Chapter 11: Mommy, Who's that dude??

You know those times when you're excited about a trip? Imagine that, but you're also a little scared because you're going back to a place where things went really wrong. Like, really, really wrong.

So, there I was, with my kids, all happy and carefree, heading to the airport. I was trying to pretend everything was okay, but deep down, I was feeling like a scared little kid myself. You know how sometimes you get that tight feeling in your chest when you're nervous? Yeah, that was me.

But I had to be strong for my kids, right? They were looking at me with their bright, innocent eyes, so I put on a brave face and said, "Come on, team, let's go home!"

We got on the plane, and I took a deep breath. This was it, the moment we'd been waiting for. I was going back to my country, to the place where I'd grown up, where I felt safe and loved.

But it was also the place where everything had fallen apart. The place where I'd lost everything.

We were soaring through the air, the world shrinking