Dark World

Chug chug chug, choo choo!!! The train started moving. I was on my way to see my uncle and aunt. They were our countries most respected people. I'm going to visit them because they said they had bought a new car and wanted me to see it. I was big into automobiles. They just fascinated me. How the pistons moved, how the combustions exploded inside the engine, they all excites me. I hurriedly took my seat. In front, sat a little girl with a pretty red dress. She looked about 5, or 6. She was holding a little teddy bear that was worn out. The train started to move and we both sat in silence. It wasn't weird, for it was a custom in our country. Staying silent was respectful for both the elderly and the minors. As time went on, the little girl started to hum our anthem song. "Shine bright, you dawn, on this land so fair," she started to sing. She had a lovely voice. It was a voice you could listen forever and ever and never get tired of it. "The country of three thousand ri,

So rich in silver and in gold you are, Five thousand years your history." By this time, she was singing loudly. I looked around, and saw that the elderly approved. They were humming the song themselves also. "Our people ever were renowned and sage,

And rich in cultural heritage, And as with heart and soul we strive,

Korea shall forever thrive!" She started to gain confidence in her singing. By this time, everyone was singing along. And before I knew it, I was singing too. "And in the spirit of Mount Paektu,

With love of toil that shall never die, With will of iron fostered by the truth, We'll lead the whole world by and by." This time, even the conductor was singing along. "We have the might to foil the angry sea, Our land more prosperous still shall be, As by the people's will we strive, Korea shall forever thrive!" We all chanted as the song ended.

We all looked at each other and smiled. We had pride in our country. Then it was silence again. Some elderly were humming the anthem quietly, but most of the part, everyone stayed silent. I looked out the window. Green, pink, purple, brown, and blue whizzed by. If you didn't guess what country I represent, I proudly present you, North Korea. My family is from a wealthy family line, so I can afford to take the train to Pyongyang anytime I wanted to. I looked at the girl. She had a smile, but I could tell her mind was on something else. Gathering up confidence, I asked her, "Do you have something in your mind?" She looked at me, nodding her head. "Our country is so beautiful. But the outside world thinks we ar-" I cut her off. "Our country will always be prosperous." She shakes her head no. "I want to believe that, but look! There are little kids starving, look at their rib cages." she said. I thought about it, and looked outside. Indeed there were starving children. And I knew, in the inside, our government was cruel. I have been to abroad many times, and every time, the outsiders would say, "North Korea is probably scary and dark. Nobody in their right minds would go there." And they would laugh. So I knew it was true. Our country was a hermit land. Even our enemies, the Americans, were ready to kill all of us in an instant.

I looked at the little girl. She understood what I was thinking and nodded. Tears were flowing from her eyes. Our country wasn't what it was years ago. It was starting to fall apart. I looked outside, but kept seeing green, pink, purple, brown, and blue. It was quite sunny that day. I saw little children playing ball in the fields, I saw farmers gathering food for the day. It was hard to believe that our world, my world was dark and cold. The birds chirping, the leaves rustling, and the smell of nectar from the flowers. It was hard to believe that my world had no light. I went to America to study, and one of the maps they had was the whole world, with lights. It showed all of earth and every country had lights except for mine.

I asked the teacher why there wasn't any lights in North Korea, and everyone laughed. "Well, it is an undeveloped country, and the government is probably hoarding all of the electricity, if there is any. North Korea is not a pretty place, its just a dark, lonely place that happens to be a part of land." Then the teacher laughed. So I knew, from outsiders, our country is not the most beautiful place in the world. I kept looking out the window. Why, why cant our country show our natural beauty? It is beautiful. The green scenery, the buzzing of variety of insects. It was as beautiful as any other countries.

The train screeched to a stop. 4 soldiers came inside. They were looking around. I beamed. My dream and goal was to become the top general and govern along with our great leader. But something was off with these soldiers. They looked mad. 2 of them had a rifle in their hands, and the other 2 had revolvers. They looked right at me. My heart was beating fast. Sweat started to pour down. And they reached out their hands, I closed my eyes. But, the hands didn't grab me. They had grabbed the little girl. "This girl has betrayed all of you! She has been sending people to other countries! It is an illegal activity, and she has betrayed our country! She is a traitor to you and me! Her consequences will be death!" One of the soldier shouted. Him and the others went out. The girl was screaming and yelling. One of the soldiers with the pistol got in position. He cocked the gun and aimed. BANG. The gun now only had a cloud of smoke coming out. And lying next to him, a dead body that once belonged to a little girl. My eyes widened, and I didn't breathe. The greenery, the pink, purple, blue. It was all gone. The only colors that I saw were red. Dark red. Death is what I saw. The soldiers came back in. "If you try to do what that little girl tried to do, you all will meet the same fate!!!" He shouted. Everyone nodded, some even cheering. But I couldn't. My world was turned upside down.

I had exactly another hour till I reached my uncles. I had closed the blinders so that I could not see the dark world of mine. "Pyongyang in 20 minutes! Those who need to leave, please get ready!" The intercom commanded. In my head, I was only thinking, "is this another plan of yours to kill all of us?" I wasn't eager to see the new car anymore. I was scared. I looked at my watch. Only 5 more minutes. I decided to take a one last glance of passing nature. I opened the blinds, and was almost blinded by the sunlight. At that moment, my fears, anxiety, worrisome was gone. The land was beautiful. The lakes, the mountains, the trees along with the birds of the air. It was breathtaking. I wanted to stay and look all day. But alas, the intercom interrupted my moment. "Those who are arriving to Pyongyang, please leave. I repeat, those arriving to Pyongyang, please leave." I got up, took my bags and walked out. I took a deep breath in and exhaled. The world I live may have bad people, bad ideas, and bad intentions. But the world I live still has some beauty left. We were not all hopeless. We still have hope.