One chance to fix the past

Walking down the broken stone roads, I tripped.
Scraping my fragile knee against others' misfortunes.
Desperately, I saw the blinding lights of the future.
Blinding millions, turning oblivious.
Rapidly I get up, limping towards the road of hope.
Desperately, I look for a clearing.
I push through the woman holding their crying babies.
I heard a loud crash, then I looked back.
I see the ashy skies, then I looked down and saw her.
The one I came for.
The naive 9-year-old girl.
Indecisive I am whether to turn back or keep going.
A thought later, I was squeezing her shoulder, pushing through the crowd.
The ashy sky made her cry.
I dried her tears with my cloth.
Reassuring her that she would see her mother again, little did she know that was a white lie.
Thinking and thinking we climbed aboard a boat.
The musky water brushing against our arms.
I stop, look back wondering about the past.
Remembering why I'm here, I look forward once again.