Finding happiness (previously known as Billionaire playboy's secret past)

A merry Christmas in a Refugee Camp

This chapter dedicated to horseminion , and to all those who've been with me from the start and have supported me from Chapter 1 to now.Thank you

We are not too sure what happens in a camp at Christmas time, or how to prepare for it. Mum and I go to the camp shops where we by a packet of rice, a live chicken, potatoes for chips and a cabbage for a coleslaw salad. We decided long ago that we would make this Christmas different to any other day. So buying foods that we would not normally have is a good start.

Mum has been spending most of her time volunteering at the little church closer to our house. The church is made of bricks and a tin roof. Being in church when it's raining is like sitting through a heavy metal band whilst trying to listen to someone talking. It is no use being in church when it rains, no one can hear anything past the rain pelting the roof.

Mum has been spending most of her afternoons there. She has started knitting woollen clothes for the baby. She still sews but since she does not have a sewing machine using a needle is painstakingly slow. She still mends our clothes but she has not been making clothes to sell. There is already a seamstress at the shops. It's not a big shop but they are making a living. One of my wishes is to get mum a sewing machine. It's a big mountain to climb considering most of my earnings are going to either baby preparations or food for the family.

We wake early in the morning to get ready for Christmas. We roast the chicken and boil the rice. We try and make some chips but they end up being mangled as we don't have a lot of oil to use. I have no doubt my brother will not complain about the state the chips are in. He will just appreciate the change in the food. Once the food is sorted, we get ready to go to church. Today is a day that a lot of people go to church, for Christians at least. Other religions have their own celebrations that they observe but today is ours.

Our little church is packed, it is hot and I cannot breathe. I decide that I will stand by the door so I am ready to step out if I need to use the toilet. Since I am at the door, I'm now like the welcoming committee. I find myself greeting every person coming in and all the elderly women want to know when the baby is due. I also manage to see a lot of people form my village. It's like a reunion and we're all happy to see each other even though their eyes keep travelling down to my tummy. I decide to make light of the situation and blurt out little facts about the baby like "he's definitely my son, he has rhythm and even his movements are coordinated."

Christmas was a good enough day, the day was still warm but there was cloud cover and a little breeze which made it easier to enjoy. We invited Nora's family to our tent and we were packed but we enjoyed ourselves. Nora's family has become very close to ours. Her grandmother has been keeping the family together for a long time. Sometimes when I look at Nora's mother she looks wistful and sometimes she has that hopelessness face. It makes me see how big a dilemma Nora is facing about leaving the family.

No presents were exchanged this year. I think just the fact that we are alive is good enough reason to celebrate. Sometimes I think we should have just moved to the city to be close to my uncle, but mum is adamant that the country is not stable and at one point or another her brother, my uncle, will have to leave the country. I think my uncle knows this as well or at least agrees with mum because mum says he is prepared to leave as soon as trouble reaches the city.

My uncle has been our source of news from home. The newspapers here do not say a lot about what is actually happening. It's always the summarised diplomatic version of the actual events. Mum keeps in touch with my uncle through letters and he has been really upfront about the events back home. The city is still relatively safe but he doesn't think the cities will be safe for much longer. There's fighting in little pockets of the country but not enough for the world to take notice. Anyway this is the reason we are having Christmas away from home and without our father.