1947. The year which changed the history of India forever. Being about the age of twelve at the time, she sat on the ground in her straw house, anxiously waiting for her father to return home. She peered out the window and watched streams of water rolling down the blood stained roads and stray dogs licking the human carcasses on the streets. When she felt a tug on her skirt, she looked down, her little sister was staring with eager eyes. She shook her head, not in the mood to play. She stood up and walked across the one room mud house she shared with her mother, father, and three sisters. As soon as she stepped out into the dirt path, she regretted it. She saw orphans, sitting on the edge of road, covered in blood and dirt. Traumatized by fear and abandonment, she knew, soon enough, they will be just another pile of corpses left to rot.
     All of a sudden, she heard shooting, the sounds extremely loud like bombs, causing a sharp pain in her ear. She dashed back into the house. But the house was empty. Her mother and sisters had disappeared. A shiver ran down her spine and she started running, without a location or a purpose. She ran until she felt freezing rain beating down on her arms. Darting to the closest shelter, she gasped for air, she looked around her, not recognizing the area. She considered asking for directions, but the town was deserted. Wisps of smoke flew around the town, the eerie feeling grew as the surprisingly cool wind sent shivers up her back. They must have come here already, she thought. Using the shop stall as a cover from the monsoon rain, she waited until the rain stopped.

     As the skies cleared up, she began to travel by foot. Her father was the general of first division Indian army. They were responsible for defending a town, in Kashmir, called Kargil from Muslim rebels. While she made her way through the town, she came upon a man inside a burnt out room on the side of the road. She cautiously crept forward, daring communication with the man in order to try to find her father. The man looked worn out and aged, and seemed about seventy years old. He looked up at her in sorrow, his bloodshot eyes pleading for help. When he opened her mouth to cough, she noticed that there were only about two teeth in his mouth. He looked as if he had not eaten in days, his stomach was sunken in and his ribs protruding out of his chest. She scanned the area and she detected a something wrapped in foil on the ground, she ran over, hoping for food. It was a piece of indian bread, she ran back to the man and gently laid it in his lap. He looked up gratefully and smiled. She wished to further help the man but she had her own mission. She asked the man for directions to Kargil and left reluctantly.

     The walk was torturous. The smell of dead, decaying bodies and rotting garbage on the streets made it almost impossible to stay conscious. At last, with the help of the sparse road signs, she reached the town. The sight was unbearable. A scar of bright light broke through the darkening sky. The stench was so impenetrable, she was forced to pinch her nose. After burrowing through the battlefield, she finally spotted her father among the troops attempting to hold back the enemy. He was a brave and loving man, fit for the military and for his family. She stared in horror as her father sliced through bodies like they were made out of clay. She suddenly saw something gold near her father’s neck. She squinted her eyes. It was a gold necklace. As gold was one of the most commonly used material for jewelry, she knew many people who possessed gold, but her family barely had the money to put food on the table.

     he abrupt shooting of cannon balls pulled her from her thoughts. She looked around, the fighting had stopped. From the absence of laughter, she knew that the fight was lost. She found her father on the ground aiding wounded soldiers. She sprinted up to him and tackled him with a hug. At first, her father, acted in soldier-like instinct and pushed her back, but as soon as he did, her pulled her back into his arms. Her arms were circled around his arm, and she nestled her head on his shoulder. She wrinkled her nose, he smelled of smoke and sweat. She grinned, she was just thrilled to have him back. As he pulled away, his sad jet, black eyes bore into hers, he asked her where her mother and her sisters were. She looked down in shame, he understood and slowly nodded his head. They stood up and he reached for something around his neck. He pulled out the gold chain with black beads that she had spotted earlier. She peered into his eyes in confusion. He chuckled and told her that it was his father’s, and it was given to him for good luck. He pulled the chain from around his neck, and proceeded to put it around her neck.

     “It is yours now,” he said.