No Unicorns in the Middle East (Blog Hop Story)

Below is my story contribution for last week’s Blog Hop Photo Prompt. Enjoy.

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A war of any kind becomes a battle for the heart. The point is not to win, but to protect and honor and serve.

When you’re a kid, though, every battle is about being better than your kid-sister. Daniel worked hard to make sure he held his position as “big brother.” But every now and then, there were moments when they would ponder the vastness of the world—together–equally in wonder. Wondering what lie beyond the horizon of a world that seemed to go on forever. ‘What do you think is on the other side of that line in the distance?’ he would ask Sarah.

‘I think heaven. With lots of unicorns and chocolate chip cookies!’ she’d answer, with a huge grin and a far-off look in her eyes. Typical of a kindergartner who had no inhibitions when it came to dreaming. Sarah was a dreamer and, secretly, Daniel admired her ability to imagine.

Daniel held Sarah’s hand, listening to the hospital monitors and stroking his thumb gently over her fingers, wondering how disappointed she must have felt when she saw first-hand there was war, oppression, and injustice beyond that horizon. She probably never could have imagined such darkness, yet her heart was full of light and hope and vision for what could be. She was able to dream of futures for the children she fought to protect, which is why she risked her life… and was fighting for it now. He didn’t even need to ask. He knew his kid-sister better than anyone.

She was a soldier and a dreamer. There were no unicorns in the Middle East… but there were children in a school, striving to achieve a dream of their own. She knew they could do anything, so she protected them at all costs, especially the day the bombings hit. Every kid was safe because of Sarah’s quick thinking, but it put her in the line of fire — and in this hospital bed battling for her life.

Daniel knew her heart. She wasn’t going to battle to win against those who had hurt her. Sarah would fight to honor, serve and protect… her country, her family, and innocent lives that had no choice but to be victims of war. Because she believed and dreamed the possibility of the unimaginable.

There was no competition. He was the big brother, but she was the big dreamer with the brave heart. Once she woke up, they would learn together what lives on the other side of war…

Word count= 417