"I want... peace."
I observed the woman as she stared at me, her trembling slowly subsiding into a bewildered stillness. My simple answer seemed to have disarmed her more than any threat or grand promise could have.
"Peace...?" she repeated, the word fragile on her lips.
I gave a single nod. "The kind of peace where women and children don't have to huddle in fear. Where men like your husband don't have to turn to banditry to feed their families." I kept my voice low and even, a calm contrast to the chaos she had just endured. "The kind where you can sleep through the night without listening for footsteps outside your tent."
I watched as the rigid line of her shoulders relaxed a fraction. The wild, panicked fear in her eyes was receding, replaced by a weary, cautious understanding. It was working.
