"Day break at Udi," the radio commentator announced as the musical prelude for the show's news segment introduction ended.

Ada wondered where Udi was in Biafran territory as she'd never, in her entire earthly existence, heard of a town bearing that name. The previous day's broadcast was made from Nsukka, a town she was more familiar with because she almost went to university there.

The daily radio broadcasts were announced from different Biafran cities so the Nigerian government wouldn't know where the Biafran radio command center was really located and subsequently deploy its army to destroy it, sending the Biafran news source into silence and its indigenes into darkness on matters of the war that affected them. They'd tried on several occasions but thankfully, to no avail. Radio Biafra was still on and reporting on the war daily.

Ada adjusted the small shortwave A.M. radio that kept them connected to the outside world as the signal started to fade. She fidgeted with it until the signal came back clear. She listened intently to the details being reported as she glanced over at her niece and God sister who were off in a corner of the room they'd called home for the past six months, playing. The girls stopped playing for a few minutes and listened as well. They could probably have cared less about the radio commentator's words on a normal day but they were all waiting to hear if it was safe enough to venture out of their presently innocuous surroundings. The way of life during the war relegated them to this daily ritual if they were to survive and live another day.

Ada opened the window curtains to let the morning sunlight in as she listened to the radio but quickly closed it, just in case there were Nigerian soldiers lurking around nearby that could peek through the open curtains into the room and see them. The atrocities being committed against Biafran indigenes, especially the women and children, were incomprehensible and required most of them to hide if they wanted to live to see another day.

The radio commentator shared extensive news of the Nigerian army's current whereabouts and if they'd advanced any further into Biafran territory. He told them the specific towns and villages where the Biafran army had been able to aggressively hold them back. Ada was glad they were nowhere near them today which meant they were safe and could continue normal daily activities for the moment but she still kept the curtains closed just in case the radio commentator was wrong. She said a quick prayer of thanks to God before finding her way to the makeshift kitchen they'd set up in their current place of abode to prepare breakfast.

Nothing was permanent and everything was temporarily staged because of the war. They had to keep everything they owned in a manner that could easily be packed up in preparation for flight on foot or on a bicycle at a moment's notice. It amounted to daily living out of a suitcase but they had no other choice than live this way, if not, their belongings would be lost every time they had to leave in haste because of an attack. Everyone fleeing, each time they had to run from where they lived was certainly a sight to see. Some on foot, others on bicycles, loaded up with everything they owned that was moveable. It was a miracle they weren't constantly ambushed as they fled with all of their property in tow.

Ada rummaged through the neatly stacked pile of kitchen equipment in front of her and pulled out what she needed to cook the little food they'd gathered the day before. It didn't take much effort but she managed to make the end-product tasty considering that even salt had become a scarce commodity.

Most people were now resorting to soaking dried stock fish in water whenever they could find it and using the drained salty fish water as a source of salt to season anything they cooked. Things had gotten that dire but being able to take whatever you had and create something palatable out of it was an art Ada learned well from her mother. She'd even resorted to creating her own spice mixes from whatever herbs she could find, on their daily food hunt, to use in place of salt and ensure that though the food they had wasn't much, it always smelled and tasted good enough to enjoy when eaten.

Ada finished cooking and served up her creation to her niece and God sister. They ate ferociously like they hadn't eaten in ages and would never see food again amidst telling her how good the food she prepared was. Ada acknowledged the touting of being an excellent chef from the girls but felt sorry for them. Adults could barely contain hunger for extended periods of time let alone growing children. It just didn't seem fair that innocent children should be made to suffer as well. She waited until they were full and satisfied before eating what little food they didn't finish. At least the girls were full for the moment, only God knew if they'd have anything for them to eat later that evening or even the next day. Ada tried not to think about it. Sufficient for the moment, not even the day, was the evil thereof.

Eating daily had become a luxury for most in Biafra as one of the Nigerian government's tactic to defeat Biafra in the war was to prevent food delivery into its land locked territory. They did this by restricting entry through Nigerian borders in hopes that it would force the Biafran army to surrender or have its indigenes starve to death. It worked to a certain extent because while adults could cope with prolonged periods of starvation, the children couldn't. They were certainly the most vulnerable in the situation and the food scarcity led to Biafran children dying of kwashiorkor due to malnutrition but Biafra refused to surrender. They'd rather the death of all its people than surrender to a tyrannical force like Nigeria. Biafra's freedom was worth death to all who resided within its borders.

The sight of malnourished children with extended bellies and skeleton showing through their pale yellowed skin was something Ada could never quite get used to. It just didn't seem fair that children should suffer that greatly and it was extremely hard to get the few she'd nursed as patients at the hospital along with wounded Biafran soldiers out of her mind. They couldn't help many of the children that were brought in and quite a few of them died because most were usually too far gone by the time they were admitted to the hospital and there was a limited amount of medical supplies available to help them with.

The thought of innocent children dying of hunger because of a war they had nothing to do with and didn't order brought tears to Ada's eyes each time she had to care for them and now as she washed and packed up the breakfast dishes. They were definitely the casualty here.

She tried to conceal her emotions as she mixed the hot water she'd boiled with some cold water in a bucket for her niece and God sister to bathe with. There was no need for them to see her upset and field her with questions that would give rise to silence or answers that would only upset them. She may not be able to give them a normal childhood because of the situation they were presently in but she could at least protect them from the full reality of the war.

Ada proceeded with the next task of finding a safe place to hide the girls so her Godmother could watch them without attracting attention to their location as the girls bathed and got dressed for the day. This had become a daily...