Tuesday, XXXX
Remember, how in our childhood, we heard tales of battles and warriors of yore? They leaped so high, and dived so deep, and hit so hard, no enemy stood before them for long. Those, we were told, are heroes. And then, when we were made to join, we were told we would be heroes. Hell, they say that on every poster and banner. How can they? To give all these youths hungry for glory such fake ideas! I tell you, as soon as you are shifted from the front lines, all you do is walk, and when you are actually at the front lines, well, you spend most of your life sitting in a damp, dark foxhole with nothing but your smelly comrades and their pokey rifle heads for company, while you have a New Year's firework show above your head.
I swear, I did not mean to go off on a tangent, but look at us, walking for miles through this wet, soggy earth, plodding after one another, barely getting to eat and drink. Army rations are terrible! They make me truly appreciate what Ma made for us. I would rather have boiled and salted potatoes and the brownest rice from the market, with all its stones, than spend another day chewing beans. This dark, cold tar they call coffee feels like the sludge from a gutter not cleaned for months on end.
But truly, all my complaints are not baseless. The people in my unit are famished, and Unni looks like death warmed over. I fear he will keel over and die should he take one step more. The arrogant peacock! He will not let anyone help him walk!
I wish our Lieutenant would let us stop. But again, they have this very true saying about wishes, beggars, and horses. Do not mind my handwriting, it is difficult to keep one's t's and s's straight while walking. I am, however, sure it is a skill I will master very soon, especially if we were to walk this much every day. After all, everyone needs a companion for their promenade stroll, don't they?
Sincerely yours,
The Soldier.
YOU ARE READING
At War
Romance"Revenge by young men is considered victory, but old men who stay at home in times of war, and mothers who have sons to lose know better." -Chief Seattle This is an anti- war epistolary novella written for ONC 2022. Prompts 5 and...
