Somewhere in the Balkans

“Dr. Teodor, are we near the border? A lot of the old people are tired from our long trek today.”

“We are not near but also not far from the border. Let us rest for today and continue tomorrow. Are there any Ottoman patrols or detachments nearby?”

“Nothing near us doctor. Most of the Ottoman soldiers are stationed on the northern border with the Austrians. In this mountainous region, there are fewer soldiers present due to difficult terrain.”

Teodor Hristov is leading a small group of people who are fleeing from the pursuit of the Ottoman soldiers. After escaping and fleeing from his destroyed hometown of Berzasca, he decided to leave the Ottoman Empire and go to the nearby Austrian Empire. Staying in the Ottoman Empire as a non-Turkish person would be a death sentence.

During their travel, they were able to meet some people who are also trying to escape the Ottoman Empire. It seems that the Ottoman army is conducting a systematic cleansing of non-Turkish people inside the empire. A lot of innocent people are put to death on the grounds of supporting the rebels even without evidence or proof.

The Ottoman Empire he once knew is no more, it just become a distant past and now it become a horrifying nightmare that he must escape from. Ever since the Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Mehmed V, rose to power, the entire Ottoman Empire has become more sinister and violent in its policies and actions.

At first, he wants to flee to the Principality of Montenegro, but they were rumors that the Ottoman Sultan wants to invade the Principality. On the border between the two, a lot of Ottoman soldiers are being mobilized and there are more Ottoman soldiers at its border than the entire population of the Principality.

With a population of only 300,000, the Principality is outnumbered by the 400,000 soldiers deployed by the Ottoman Empire near its border. The Principality is forced to mobilize all its citizens, even the women, children, and the elderly were included in the war effort. The Montenegrins trust that it would not escalate to direct conflict and war. They also trust that the mountainous region of the Principality would serve as a deterrent and an advantage over the Ottomans. Ever since they become independent, all citizens are trained to fight and serve during the war.

Another option he can choose is fleeing toward the Russian Empire which can guarantee safety and peaceful light inside its border away from the Ottomans. But the journey towards the Russian Empire would be long and more arduous, also the border between the two countries is the most dangerous place to be in. Every day they were fights and skirmishes between the two sides that results in a lot of casualties.

So, the only best option that he has is to go to Austria. Going there would be easier and safer than going to Montenegro and Russia. The borders have fewer skirmishes and small battles and Austria is an economic powerhouse in the region. He also knows some acquaintances that can help him find a job as a doctor in Austria. He can just decide to stay in Austria or go to Russia after arriving there.

He watches the people that are traveling with him on this dangerous and arduous journey. A lot of them were women and children who were able to escape from the Ottoman pillages and destruction. Most men are killed on the spot while women are raped and then left alive by the Ottoman soldiers. Children also didn’t escape such horrifying experiences, some were raped and others were exploited and abused to the point that some committed suicide at such a young age.

Teodor didn’t expect that the country that once he called home can commit such an atrocity to its own citizen. Just because they have different ethnicity, race, or beliefs, doesn’t mean that they were all enemies in the eyes of the Ottomans. They were rumors that the Ottoman sultan have become crazy and paranoid that he just let the military run amok without any repercussions.

He looks toward his daughter, that is hiding her face underneath a dark veil. Every time he sees her, he remembers what he had witnessed near the riverbank as he was searching for her. She was naked and an Ottoman soldier is on top of her. The soldier is raping her and there are even bruises on her stomach and neck.

Even his daughter’s friends are not spared, two were also raped by other Ottoman soldiers while the other two are lying lifelessly on the ground. His rage reached its peak and immediately use the weapon that he is holding and shot the Ottoman soldiers. Raping his daughter in front of him destroys something inside of him. He loves his daughter the most in the world and witnessing such a horrifying scene kills him on the inside.

He is filled with anger and wants revenge against the Ottomans. He vows that he would do everything in his capacity to make the Ottomans pay back the pain and suffering he experienced.

His daughter is traumatized by what happened to her that every night she would have a nightmare of that day. He can’t bear to see her daughter suffering like that so he wants to immediately leave this godforsaken place to give her a new life.

He approached her daughter to give her something to drink. They would make a stop here for the night so that the people could rest and can continue the journey tomorrow.

They didn’t create a camp and no fire is created so that the Ottomans would not know their position. They have been able to successfully evade the Ottoman patrols for the past few days by being very careful and discreet in their movements. They traverse hard terrain and thick forests just to avoid any Ottoman soldiers. They sometimes eat raw meat because they can’t afford to make any fire for its smoke can be used to locate them. They have become experts in concealing their movements and tracks even if there are a large number of people in this group. They know that unless they were caught on the spot by the Ottoman soldiers, they would be safe if they could maintain a large distance from them. The soldiers didn’t prioritize catching refugees as they were busier in defeating rebels or pillaging towns but that doesn’t mean that they should lower their guard.

“Sofia are you fine?”

“Yes, father.”

Sofia smiles at his father to reassure him that she was fine. She doesn’t want to make his father worries more for he is already burdened with leading a large number of refugees. She wants to be strong so that he could help her father. She is trying to overcome her trauma of what happened that day and every day she can slowly gain some strength and confidence even if the emotional pain is still there.

She also needs to be strong for her two other friends who had experienced what she had gone through and even worst, both lost their families and loved ones. She is lucky that her father was able to escape and save them from the hands of the Ottoman soldiers. She knows that someday these scars in her heart would heal.

Teodor looks at the cheerful smile of his daughter and he feels more guilty about what his daughter had gone through. If only he had listened to what Sofia had said earlier, then maybe they have been able to escape such tragedy.

“Doctor the scouts we sent in the rear are here.”

“What is their report?”

One of the men from the small group that had just arrived in the group approaches Teodor. The man is part of the group that is tasked with checking and scouting the area for any Ottoman forces. There are a lot of groups sent to check from different directions and this group is assigned in the rear.

“There are Ottoman soldiers who are marching towards this direction. We must flee.”

Teodor feels scared of what the young man had just reported. The Ottoman soldiers coming toward them is never a piece of good news. They must continue the march and they should move faster so that the Ottomans could not catch up.

“How many men are there?”

“About a hundred soldiers doctor”

“Gather some of the men who could fight and let's fight them to buy some time for the people to flee.”

“Yes, doctor.”

The young man immediately leaves and calls any men that could fight and give them some weapons. Some are only armed with pitchforks, spears, and swords because they have no enough rifles or pistols to arm them.

Sofia becomes worried as she knows that her father would also join the men to buy some time. She approaches his father and cries.

“Father, please come back.”

“Yes, my daughter. I’ll promise.”

Teodor smiles bitterly at his daughter. He wants to assure him that he would come back alive. Sofia can only steel her heart and hope that God would watch over her father. She lets go of hugging her father and watches as her father walks toward the men and plans on how to face the Ottoman soldiers.

After a few minutes, the men then immediately start to leave towards the rear of the group. The people in the group also start to walk away from the area as they know that Ottoman soldiers are coming. Some wife and children hugged their husbands and father that would join in the fight. It was a sad sight, watching some of their loved ones go to fight and it might be the last time they would see each other again. Some are sobbing at the prospect of losing their loved ones, they have already endured a lot of suffering and another pain might add after this.

Teodor waves to Sofia as he walks away together with the men. They know that they might die and fall but if their family and loved ones could survive, then they would be content. To protect their family and loved ones is their greatest duty in life.