One Unseen Thought

'the land was almost bleeding'

Foggy air obscured the bloody battlefield. Shells of long-forgotten soldiers littered the ground, corpses rotting like they were long dead. Some still spurted blood, the prominent ruby standing out of the disgusting mess of war. The land was almost bleeding, soil soaked enough to squelch as the remaining soldier trod lightly through the bodies.

Trees surrounded him, their ebony branches reaching forever upwards, yet drooping with sorrow and trauma. Scorch marks and savage slashes were in the wood, some stained with gore and weapons. Retrieving one from a large oak, he stumbled towards a clean clearing, only trees and a fence separating them, hoping with all of him that an enemy wouldn't round the corner and slay him.

A stretch of field extended before him, light and flowery. The grass shimmered, as rich green as emerald. Fluffy bushes thrived near the winding river, rustling in the soft breeze. Dewy grass crumpled under the soldier's heavy footsteps as he dropped the weapon in astonishment and relief.

Beyond the meadow, a rustic town lay, adjacent to a rushing river and mountains that scraped the clouds. The low, wooden houses with round windows looked like they had faces, blank eyes staring into the cobalt abyss of the evening sky. The small, blocky houses were connected by a single dirt path that weaved around the residences of foreign people. He sat down, noticing animals roaming free the weirdly beautiful breeds of combined mammals and reptiles odd to his eyes, making them obvious in the light of the dying sun. Bathed in golden-orange light, the minuscule village painted a perfect picture.

Suddenly, snakes emerged from the flowers, slithering over each other and coiling into a pile of hissing serpents. A green and gilded snake trailed behind, menacing fangs baring as it slinked past him. The heap shivered, twisting and sliding over one another till they fell still. The flowers they had emerged from began to shrivel up, the beautiful blues, pinks, and reds fading to hideous brown. The buzzing of the whispering snakes continued, captivating him.

As the sky darkened, warm lights flickered on in every household, the soldier never noticing. More lights appeared, until they finally caught his attention, bathing the village in a warm glow. Animals began returning to barns, yet the snakes still lay dormant.

Stars glittered when the sun finally ducked out of sight, barely illuminating the field. The soldier could have sat there for minutes or hours, but either way, it was a much nicer sight than what waited for him in the forest.