The timeline

tears

Hearing Lyson going into war, Demark thought of his family in Lyson. They were still living on the outskirts of the city. There would be harm. On hearing about the war, Demark himself invited his relatives to stay in the village with them. However, the relatives were attached to the house which they had recently built on the outskirts. Leaving such a house would mean leaving years of honest hard work, and years of good memories behind.

And Demark also realised another thing. All the villages under Lyson were in grave danger. His relatives probably would be even safer in Lyson than in the home village of Demark. He had heard that Silva wanted fertile lands. And his village certainly had fertile lands.

Rain was pouring down in Lyson and the insects could see in the holes taking refuge from the water. At this moment Demark was contemplating the thickness of each raindrop and how it reaches its terminal velocity. About how asteroids travel across space. After all, Demark was a curious child. And like a cat, the cat because of its curiosity would be able to learn about its surroundings and environment, or sometimes fall victim to its excessive risk-taking behaviour to find and discover.

Sometimes playing safe was important.

And sacrifices were sometimes inevitable too. Lyson had its mysteries and a very strong army. Demark would ponder why Silva even bothered to waste their valuable soldiers in the war as Lyson was prepared as if it was preparing for this very moment.

There were times when the denizens spoke out. They would say that spending money on the military and military research was a waste of money as they didn't suffer from wars. But the government, which was elected, paid no heed to these complaints. The government knew that the day would come.

Some people in Lyson even though the government had schemed the war, to show that the decisions made by the elected majority political party were a right one, that faith in the party was right indeed.

A war that could shatter families and communities. That which would test loyalties and choices of individuals. Lyson had maintained its steady trust in the people's years made over decades. And seeing everyone choosing to stand by, and seeing many people choosing to become a soldier bought tears to those who knew history was going to repeat itself.

The history of a war between Lyson and the country of the South. Where blood, an essential part of the body, spread out on the battlefield like a lake and tears of the citizens flowed for their kith and kin, and their fellow countrymates. Tears that flowed like rivers.

Something that civilization inevitably brings along with itself. Having wealth was both a boon and a curse. And what was wealth without those bonds in which gifts made them stronger? How does someone express an understanding?

Knowing we all have a place on earth. Even the smallest organisms such as the bacteria which cause tetanus survive under extremely harsh conditions, sometimes years without food and when they get the food and appropriate conditions, they propagate.

Harsh conditions. Like the ones that human beings faced from both small animals and large alike. Rhinoceros and tigers are a threat to human beings. Mice and fleas caused the plague. Mosquitos causing malaria. Infection in areas where there were wounds. Maggots in areas they infest.

Loss, sad but strong.
For those who go on.

Life indeed would carry on. Like stem cells giving rise to two stem cells while dividing or giving rise to one stem cell. Life would continue until the telomerase of the cell would shorten.

But seeing life exist does explain that all living organisms' ancestors were living and also flourishing and they have replicated to create their progeny. We see their progeny in the rainforests and deserts. We see their progeny in the vast grasslands and cities. We just have to look around us. And we see the world is booming with life. And we stand there to witness it. The range of colors shines upon our eyes and we feel alive sharing this space with other organisms and also realizing that we need to share, the feeling of abundance but tragic scarcity that comes with the increasing demand for those organisms.

Lyson was facing a real challenge for the first time in the last hundred years. Though they had prepared for different possible circumstances, Silva was a formidable opponent. Furthermore, they had been kept in an unsuitable situation.

Life was quite a challenge. People in the city were uncertain and afraid of losing their life earnings. Many had migrated to the bunkers. And also, many had migrated to the east by sea after selling their property at cheap prices. Those who bought the property had hoped that the war would not occur or occur for a very short time. And they would sell it at high prices after.

For the first time in years, there was panic in the place. Sanctions for steel and rare earth metals had already started. Both Silva and Lyson in the past month had boosted their weapons and airforce.

Both places if anything went wrong had nuclear weapons ensuring mutually assured destruction to take place. People walking on the sidewalks or people on the metro, no one would be safe unless they were underground. But then who could live underground forever?

Those who would be a widow or an orphan, and those old people who would have their children participate in the war. The feeling of deep loss. Co-workers and people with whom they grew up together all vanished at the site.

Tears which cleanse the eye, heart and mind seemed inevitable.