BORDERLINE

She peeped out hesitantly from the bushes. The coast seemed clear.
The sound of rushing water reached her. She was so close to her goal. She couldn't fail now.  Suddenly she felt a tug at her dupatta.
“Are we there yet, sister?” Her little brother's eyes were wide.
“Yes we are, just a little bit more,” she murmured softly.
Her heart thudded against her chest, for a minute she was afraid it would betray her and any moment the patrolling guards would catch her. Her body grew cold at the thought.
She shook the thought away and looked again. A second later, she heard footsteps.
“Duck.” She said. And they did, hiding in the bushes while the guard passed them by. She wished he would go quickly but she heard the noise of more footsteps and then voices as they talked. Go quickly, please. She pleaded inwardly as beads of sweat rolled down her face.
But they seemed to take forever. Seeing them so close, made her scared. It made her remember the night. And instinctively her hand went to her side. Her brother noticed.
“Does it hurt?” he asked softly.
She shook her head, lying through her gestures. It did hurt but not there, in her head. In her mind, she was reliving the pain, the men coming to their village, setting fire to their hut, the screams of her parents and then the quick slash of pain as the knife broke her skin.
She didn't know how she had survived or how her little brother had survived. But she just remembered waking up in a healer's hut, gauze wrapped around her waist; the shooting pains every time she moved.
“They are leaving, sister.” Her brother poked her.
She nodded and looked at them. They said some parting words and went in opposite directions. As soon as the guard was out of site, she ventured out of the bush; her hand wrapped tightly around her little brother's hand. There was a border drawn up covered in crisscrossing wires. Past it was the river. Just past the river and they would be safe. Crossing the borderline, they would be in another country; no one would harm them again.
The border would be easy to cross. She knew of a weak spot in the border, before the village was destroyed, she'd heard men talking or rather boasting of the way they had smuggled goods through. If they could do it, then so could she.
A few metres, she thought. As she got closer, she couldn't help thinking how beautiful the river looked. With the sun shining on it, its waters shined back, the river bed was covered in greenery. If she hadn't had such a grip on her sibling's hand then she would have been lost.
Quickly, she pushed him through the net and they made for the river. That was when all hell broke loose.
“Hey, you! What are you doing there?” -- she heard a shout behind her.
Panic set in and without thinking, she ran for the river. She heard the guard calling for the others but she was so close and they couldn't catch her now. She was almost in the river…
And then there was a sound like thunder and she felt a jolt of pain lancing through her back. Her eyesight blurred and she was falling. She heard her little brother call for her and she called back but she couldn't hear herself. Then there was another shot and her brother's cries ceased. Pain gripped her heart, so much pain that her heart faltered and stopped. She drew in one last breath and was still.
Over their bodies, stood the guards, shaking their heads.
“Kids. Little kids. When will it end?” -- asked the younger.
The older soldier said nothing. He kicked the bodies into the water, and began to walk all the way back to his post. The younger soldier followed the corpses' progress downstream, until brother and sister disappeared from sight. He lit a cigarette and stared across the borderline.