Excerpt from The Broken Promise. By Justen Charters. (For National Novel Writing Month of November) The grieving woman tried to hide the emotion in her face, but the gripping story she was about to tell could only be spoken from the heart. Her lips started to move. “My name is Jasmine Karzan. I am a 22-year-old Kurdish Yazidi.” Jasmine paused. This was much harder on her than she thought it would be. “And my world turned to darkness before I reached my twentieth birthday.” “When ISIS came to my village, they slaughtered my people. I was forced to watch the beheadings of my father and brother. My brother was just six.” The heartbreaking memory caused her eyes to fill with tears. Be strong, you’re not doing this for you, you’re doing it for her. “But ISIS did not care, for we our Yazidis. And that makes us disbelievers, less than the rats in the sewers.” The talk show host handed her guest a tissue. Thank you. Jasmine said. The host smiled. “Take all the time you need. And we thank you for being so brave.” “Then, ISIS pointed their guns at the women on my street and forced us into the back of a truck. One girl resisted, I thought she was going to be killed. But the man the girl hit just took the end of his rifle and smashed her in the face.” “I still don’t know why it happened. Maybe it was because I was watching so intently, because an ISIS leader guarding the truck pointed at me and told me to help the girl.” Jasmine continued. “I helped her up. The walk to the truck was silent. When we started to drive off, she thanked me, and told me her name was Soleen.” Just saying Soleen’s name brought up feelings of guilt for Jasmine. She hoped that wherever Soleen was that she could forgive her. “And then what happened?” The host said reminding Jasmine of where she was. “The ISIS gunmen in the truck explained to us that we were good women, that they had liberated us from infidels. They assured us that we would be taken care of and that the Islamic State had shopping malls, schools for girls and great career prospects for those who worked hard.” “And did any of you believe them?” The host asked. “Some of the younger girls. You see ISIS blindfolded them before they started the killing. So they didn’t see what all of us did.” “We drove until night, then the truck stopped. A group of men with flashlights and rifles approached our truck, and ordered all the women to get out.” “We were herded like cattle into a large building. That’s when I saw about thirty more women draped in black shackled together in chains.” “My new friend Soleen sensed my fear, and grasped onto my hand. She said to me, “Whatever happens to us, we can never give up hope. If we give up hope, they win. We can never let them win.” Remembering that day weighed heavy on Jasmine’s heart. “A round looking man with a long beard entered the building, he was about the same age as my father. He laughed as he said, welcome kuffar, the shopping mall should be finished sometime next month.” “Judging by how the other ISIS terrorists laughed with him, I guessed this man to be a figure of authority.” “I learned the women called him Beraz, which means pig. Beraz said you’ll be here for a few days and we will sell you to the highest bidder. If anyone tries to escape, you will cause a punishment for everyone here. So be good little kuffar and know God has given you to us as a prize for our righteous cause.” “Then, Beraz looked over to where Soleen and I were standing, and my heart stopped.” “You”, Beraz said, “Were making trouble for the mujahideen, come here.” A gunmen nudged Soleen in the back with his rifle, indicating that’s who Beraz was addressing. Soleen calmly walked towards Beraz. The pig grabbed Soleen by the head of her hair. “You are a very pretty kuffar,” he said. He then slid his tongue up Soleen’s cheek. Next, the pig threw her to the ground. He was handed a horse whip by one of his guards. When horses don’t obey their masters they get whipped, Beraz shouted in a fury. Recalling such painful experiences was almost too much for Jasmine to bear. The host recognized how she was visibly shaken. “Jasmine if that’s enough for today, we can continue tomorrow.” Jasmine had to remind herself that she took the first step. Yeah, it was enough for today. “Yes, I am sorry I am just have a very hard time with this all, responded Jasmine. “That’s understandable, we just appreciate you being here and sharing a story that everyone needs to hear.” A thunderous applause filled the room. But Jasmine didn’t care about the standing ovation. She cared about getting someone to act on her story. She only agreed to the exclusive series of interviews, because she hadn’t given up hope. And just maybe that hope would be enough that she could finally save Soleen.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 01:00:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015