Chapter Two : Truths

Sounds of something pressurized, preventing her from hearing what's going on.

Her body remains almost entirely submerged, legs and arms, except for her face and a small part of her long black hair, which was previously tied in a ponytail.

Her facial expression does not seem at all unusual: there is lightness and conformity. Which is pretty traditional, for her personality type.

Her thoughts are almost absent, because the pain of the recently acquired injury makes her rethink about life.

"I'm leaving. My time has come", are the most recurrent thoughts in Jaya's mind. Her religious background and background make her accept her ultimate destiny.

- Somehow I stay here. But why was I spared, among so many? What did I do best to deserve such grace? I just crawled around like a coward, like the person I always was. Giving up my own fears, the gods will never forgive me – Reflects Jaya, allowing her to endure a little longer.

Jaya, a twenty-year-old woman, olive-skinned, long-haired, and dressed in patches that make her look like an old woman. But her physical appearance looks like a seventeen year old girl.

Jaya opens her right eye, with difficulty and sensitive to strong light. The dirty waters make it difficult to have a precise view of what surrounds her, but the temptation to see what is around her is enormous.

- They took the lives of so many. They took everything in such a short time. They didn't even give them a chance to beg for their lives. But why that? It would have been so easy if they'd made their demands. It's always worked that way – Jaya talks to herself, not worrying about being overheard.

Around her, several bodies pass through her, and all of them thrown there by the action of the shooter called Omar. Her accuracy was complete, with no room to spare anyone but Jaya. Somehow, she survived the shooting.

A loose stone moves and collides with another, and slides towards the stream where Jaya lies. The impact is accurate, and makes a man sink, along with the stone.

Jaya is startled by the sound, and even more by the expression still full of life, that this man has. Her right hand comes very close to pulling him away, but she remains restrained. By slightly extending your hand, the blood present from the wound caused by the gunshot, spreads out again.

The situation itself causes her to submerge, partly without a will as such, but she does it nonetheless.

- But why? -The regret is perceptible in her words, which are expelled by witnessing such a terrible situation. In the process, she swallows a considerable amount of water and loses part of her breath, but bends her arms out of survival instinct – What did they do to deserve such punishment? -Her voice demonstrates fragility, and each one of them says, greater difficulty in leaving.

In her head, the same sound is repeated and a person, inside the same bus on the side of the road, falls. With each sound, one more passenger goes to the ground.

"And what will I do, with myself?", Jaya tries to move her legs, completely submerged. The more she tries, the more she feels like they're still. But she is far from understanding what is true: her body gives in to the first signs of hypothermia.

With each sound present, a body falls inert, giving clear indications that the situation is far from being resolved.

Jaya, still unsure of the extent of the pain that accompanies her body, forces her body onto her stomach and tries to reach the edge of some bank.

- I need to somehow report everything to the police. Even if they are not willing to listen to me. But what good would that do? They are all dead for no reason. They weren't after our belongings because they had paid for a ticket. Men, women and children who had their lives taken without any need... at least apparently, and I just managed to run away, as I always did. My whole life, always surviving – Jaya wails. Regret and sadness are greater than the pain caused in her arm. Blood oozes non-stop as she keeps in constant motion.

Jaya stretches out her right arm to gain steadiness in the next movement, and makes her current injury even more exposed. Blood oozes and stains most of her clothes, just as it stains her face, partially submerged.

- The pain is terrible. I can barely move her arm. Or is this all just hell, and this is my punishment? Eternally trapped inside a river of blood, unheard and unseen - Jaya turns her eyes to the wound, and it brings her immense concern.

The sun's rays, now covered by the immense cloud of dust, coming from the north, give a darker tone to the environment.

The sounds of the wind drown out those of the creek and make it sadder. Jaya understands well that persistence to continue in that dust storm has become too risky. Staying there would certainly sentence her to her ultimate end.

- Hold my hand. Are there ways to free you from your current fear or would you rather die here? - Jaya is downcast, conflicted about what's real, and what's not - Without one last chance to do what's right? By the way, do you know what's right?

Kadar crouches down close to the shore, left knee on the ground, and keeps Jaya fixed with her gaze.

- I'm not the kind of company you want. I have nothing to offer. My family comes from a simple background and we are just traveling in an attempt to find a better job on the other side of the country – Jaya is acting out of pure innocence, with the slightest expectation of making it out alive. She well knows who he represents, but she also keeps faith as her foundation, even in the face of such a situation.