By the third day of our wandering, we weren’t doing too well. One of the young boys and I were struggling to walk. My lungs felt hot and scratched as they moved against my ribs. The boy had a limp and a lemon sized lump on the side of his head.

But worst of all was Grandpa, he’d taken the fall from the train badly, and didn’t have youth to aid his recovery. He’d bled from his nose and mouth four times, and moaned in his wheelchair as we moved. We had no pain relief, no access to a hospital, and didn’t dare go too close to the railway line.

At around midday on the third day, we sat around eating slices of pumpkin we’d cooked over a fire and apples the kids and Aya had scavenged from a tree beside the railway line. Above us, thick concrete storm clouds crashed together and rain began to fall.

The drops were fat, fast, and increased in number rapidly.

At first, the cool water was welcoming. We could clean wounds properly and it numbed our bruises. But the torrent grew and grew until it was like standing under a fire hose.

With a flash of yellow, Ayamin pulled out our jacket and the two of us sheltered under it as we walked. Grandma and Mahdi’s wife held a tarpaulin over Grandpa as he was wheeled along.

We passed through a waist-high stream that five minutes earlier would’ve been a trickle and when we reached the fields our feet began to sink into the mud.

We passed through a cow paddock, all the cows were cowering under two large trees and I thought about how much I’d like to do the same.

‘We need shelter,’ I shouted to the group. A moment later I slipped and landed hard on my chest. I felt my ribs bend and I let out a scream of pain. The rain was deafening as it beat against the earth.

Ayamin eased her hands around my back. Trying to help as I squirmed to my feet. With a solid heave that left me breathless, I was standing. Ayamin’s face came right up close to mine. Her hair was dripping and her eyes were dripping and her nose brushed mine.

‘I was looking at that barn up ahead.’ she shouted over the rain.

‘Yeah. Barn good,’ I shouted back.

We took two steps towards it, then I looked back, the rest of the family was with us apart from Grandma and Mahdi who were struggling to wheel and lift Grandpa through the mud.

Grandpa was moaning again, and his face had gone white with the pain of it. I felt something building in my chest. It felt like rage.

I handed our jacket to Ayamin, ‘I’m just going to help wheel him over,’ I said and began marching towards the old man.

My ribs gave little white-hot stabs of pain as I moved, but I think that only added to my rage. I reached the old man, yelled at Mahdi to pick up his side and together we lifted Grandpa off the ground.

The pain was out of this world. But the adrenaline it brought on was like a shot of morphine.

‘Let’s go’ I yelled at Mahdi and set off at a run.

My ribs hurt – they hurt like someone was twisting a screwdriver into them. But I just yelled all the harder. Ayamin watched me as I passed her, a big grin on her beautiful rain-streaked face.

‘Go Danny, Go!’ she yelled.

Grandpa was screaming, delirious with pain. But he had this wild grimace on his face. He could feel the same madness that had taken a hold of me.

‘Go you animals! Run boys!’

Lightning flashed; thunder struck. I screamed into the rain all the swear words I’d ever learnt and when I ran out I just screamed like a wild lion. Everything was on fire and I could taste blood on my tongue.

We reached the barn – it had a gate in front but I made Mahdi jump over then half-threw Grandpa to him.

I stood in the rain panting with this wild smile on my face for about two seconds before my knees gave way and I was kneeling like a praying believer in the mud. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs didn’t seem to work.

Then I felt a hand on my back, a painful glance told me it was Grandma, ‘That is good anger of yours boy,’ she said.

Ayamin fell to her knees beside me. She was kissing me, all over my face. Over and over, the rain dripped down her hair.

‘That was impressive,’ she whispered.

I kissed her again and put my arms around her back, ‘I think I got a little carried away.’

She laughed.

There were droplets of water on her face and I kissed them slowly. The two of us climbed over the gate and into the haybarn. It was musty-dry inside but the hay smelt good and we all stripped out of our wet clothes.

As I moved my shoulder to take my t-shirt off my ribs screamed out in pain and I dropped my arm.

‘Oh man,’ I said, ‘I’m starting to think the last five minutes were a bad idea.’

Ayamin laughed, and put her hands on my arm, ‘You have the same look my Dad did, when he got angry there was nothing in this world that could stop him.’

She inched my arm upwards, ‘Tell me when it hurts.’

I waited until the pain was getting close to unbearable. I liked the feel of her hands on my arm.

‘There. It hurts there.’

She sucked in air between her teeth and winced, ‘It looks like you finished what those guards started.’

Inch by inch Ayamin helped me ease my shirt off. I grinned at Mahdi who was receiving the same treatment from his wife.

‘You’d make a good nurse,’ I said as Ayamin tied my shirt into a sling.

‘I hope you’re not just saying that because I took your shirt off.’

‘Well…’ I grinned, ‘No seriously, back in Turkey with the poppies for your grandmother and the other patients – you care.’

She tried to hide it but I could tell she was pleased, her hand dropped to my waist, ‘Okay greaser, do you need nurse Ayamin to help you with the rest of your clothes?’

I raised an eyebrow, ‘I mean, if you’re offering…’

Next to me, Grandpa chuckled, ‘This man is an opportunist,’ Grandma started laughing and soon we all were, even the kids who didn’t quite understand – they didn’t care, it was laughter and we were safe and it felt good.