As dawn was about to break, not a single town had fallen. The sound of cannon fire echoed outside the city walls as officials fled in panic, and many defeated soldiers joined the ranks of those escaping. Word spread among the soldiers that the town hadn't fallen into enemy hands yet, but this only made the fleeing masses more panicked. At that moment, however, one figure went against the flow, rushing back toward the city.
People thought she was mad. She charged against the tide with all her might, only to be repeatedly pushed back, even trampled... Eventually, when the stream of fleeing people had passed, she quickened her pace towards the city.
Just as she reached the outskirts, a line of armed soldiers fired warning shots from afar, signaling for her not to come any closer. However, she didn’t stop but instead shouted something loudly. The soldiers didn’t understand what she was saying, so they fired a round of bullets near her feet as a warning. She paused for a while before continuing to shout and gesture with her hands. To avoid being mistaken for an enemy soldier, she stripped off all her clothes, raised her arms high above her head, and continued walking forward.
This time, the soldiers didn’t shoot but stared at her in surprise. She was taken to the commanding officer. All along, she kept shouting: "Please let me go! I have urgent matters to attend to. You can capture me after I’m done!"
What was her intention? In the interrogation, she said her name was Satani, a resident outside the city.
It turned out that after the air raids had lasted for half a month, Satani and her 3-year-old son had quickly run out of food. Her son was getting sick. As a mother, Satani grew increasingly worried. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, she suddenly stood up. Seeing her sleeping child's feet sticking out of the blanket, she carefully tucked it around him and then gently kissed her precious baby’s forehead. At that moment, her son suddenly opened his sleepy eyes and asked anxiously: "Mom, why is it always rumbling outside?" Satani choked up and explained: "Don't be afraid, it's nothing serious. It's just God letting out a few loud farts!" Her son, hearing this, tearfully said: "Mom, I'm hungry!" Satani quickly stroked her son's cheeks and consoled him: "Baby, go to sleep. Don’t worry, mom will go get you some bread later. Close your eyes, and by tomorrow morning, I’ll be back!" Hearing her mother’s firm promise, the son finally closed his eyes with some reassurance.
After drinking some cold water, Satani set off toward the International Relief Station in the city center. Although it was dark, she could still see many armed and stern-looking personnel gathering and running around, but she felt no fear and continued to rush forward.
It was a two-hour walk from home to the International Relief Station. When she was halfway there, she was suddenly caught in a surging tide of panicked people who lost direction. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already followed the refugee flow out of the city. Thus, she began to hurry back because she had promised her son: "By the time you open your eyes tomorrow morning, I'll be back."
After listening to her story, the air became heavy with silence, and the commander released Satani.