A Long Way Gone

by Ishmael Beah

Even in the middle of the madness there remained that true and natural beauty, and it took my mind away from my current situation as I marveled at this sight.

This time we were a long way from Mattru Jong. A long way gone.

It was much easier to be sad than to go back and forth between emotions, and this gave me the determination I needed to keep moving.

I was never disappointed, since I always expected the worst to happen.

I looked into the sky and saw how the thick clouds kept trying to cover the moon, yet it would reappear again and again to shine all night long. In some way my journey was like that of the moon—although I had even more thick clouds coming my way to make my spirit dull.

“How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?” he asked.

My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen.

When I was a child, my grandmother told me that the sky speaks to those who look and listen to it. She said, “In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy, and confusion.” That night I wanted the sky to talk to me.