our tragic guest

Nia, the girl my mom wants my brother to date, entered our home for the first time and sat down to eat with us. Before her arrival, she had only met my mom, Ezra, and I (just briefly at that) - so while my mom finished up dinner, I introduced her to Zoe, Zeke, and my father. By the time I completed this, dinner was ready to be eaten. We all sat down to feast.

And then came the rapidfiring of questions from my mom. And all I can say is, wow, this girl is lucky to be alive. A month ago, she was still living with her family in St. Catherine's Valley. One night, a loud noise woke her up from sleep and she heard stomping footsteps enter her house. These footsteps made their way to her parents's bedroom. She heard these men shouting at her parents that her father was to be taken to Camp 9, a detention camp in Hamraville. Her mother starting screaming and then some shots were fired. She shared a room with her younger sister who had also been woken up but remained quiet, and the gun fire started, they fled out the window. They ran to a relative's house a few kilometers away, explained to them what had happened, and within the hour, they had all left for this area. She has no idea what happened to her parents and is still trying to make contact with someone at Camp 9 who might be able to tell her if her parents are there. I'm amazed this girl didn't cry while she told us her background... I would have broken down.

At any rate, I think she'd make a good match for my brother. He's attracted to girls who have had to become independent for some reason or another. We'll see how this goes.