February 6, 1936: Leaving Baghdad

Her last entry at the Karadah's home.

 

Oh Diary,

 

     Valentine's Day can't come soon enough. The taste of the red, sweet liquid lingers on my lips, like the last sip of my Pinot Noir.

     For the past month, I've been busy preparing. I've made calls to everyone after the last diary entry, and I spent the remainder of what little time I had with the children.

     I am packed and eager to begin my journey to the Kirkuk-Nissibin train, where I shall meet up with my love, Bob. From there, we stop at a rest house in Mosul, head on a train to Aleppo, and then the Stamboul-Calais train. Ah, the Stamboul-Calais train...

     I have about ten more minutes before I need to wake the children. I promised the little darlings I would wake them up, so they could say one more goodbye. It's been pretty tough on them. Unlike most children I hear about, they didn't act up more than usual when they heard about my leave. They actually behaved more. I suppose they thought I was leaving because they were so “horrid”. I guess they thought it would make me stay if I saw them so perfect. I want to stay. I want to, but I know if I can't leave them now, I shall never have the heart to leave them later.

     I plan on leaving the two a couple of items they can remember me by. For my Shadi, I shall leave her a gold bracelet of mine she has always found amusement in playing with. For the Roshan I'm giving him a blanket we'd spend his reading time cuddled up in.

     It's time for me to go wake them up. I sigh, knowing this will be the last morning I will see the halos around their heads, and their tiny mouths stretching into a yawn big enough for a train to go through...

Mary Debenham

Reviews

[Brenda Sue]

Oh wonderful. I like how you have added more description.

[Doug]

haha. there's the valentine's reference i was looking for. valentine's day wasn't popularly celebrated until the seventeenth-eighteenth century, so keep that in mind. this one was very good. i could feel the emotion, and the visual imagery was good as well. well done.