How Dare the Sun Rise

The book returns to the scene from the first chapter, where Burundi rebels were shooting at the refugee camp and Sandra had a gun pointed at her head. She was sure she would die; instead, the gunman kicked her to the ground and chased someone else.

Sandra rose and ran. She got to a nearby farm and hid behind a tree. A woman saw her there and asked, in Sandra’s language, where her parents were. Sandra told the woman she feared that her mother was dead. The woman took Sandra’s hand and led her through the darkness. Sandra saw her uncle Ezekiel and told him what had happened. He assured Sandra that he saw Rachel and, though she was shot, she was not dead.

Ezekiel, Sandra, and the stranger searched the field for Rachel. They tapped women on the shoulder; each one turned, looked at Sandra “with vacant eyes,” and declared, “I’m not her” (63). Sandra began to wonder if Ezekiel may have imagined seeing her mother. Just then, like a mirage, Rachel appeared. She was standing alone, wrapped in a sheet. When she saw Sandra, she studied her daughter’s face before they hugged each other hard.

Sandra saw that her mother was bleeding from a hole in her side and “shivering in pain” (63).