First They Killed My Father

After their time in the displaced people’s camp, the remaining family members decide to leave for Bat Deng. Meng and Khouy collect supplies for their trip. This journey away from Pursat City makes Loung think about their first journey four years ago when they left their home. She thinks about how weak she was, crying and whining to her father, and how much more hardhearted she is now.

Their first night on the road, the siblings spend the evening in an abandoned hut along with another family with a sick husband and a young baby. Loung recognizes the struggle this small family will face and gives the mother some rice as a gesture of kindness. After several days and many blisters, Loung finally sees her Uncle Leang, who meets them on the road with sweet rice cakes. After they reach their home, Loung’s aunt gives her clean clothes in a beautiful sky blue color. Then Loung watches her aunt do laundry, a sight that she had not seen in a long time. The family then tells their story as the uncle comments that their mother only needed “two more months, just two more months, and she would have made it” (213).