Escape

Sealion takes me to small camp plastic tarps. He sleep in hammock, I sleep on ground on small towell. It very warm. I hear many people, Khmer Rouge run camp. Rape, rob, kill.

One day at night we hear guns. What happen? It not safe. Some time they fighting, they shooting. That night I heard the fighting. I run with people. Run run run army shooting. Charmunchun and charumthi

Run across the small river, chest high, lose shoe, run barefeet. Run so fast bullets pass me like fire. Don’t know where to go.
Oh my life, why I have to do this every time. Running running running don’t know where to go just running. When you scared you don’t know you hurt your feet. We run across rice fields. So many bullets. Duck, run through them.
I remember fortune teller tell me stranger take care of me. When danger come, when I live in camp, they don’t shoot look like you are in a war zone. You don’t curse when something dangerous come to your life. You don’t curse, don’t say bad things about other people. Don’t think bad things about them. Oh my mother, my father who die praying to your parents to whomever to take care of you.

We are hiding for each other. Poor me no one yell for me. I just come back with people with no shoes, clothing all dirty. I come to place where we sleep. Sealion say oh I am glad you are okay. Where were you? I ran too. We just sit there, look at each other and laugh. Oh my god you cannot live like this….

Tell sealion I come to buy rice and go back home…. Small little piece gold. I get at least 25 lbs of rice. Third day I have to carry rice back to Sisophan That rice so heavy I have to get up so early to carry because when I walk here I walk with no rice, can hardly make it without. He should take the rice there. Got rice on head get outside camp not quarter mile, Cannot walk, it too heavy. I put down rice under big tree. I sit down think. Pass big tree you in jungle. should I get in jungle or go back?Aunt will get mad at me.
Later see somebody walk out from jungle. Some people somebody I know and then I see my aunt and daughter. They come see me sit with bag of rice.
"Bong, bong. We here. You don’t have to carry rice bag."
I born again. So many time life come back to me.
Take rice back camp, we stay together.