The Journal Of Resilience

Otto held his precious journal against his chest with trembling arms, his thumbs wrapped tightly around its straps. His beard had grown considerably long and scraggly, and his body was bruised and stick thin. Despite the brokenness of his frame, his eyes still burned as bright as ever. He had not lost hope; his fate had shown that he was destined to be free.

Now, the college student saw his parents; they stood outside the prison. Though Otto felt relief, he also felt loss - they looked much older than when he had last seen them. These were his final realizations before he began to faint, sinking towards the ground.

***

When Otto started his journey through North Korea in 2016, he was fascinated by the history and the culture he found there. Like a sponge, he took in everything he could. He was a tourist and a historical guru, and he felt optimistic about his life and future. What he didn’t know was that fate would play a cruel joke on him. 

On the third day of the trip, Otto walked languidly through the museum hallways alongside the rest of the people in his tourist group, pouring over the artifacts of the Korean war, reading placards and taking notes. He tried to soak up all the things he saw by recording them in his journal. He was particularly interested in the weaponry that adorned the walls: the rifles, bombs, machine guns and more. It was hours before he finally made the long trek by foot through the city of Pyongyang to his hotel.

What he found outside the doors of his hotel would forever change him: two local cops stood there. The moment they saw him, they cuffed him. 

“Don’t move! You are arrested!” Their anger and hatred towards him manifested itself in spit and they covered Otto with it. Then, he was escorted from the hotel to the police department, his journal taken into custody alongside him. For the days that followed, it would provide solace and a space to record the journey he was now on.

Diary entry 1:

I have been accused of stealing propaganda from my hotel and have been sentenced to prison by court for 15 years. It is so dark in this cell. I can hear voices of people in pain. 

Diary entry 2:

I was tortured today, subjected to building the wall for the expansion of the prison. This is different from the TV shows I see on Netflix, and it hurts. I regret coming to North Korea.

Diary Entry 3:

I am done for. I will try my best to survive today, but it seems so unlikely.

Diary Entry 23:

I don't know how long has passed since I was thrown into this misery. It might be a month; it might be half a year. Without a window through which to track the movements of the sun, I am starting to feel hopeless, but I will try my best to stay optimistic.

Diary Entry 46:

How long is left? This journal is my only hope.

***

In a quiet room full of white, Otto woke up to the sound of medical apparatus beeping. It was sunny outside; the birds chirped and the flowers had blossomed. He found his journal on the desk next to him; it had been lying there, like him, since the day he arrived. This was his only friend that knew the truth of his torment.

As Otto grabbed for the journal, suddenly, he heard the door open. The creak it made was quiet, but in a room where the sound of needles dropping on the floor could be heard, the sound rang like a gong. It was his parents. They were so happy to see their son awake, hugging and celebrating his recovery. Otto’s mother cried out loud and said, “Son, I am so glad to see you wake up and recover from the sufferings you bore.” 

Though Otto’s tongue would not function as it had before, he was all too aware of the damage the torture had caused him. He couldn't really speak his truth - but he could share it from the journal. His hands, shaking, passed the tender book to his mother whose eyes trembled. She pushed it back towards him gently and said, “You should keep it yourself. Your father and I have already read it.”

And together the family wept, beginning a long, hard process to recovery. 

Months later, when Otto fully recovered from the injuries, he was invited to talk about his journey to North Korea around the world. Soon, he became the symbol of resilience and hope, and the journal that Otto clutched in front of his heart transformed into an irreplaceable object that would provide comfort, strength, and unwavering belief.