While I Was Sleeping

When I went to the dining area for breakfast, Brother Jerry—a future priest (not his real name)—asked me if I had heard the explosions the night before. His question caught me off guard.

There were five of us in the house that night: two priests, two brothers (who were waiting to be ordained), and me. Yet, out of all of us, I was the only one who hadn’t heard a thing. I was completely unaware.

I had gone to bed early, around 8 p.m., following my usual routine. At midnight, I briefly woke up for what I call my ‘midnight-leak ritual,’ then promptly returned to sleep. By 6 a.m., I was up and ready to start the day, oblivious to the chaos that had unfolded while I slept.

The only thing I had noticed the previous day was the presence of several helicopters hovering above us from the afternoon until dinner time. But I had expected them. There was an ongoing military operation in the nearby mountains against the kidnappers of Red Cross volunteers. It was a tense situation, but I had no idea the town would soon be caught in the crossfire.

At around 10 p.m., the town was attacked. Mortars were fired at a nearby military camp, but some of them veered off course and landed in residential areas, striking a house where people were inside. When I learned where the mortars had been launched from and where they had landed, I realized with chilling clarity that those deadly projectiles had flown right above us as we slept.

Some frightened residents sought refuge at a nearby school for the night, but by morning, they cautiously returned to their homes. Schools in certain areas suspended classes as a precaution.

Later, when I arrived at the town hall, I was met with more grim news. One of the employees had been killed. Not only that, but the attackers had set fire to the government vehicle he had been driving. The gravity of the situation began to sink in. While I had been sound asleep, a night of terror had unfolded just outside my door.

Reflecting on it now, it amazes me how unaware I was. It’s a strange, almost surreal feeling to know that while I was peacefully resting, others were experiencing one of the most terrifying nights of their lives. It was a sobering reminder of how quickly life can change, how danger can come unannounced, and how, sometimes, ignorance is not just bliss—it’s a shield from the fear that others had no choice but to endure.