Nightmare

Last night I woke up around two a.m., shivering and crying. I had just witnessed the most horrible nightmare of my life.

- Amal

I dreamt that my grandparent's house in my hometown of Hama, Syria was hit by bomb. My grandma, grandpa, and uncle were all killed.

My grandma that I am named after, the woman that is like my second mother, dead. My only grandpa that I know, the one that lets me do whatever I want because I am his first grandchild, dead. My youngest and favorite uncle, the one that has been there for me like an older brother, dead. The house where most of my childhood memories took place, destroyed.

It may have been just a dream for me, but for so many people, this is reality. The sound of tanks and gunfire has become the norm in Syria, especially in the city of Homs. Death every day. Loved ones lost. Children murdered.