Later the family sat around the kitchen table eating their dinner. As Chloe stirred her stew around her bowl her parents talked about their day. Her father talked to her mother about customers. Eventually he brought up the lady from before. Her mother seemed to know who the lady was and asked how she was. “Well, she’s doing alright,” Darius said, “but the trouble across the border is affecting her family.”

“What about her son?” Vida said.

“I don’t know. She seemed a bit troubled by it.”

Once again, Chloe was confused. “Was that the weirdo lady from before?” she blurted out. Her mother shot her a scowl. “Chloe!” Chloe didn’t know what it was that she said. “But she was a weirdo. Did you hear the way she talked?”

“Chloe! We do not talk about other people that way. Mrs. Gilani is an old family friend.”

Darius butted in. “Her son used to work for me. She’s from another country, and came here to join her family.”

This didn’t clear anything up. “But if she came to see her family, why did she live somewhere else?” Chloe asked.

Her father took a moment to think about how to explain it to her. “Well, her family is scattered across the border. Her life has been very rough. A lot of people in her country treated her very badly, so she came here to live a better life.”

“What’s the bor… borr...?”

Her dad chuckled. “A border you mean?” He looked at Vida as if to ask how to explain this, as if it were above his daughter. “It’s…” he seemed to search for the right words. “It’s a line between different countries.

” Chloe thought of a big black line, like something drawn by a giant marker. “Can we go see it?”

Darius laughed. “It’s an imaginary line. You can’t see it. You can only see it on a map.”

She continued eating her stew as her parents continued to talk about something else. It didn’t interest her. The whole concept of borders puzzled her. Chloe wondered just how anyone knew where they were if they were only imaginary. Couldn’t anyone just walk across it without knowing?

After dinner, Chloe sat in front of the TV. Her father sat in his recliner sipping a cup of hot black tea and reading a book. Vida finished sweeping the kitchen floor, walked into the den, and lay down on the sofa to watch TV. The warm lighting of the floor lamp and flickering screen made her feel drowsy and she fell asleep. Chloe on the other hand was deeply engrossed in the show playing on the screen, only switching her attention to play with her dolls gathered around her during the commercial break. The show was some sort of mystery thriller. The black and white screen showed a man like a detective walking down a street while two other men lurked in a dark alley. As they drew guns and aimed from the alley, Chloe became more engrossed, taking her dolls and curling up on the sofa next to her mother. She began to root for the detective. “Watch out! C’mon, go, get him! Get him!”

Just as it looked like the detective was about to get caught, the end credits began to play and the announcement for the news came on. Vida stirred from the sofa and stretched. “Okay, dear, it’s time for you to go to bed.”

“Oh come on, mamma. I could stay up a little longer. I’m not even…” Chloe tried to suppress a yawn. “Tired.”

Vida gave a tired sigh. “But it’s just going to be boring grownup news. You don’t want to see that do you? Besides, you’ve got school tomorrow.”

Vida walked with Chloe to her room. As she wished her a good night, her mother remembered something. “Oh, yeah.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold-plated pocket watch. “You father wanted to give you this.” She dangled it and dropped it into Chloe's hands. Chloe opened it up. Inside was a clock with a green swirled pearl face and gold numbers. On the lid was a note. To Chloe: To help you keep time for school. Use it well. “Your father was digging around his junk drawer this morning. He hasn’t kept time in ages,” she chuckled to herself. “So he thought you should have it.” Chloe gazed at how the light from the hall glinted on the metal. “Woah. Where did you get it?” Vida pursed her lips and tilted her head, as if thinking about it. “Hmmm, I think I gave it to him back when we were dating.” She then leaned over and whispered in her daughter’s ear. “I think it was because he was always late.” Both of them giggled, then Vida kissed her forehead. “Good night.” She got up to turn off the hall light and left for bed.

After she settled herself in bed, Chloe gazed outside the window. It was relaxing to watch the neighborhood of small nestled buildings glow in the soft yellow light of the streetlamps. Watching people mill about on their way home with the hum of the occasional passing car felt reassuring to her, as if everything was in its place. While it wasn’t an interesting town, it was a comfortable place to live. Perhaps, she thought, there were imaginary lines around her own little kingdom, extending beyond the last glimpse of the sun over the stucco rooftops. This was her corner of the world. All the people she knew living and eating and sleeping in their own homes and running their own shops were her own subjects. It was a silly thing to think, she knew. Still, though she had school tomorrow, all felt right with the world as she fell asleep.

~

Something was wrong. Chloe shot up in bed and looked around her room. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew something was out of place. She got out of bed, crept into the dark den, and listened. There it was, a muffled banging coming from the bottom floor. She stayed very still and pressed her ear up to the front door. Hearing nothing, she unlocked it and treaded cautiously down the stairway to the shop floor. She froze. They were definitely there. Sounds of muffled voices and footsteps.

She was about to go further down when the muffled voices got closer.

THUD THUD THUD

Her heart stopped. The door on the other side of the black hallway started rattling and something started banging against it. The banging and rattling grew louder and Chloe could hear shouting from the other side.

After a split second of silence the door burst open.

Chloe’s heart exploded. She didn’t take time to look at the shadowy figures. Gripped by fear she fled up the stairs as the figures marched upward. They yelled something at her and Chloe barely slammed the door to the flat and locked it as the figures reached the top. Wasting no time she burst through the door to the master bedroom. Her father was already awake and muttered something about making too much noise. “Dad! Mom! You gotta come quick! There are robbers in the house!” Chloe tried to keep quiet but could barely contain herself. Darius rubbed his eyes and sat up. “What?” he said still half asleep.

THUD THUD THUD

Darius’ eyes widened, more awake now. Chloe pointed toward the door and pulled her father out of bed. But he pushed her aside and said “Wait here. Don’t move.” He put on his bathrobe and crept slowly into the kitchen. Chloe could hear him rummaging through silverware drawer and watched him sidle to the front door.

THUD THUD THUD THUD

She could hear more shouting from the other side. Vida, also awake now, slipped on her nightgown and stood in the bedroom door, watching. More shouting. Darius motioned for Vida to come and whispered something in her ear.

Chloe watched with panic her mother went over to the sidetable near the TV to pick up the phone. She dialed, listening for a few seconds, and dialed again. After repeating this a few times she simply dropped the phone and ran to her husband whispering something back. The blood seemed to drain form their faces and they both looked at the door.

Still more shouting from the other side. “Stay where you are.” Darius shouted back. Chloe crept to the bedroom doorway to see more. Darius clutched a kitchen knife and threw open the door. Chloe couldn’t help but notice how he leapt back, though.

“Go downstairs and we’ll talk.” he said under his breath. Chloe couldn’t see anyone but heard a male voice say something. “Now!” Darius said, his voice noticeably trembling. Chloe watched her parents go downstairs. She heard shouting below and then things went quiet. After a few minutes she began to worry. She knew her father told her to stay put, but what if something happened to them? Eventually concern overcame her and she ventured downstairs. She clung to the doorframe and peered around the corner to see into the dimly lit main shop.

She could see them clearly now. There were seven of them. They were all coated in dust and smelled of dirt. Their heads were covered in masks, bandanas, or other wrappings so she couldn’t see their faces. But she could see their guns. They weren’t the small handguns she saw on TV, but rifles. Most of them appeared to be male, but she couldn’t really tell. A couple were lounging around and taking off their boots, but most were gathered around her parents.

One in particular was talking to her father. It was a man who seemed younger and shorter than the rest. He wore a green flak jacket and army boots, and had a bandana, baseball cap, and sunglasses concealing his face. Strangely enough, her father seemed familiar with this man. Chloe couldn’t always hear what they were saying, but she was able to catch a few words of their conversation.

“You always did have weird ideas, but I never thought you would join a group like this.” said Darius.

Chloe noticed how her father quietly slouched while the man stood erect and quite animated. “Yeah well, times change. I’ve changed.” said the man. More curious than terrified, Chloe decided to venture further.

Darius looked confused. “But you’re not Rahadi.”

“But I am Artabanian.” retorted the man, removing his bandana and sunglasses. “They’re our brothers. These are my brothers.” He motioned to the band of armed men. “And sisters.” said the one next to him, a female voice. The man laughed. “Haha! And sisters.” He said patting her on the back.

Darius stood up straighter. “What do you want?”

The man became more serious and thoughtful. “We’re fighting for our rights. For our freedom.”

“We’ve been pushed around long enough.” shouted another man sitting at the counter.

“It’s time.” said yet another, thrusting his rifle in the air. Chloe noticed the woman, who took her mask off, tying not to cry. She said something about having to move as a child but Chloe couldn’t quite understand. “That is why I’m here,” she said, voice trembling.

Darius clenched his teeth, becoming more frustrated. “That’s all well and good, but you can’t just…”

“Can’t just what?”

Darius continued. “C-can’t just barge into my home!” He thumped his chest. “I don’t care how long you worked for me.”

The young man scoffed. “You think this is all about myself?” He seemed insulted. “What about all the Rahadi that you know? People like you who have to deal with persecution?”

Darius interrupted. “That’s in Antassim!”

The other man started circling him and Vida. “Really? Our own government has begun to take actions against us.”

Darius was about to say something, but the other man quickly cut him off. “Think of your daughter.” He pointed directly at Chloe to her parent’s astonishment. Vida got between her and the man. “Don’t you dare bring my daughter into this!” The man became increasingly angry, so much that Chloe hid behind the door. “No, I will! Think about her future! All of her classmates who will never have a life because of their ancestry.”

He started poking a finger at Darius’ chest. “This is about her future too. You see, that’s your problem; you think you can just duck your head and the world will pass you by. Well, that’s not how it works.”

Now it was Darius’ turn to get angry. “Now look here…” “No!” the man shouted. “Ever since I worked for you all you’ve cared about was your shop and your family. The world is much bigger than that now!” Chloe’s concern for her parents grew as the altercations increased. She crept closer, only for Vida to grab her and pull her back. Her mother enveloped her in an embrace. It felt reassuring yet firm, as if to say “Please don’t go any further.” Even now, the stranger seemed scarier than before.

One of the other men, a large burly man, nudged his rifle at Darius. Everyone stared at each other for a second, waiting for someone to break the tense atmosphere. Then the leader said, “So, what is it?” Darius hung his head in resignation. There was nothing he could do. The man slapped him on the back. “Thanks for what you’re doing.”