Marnie Screams into the Void
101: Hostage
July 26, 2024, 101 days left, hostage. I remember hearing this word a lot as a child, hostage. It was on the news all the time. From 1979 to 1981, I was young enough to not really understand, but also old enough to understand the words "I ran hostage crisis." A vague memory of my cousin canceling a trip. Americans can't go to the Middle East. It isn't safe. Today, I heard gut punching stories of hostages in Russia and yes, other places. Who is home? Who is not? Who never will be? And I cried. Helpless terror settled on me. And I begged my empathy to slink away and let me breathe. But then, I begged her to come back and hold me captive. My pain is nothing, I tell her. It is absolutely nothing.