All the Glimmering Stars

The next day, Anthony goes back to the hospital. He asks Joyce about Betty, and she tells him that Betty is hardworking and smart. Anthony asks Joyce to speak to her for him, and she agrees.

Even after Joyce tells Florence how good a soldier Anthony is, Florence is still hesitant. However, Anthony comes to the compound three straight days asking to marry Betty, so she finally relents.

Kony decides to hold a reception for all the newly married widows. The event is somber, since they aren’t allowed to drink, dance, or celebrate. In addition, tension persists among the commanders as the battle at Jebel Lem continues. Some have discussed trying to get Kony to surrender.

After the reception, Anthony is told that he’ll have a 10-day honeymoon in a cabin that Kony designated for him. Anthony tells Florence that they won’t have sex until she’s ready. He promises that, after the war, they’ll have a real wedding and reception.

Over the next few days, Anthony and Florence get to know each other. They tell each other stories from their past lives at home, while slowly beginning to trust each other enough to share their true feelings about the LRA. They both admit their hate for Kony, while promising to trust each other to keep their secrets.

Florence has been gone for 18 months. Twice a day, her mother tries to envision Florence walking back up the path to their village, having survived the LRA. She then prays for the vision to come true.

In Rwotobilo, Anthony’s father, mother, and grandfather, John, are among the last people in the village. Most moved to more populated areas or designated zones for displaced Ugandans. The three have dinner together as they plan to finally move within the next few days.

After dinner, John returns to his hut. George stays with his wife and talks until they hear a yell in the distance. George goes to John’s hut and finds an LRA soldier standing over him. George runs back to his wife, only to find that she’s facing another soldier. She angrily demands that the soldier tell him what they did with her son, Anthony, but he responds by hitting her in the head with her gun. She collapses, and the soldier takes George and ties him up, leading him into the forest.

George walks with the two soldiers, and they take paths that George has walked his entire life. He waits until they come to a steep incline and then manages to throw rocks into the one soldier’s face. He runs into the forest as the men try to shoot him.

Eventually, George doubles back and returns to the village. He finds his wife on the ground, struggling for consciousness. He starts toward the nearby hospital with her.

The LRA loses the battle at Jebel Lem. The Arabs begin to doubt Kony, so they withhold supplies. When Kony leaves to negotiate with them, he leaves Anthony behind, giving him more time with Florence. They begin to hear rumors that people are openly doubting Kony’s magical ability for the first time.

One morning, Florence discovers that she’s pregnant. She and Anthony have mixed feelings; they’re excited for a child yet know it will make escape more difficult. On May 2, Florence gives birth to a boy, naming him Kenneth.

That evening, Patrick comes to their home. He tells Anthony that their scouts have spotted the Dinka preparing for battle. All the LRA soldiers, including Anthony, will be going to Rubangatek.

Anthony spends the next few months training rigorously. He learns to fight one-handed with an axe. At Christmas, Kony allows Anthony to travel back with him to their wives.

Anthony is shocked when he sees how much Kenneth has grown in the last six months. Florence explains that he doesn’t crawl yet, so Anthony tries to help him do so. With both of his parents urging him on, Kenneth crawls for the first time. They have Christmas dinner together while singing old Christmas songs.

The next morning, Kony informs his men that they’ll move toward the Imatong Mountains. There are rumors that the Arabs will pull their support and work with Museveni to hunt the LRA, so he plans to flee.

Anthony, Florence, and Kenneth move with Kony’s inner circle to Bin Rwot, a remote area to the southeast. Anthony builds a new home for their family. He begins getting time off as Kony’s signal caller when Kony starts using a second radioman. For two weeks, he and Florence are happy together in their new home.

Anthony is then assigned to work with Tabuley again, as Kony flees further into the Imatong Mountains. Over the next several months, Anthony is in battle daily, fighting with the LRA against both the Ugandan and Sudanese governments. They’re somewhat successful, holding their ground. However, Anthony is shot in the thigh and sent to a field hospital in August.

In mid-January, Kony comes out of the mountains. He tells his gathered soldiers that more than 100,000 soldiers are gathering at the Sudanese border to attack them. After consulting with Driscer, Kony decides to attack them first with the 500 men he gathered.

The LRA soldiers are surprised at how many Ugandan soldiers join the battle. The fighting lasts for much of the day, both sides using heavy artillery. Although the LRA soldiers take control of the Sudanese base, they lose 150 of their 500 men. Anthony learns that his superior has died, so Kony promotes him to Commander of Signalers. He then tells Anthony that he plans to return to Uganda to attack there.

For days, Kony and his men travel toward Uganda. Other battalions join them, increasing their number to more than 1,000. At the border, they try for days to find a way through but find it heavily guarded each time.

Anthony spends most of his time with Florence. She confesses to him that she’s pregnant again. He insists that, once they’re back in Uganda, they can flee together.

Eventually, Patrick finds an area of the fence that is unguarded. The LRA slips through, traveling 10 kilometers into Uganda before stopping to camp. Kony grows paranoid because of the constant helicopters and Ugandan patrols. He finally admits that he’s struggling to feed the large group and that they’re unsafe with him. He allows women who have two or more children to leave.

Anthony is devastated when he learns that Florence won’t be freed. He begs Kony to allow her to go. However, Kony angrily dismisses Anthony. He insists that Anthony is too valuable—and knows too much—to give him the opportunity to run with Florence.

For months, Florence flees with the families and a handful of LRA soldiers, relentlessly hunted by the Ugandan Army. Eventually, they come to the Ayugi River. The commanders contemplate their options and decide that they must cross. They rig a rope across the river, which is more than 100 meters wide.

As Florence waits for her turn, she feels her contractions start. She ignores them, using all her energy to hold onto Kenneth as they cross the river. It begins to storm, just as shooting breaks out behind her on the bank. She ignores bullets flying past her and makes it across, nearly losing her grip multiple times. A younger boy helps her onto the shore. Exhausted, Florence sleeps.

She wakes a while later to more gunfire. The LRA soldiers on her bank, as well as the opposite bank, shoot relentlessly at Ugandan soldiers. Florence has contractions and leans against a tree.

In the dark, Florence feels her contractions worsen and realizes that she’s giving birth. As the battle around her rages on, she’s entirely focused on delivering her baby. She’s relieved to discover that her baby boy is alive and seems healthy. Rain falls as she cuts his umbilical cord. She falls asleep against the tree with the baby in her arms and Kenneth beside her.

Florence wakes early in the morning to more gunfire. The young boy who helped her the night before stops and comments on the new child. He suggests that she name him “Boniface,” which means “someone who does good things” (314). It’s also the boy’s name. Before Florence can answer, he’s killed by enemy bullets.

As Florence takes Kenneth and the baby into a ditch, bullets fly past in both directions. She’s initially paralyzed by fear, but it’s then replaced by both rage at the fighting and love for her children. She grabs Boniface’s AK-47 and shoots back at the enemy, killing a machine gunner. She then puts Kenneth in her pack, straps the baby to her chest, and flees.

Florence heads toward a hill so that she can get her bearings. At the bottom, she runs into Ellen and three LRA soldiers, one of whom is her commander, Lakwall. She decides to remain calm and join them but to continue to plot her escape.

Meanwhile, Anthony finishes a third round of peace talks over the radio. Kony continues to refuse to surrender. As he goes to put away the radio, he hears from the signaler who is with Lakwall and Florence that he has a new son named Boniface.

For the next few weeks, Kony continues to fight. He raids refugee camps and captures more children. The Ugandan government—which has gathered most of its citizens in camps—orders the army to shoot anyone they see in northern Uganda. Despite Kony’s insistence that they’ll win, and the fact that he still has 15,000 child soldiers, Anthony knows that his numbers are depleting quickly.

Anthony and the other soldiers are told to return north to the Sudanese border. They intercept Lakwall’s battalion, and Anthony reunites with Florence, Kenneth, and his new son. They discover that Jasper is among them, though he now has a disability and walks with a crutch.

Their reunion is interrupted by gunshot from Ugandan helicopters overhead. The three flee into the forest, but Jasper falls behind because of his disability. Florence and Anthony run deep into the trees.

When they stop to get their bearings, Florence confesses to Anthony that she wants to run. She tells him about the soldier Boniface, who was only 13 years old. She insists that if they stay, their children won’t live to be 13. Anthony agrees but fears retaliation from Kony if he runs. He promises to find someone to help her escape and vows to join her eventually.

Jasper is sent to a hospital, so Anthony insists that Florence accompany him to help the wounded. He promises her to make his way back to her.

Anthony, Kony, and the others march for more than two weeks. They make it back into the Sudan and by the third week of December are only a few days from the base where Kony’s wives are. However, a wildfire rages before them. For days they try to get around it, but the fire continually grows and changes because of the shifting wind and lack of rain.

One wife who is with Kony, Evelyn, cooks dinner for him. However, he doesn’t want to eat. Instead, he insists that he’s going to see Fatima for Christmas. Anthony follows him.

When Anthony and Kony reach the camp in Rubangatek, the fire is blazing all around. The huts of Kony’s wives have burned, and three wives—including Fatima—and nine children have died. Kony is despondent. He tells Anthony to go back to Florence and then walks toward the compound.

Unsure what to do, Anthony finds Patrick and Vincent (Kony’s second-in-command). Vincent agrees to talk to Kony and asks Patrick and Anthony to remove all guns from Kony’s compound so that he can’t hurt himself.

The next morning, Vincent asks Anthony to help keep Kony calm, insisting that Kony trusts and respects Anthony.

When Kony sees Anthony, he asks for his pistol. However, Anthony lies that it’s being fixed. He tells Kony that he must sleep before the funeral for his wives and children. Unfocused and distant, Kony goes into his hut.

Throughout the funeral, Kony is distant. When they bury Fatima and his favorite son, Kony, he sobs openly. He then blesses both of their graves with shea butter. He again asks Anthony for a pistol, insisting that he doesn’t “deserve” to live.

Anthony considers giving Kony a pistol. However, he knows that he would be defying Vincent, who would be in charge once Kony dies. He realizes that he can’t leave Florence and his children. Instead, he compassionately tells Kony that he can’t let him act when he’s in such distress. Kony relents, admitting that he’s just suffering and isn’t sure how to handle it.

As Anthony looks at Kony, he remembers Mabior. He knows that Kony is likely hearing the voices of Lack and Violence, fighting for control of his thoughts. However, instead of helping Kony, he ignores him, realizing that he feels “cold indifference” toward Kony after everything he has done.

After two months, in late February, Kony decides to return to Uganda. They travel back to the hospital encampment so that Kony can meet with Florence’s commander. In mid-March, they arrive at the hospital.

In a field near the hospital, Florence hoes cabbage. She sees a truck driving nearby. It hits a pothole and then backfires, scaring Kenneth, who is playing nearby. A woman with a wife scarf around her face gets out and goes to Kenneth. As Florence gets near, she realizes that it is Kony in disguise. Kony picks up Kenneth and soothes him.

As Florence watches, she sees “joy and grief and anger” (346) flashing across Kony’s face. She becomes afraid, wondering if Kony will take her child. Instead, he puts him down and asks Florence if he can use her hoe. As she leaves, she sees Kony savagely destroying the cabbage with it.

In April 2003, Kony orders his men to go to the Agoro mountains. They join with General Tabuley’s forces as Kony plans another attack.

At the rendezvous point, Anthony reunites with Patrick and Albert. Patrick tells him that a young girl just arrived from his village. Anthony goes to find her. She tells him she lived near the school in Rwotobilo. She knew his father and mother. She says they reunited at Christmas four years ago. However, the LRA attacked one night, and a man with a scar hit his mother over the head. She lived for two years before succumbing to her injuries.

Anthony feels anger and sorrow. He realizes that Bacia killed his mother. However, before he can grieve, Ugandan Army air and land forces attack.

The battle rages for two days, and dozens of LRA soldiers are killed. On the second morning, Kony announces that he’s retreating further into the mountains. Enraged by Kony’s cowardice, Anthony seeks out Patrick and Albert. When he explains that he needs help getting his family out—as they’re being held as his punishment—they promise to do what they can.