OK here is The bomb belt according to Bashira. As previoulsy mentioned its first person, present tense and no laughs in this piece I'm afraid as you might imagine.
“Just go, just go!” they’re shouting at me.
I don’t know where to go. My father is telling me I must do this. He’s looking at me as if he hates me. I told him I’d done what they wanted but I lied because I told Molly about the attack at the mountain pass and he knows. I’ve tried to tell him that Molly isn’t evil, that she’s a good person, my ‘sister’ but this makes him angrier. He still looks like he hates me. I want him to love me like, Zemaray because I don’t think he has ever loved me the same way. Now he’s saying that I must do this and I will go to heaven. But I don’t want to go to heaven, not now! All I want is to go to school and to play with my friends. I wish I could say ‘no’. I just want to go home. But he’s my father and he won’t let me. I have to do what his says.
They’ve left me alone and I’m walking although my legs feel as if they belong to someone else. I don’t know where to go. I don’t want to wear this and I don’t want to be here. Everyone around me is moving away from me. Please, someone help me and make this stop. Can’t you see I don’t want to do this? But I can’t speak because I just don’t know the words to use to make them understand. They are still moving away. Please come back and help me. I don’t want to be here!
Now there are soldiers running towards me but they are stopping and shouting at me. They can help me - if I just go towards them they will help me but now they’re pointing guns at me as well. I can see Molly with them, she is staring at me. She’ll tell me what to do.
The tall one, the Captain I’ve seen before, keeps shouting at me but I don’t know what he’s saying. He sounds so angry and worried and he’s frightening me. I just need to go to Molly. Now the man who spoke to me before, the interpreter, is shouting at me,
“Bashira, pull up your scarf, pull up your scarf.”
I lift my arms and everyone starts shouting at the same time and throwing themselves onto the ground. They have seen it and now they’re all afraid of me!
I know this is very bad now. I can’t move! But Molly’s there. Molly isn’t lying down with the others; she’s taking off her helmet and her backpack. The others are shouting at her but she keeps walking towards me and she’s smiling at me. She hasn’t left me on my own because she’s my friend. She’s going to help me. Please help me Molly, please make this stop. The soldiers keep shouting at her but she’s talking to them and she doesn’t stop walking towards me until she’s standing right in front of me.
I don’t think I can stand here any longer. My legs are shaking. I just want to tear this off and run away but Molly is reaching out and is holding my hands. She wouldn’t do that if she was scared, would she? She’s talking to me. I don’t understand everything she says. She’s still smiling at me but I can see that she’s trying not to cry. She sounds like she wants to cry. Why? Is she crying for me? She’s talking about Sang Chill Bazi. Why is she talking about that? She says we are sisters but she’s crying as if she thinks I am going to leave her.
“We’re sisters!” she says
“Sisters.” I repeat the word but I’m afraid. Is she going to stay with me?
Molly has turned her head because she’s seen something and I turn my head too. There’s a man coming towards me but he looks like a giant and he’s wearing a helmet. It’s frightening. What’s happening? Why is he coming towards me? I don’t want to die and I’m panicking. I’m starting to cry.
“Am I going to die?” I have to ask Molly. She’s my friend; she’ll tell me the truth.
“No, no, you’re not gonna die.” She says.
She keeps looking at me. All the time she’s watching me; she’s trying to smile and her eyes are wide and staring. I know she’s afraid but I want to believe her. I’m trying really hard to believe her. She’s still holding my hand but the giant man is next to me now. She has to let go and she tells me to stay still. I do what she says because I just want this to be over.
The man is starting to undo the belt around my waist. He’s lifting it off of my shoulders and I feel the weight disappear. It’s nearly over. He’s putting the belt on the ground and I take a step away. I see Molly looking at me. It’s over! She’s smiling and we are gazing at each other. I want to go to her.
I’m grabbed without warning by a man, lifted off of my feet and carried away without a word being said, without a chance to speak to Molly. He’s breathing hard as he runs and I’m bouncing uncomfortably. I want to get down and speak to Molly but he puts me onto a truck which starts to drive me away from her. I hear the bomb explode and see clouds of dust everywhere and know that I caused it. I look back because I’m afraid for all of them. I can see Molly standing in the road with the other soldiers behind her. She’s watching me being driven away but I can't see her face clearly.
She’s my friend and I couldn’t even say ‘thank you’ to her.