LIGHT OF DAWN
“The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18
There are some sounds that are so sweet, so sacred in the recesses of my mind, they will always remain with me: my father’s confession in the Hasambong precinct building, the Old Woman’s hymns of praise, the train’s whistle as Shin and I escaped Camp 22 crouched hidden in a coal car.
For the first time since I was a young girl of twelve, I was outside the heavily patrolled borders of the camp. Yet as I hid in the train car that raced me away from my prison of nine years, I knew the road ahead of me held many dangers.
It was just before dawn, and there was not enough light in the coal car to allow me to study my fellow runaway. I thought about our co
