He asked me my age, my height, my brother's name, his age, his height, and my mother's name and age. He wrote it all down and walked out the door. As he was closing the door he turned around and said one last thing. "Ms. Kieshan, tell your mother you passed the inspection." I looked up to my mom. "Momma, hejdrit aht kendetch an imspecdthioq" The man looked at me for a second. "Miss Kieshan, what does kendetch mean?" I looked up at him, terrified, but I tried not to show it. It meant hidden, but I said it meant passed. He looked at me with a suspicious look on his face, then left me standing in the doorway. We waiting until we heard their car leave, and went down to the basement. My mother brought Hednira out from under the cot. We sat down and brought out some food. We were almost out, so my mother put us each a spoonful of grain and she cut an apple, giving us each two slices. She pulled out the gigantic water barrel and gave us each a cup of water. It was ok. We were ok. We had passed the inspection and Hednria would live another year. Live went on and the next year was the same. Attia had turned 18 and we started getting more food. It would take another six years before they lifted the law and Hednira could come out. She was 11 then and for her twelfth birthday, we had a party for her. We tried to make it a party, it was mostly food and we had some decorations. Life was good from now on.

I was sitting at the edge of the river. She was adorable. I held her close and cradled her in my arms. My husband, Konjir, had gone to town to get our food. I stayed home and tried to put my baby to sleep but she wasn't tired. It would take years before they would start teaching about the Arrival at school, but if she has any questions, she could ask her Aunt Hednira. She would know.