A story between East and West

The story

The Kun's family had been serving in the military for generations since the establishment of Caputor, an ancient country that had relocated from east to west for strategical purposes during thousands of years. Til this day, Kai Kun, the great General under the rule of an iron-handed monarch, in order to commemorate the vicissitudes of his homeland, named his boy twins East Kun and West Kun respectively. Their loyalty and morality as civil servants was universally acclaimed, so it was said among the populace. Especially the twins, residents here, be they aged or young, adored them for their striking good looks. East Kun, with eyes full of the sparkle of ambition, served in the troops and claimed victory in every battle against enemies with good, calm composure; while West Kun, with almond-shaped innocent eyes, startled others with a great talent in literature, especially poetry writing.

As an elder brother, East had always been protective to West, although they had totally opposite characters. When West was cuddling up in mother's arms, playing football with household servants and thinking about what to eat today, East was always trying to practice as much as possible to improve archery. At the age of 15, East Kun was asked to attend military service by Kai Kun, their father. Denice, the mother, knowing well that this was the mission of a warrior's family, had to reluctantly agree on the cruel decision after struggling on the inside, tears welling up in her eyes. Luckily, with much persuasion of his advisors and Kai's fellow officials, the monarch appreciated their family's contribution and dedication, so he granted that West could stay home and spared him military service.

There was no easy life serving in the troops. Here, every soldiers was treated equally. The fact that his father was the great General made no difference. Young as he was, East was the one with the most enormous capacity for hard work and took every training seriously.

Time flew by. The old year had passed and a new year was drawing near. East rode home on a horse from the barracks. His skin had got so tanned and his features were more of a mature man. Instead muddling along, he seized every second to practice martial arts even at home. On the day East just arrived, West came back home and found someone was exercising sword fighting in the front yard. So he stopped and watched.The swordsmanship was as sharp as a lightning, as swift as a breeze. It was so amazing! East felt the stare from behind so he turned, only to find his younger brother looking at him. West threw himself to East's arms when he finally came to his senses that this guy was his brother! East put his hands around West's waist, patted him and smoothed the crease out of his outfit, saying lovingly, "You are such a big boy now and still acts like a baby!"

During the past year, East grew up a lot and gained muscles. It's no wonder West failed to recognize his own brother.

West looked up, dumbfounded at his brother's curved lips and sharp jawline, asking with hesitancy, "Could you please stay?"

"It's no play defending our country!" East answered firmly.

Disappointedly, West lowered his head. East looked into his eyes, and said with a sigh, " I cannot stay by your side for good." Silence and cold wind in the early spring filled the yard. East said nothing no more and pulled tight West's collars. East in black while West in white, as the distance between east and west, between day and night.

Wars against the barbarian invasion in the southeastern part of Caputor began without any sign overnight. East followed their father back to the army. The battle continued for years. During this time, East got promoted from a common soldier to vice-general for his consecutive victory over those intruders at a very young age. Although he appeared to be achieving success with ease, no one knew the amount of hard work he had put into his training.

The war on the front line was getting white-hot, which was what Caputor's residents were worried about. Intellectuals used their wisdom to encourage and sooth people while soldiers risked their lives to fight against the enemies. Passages about how brave and skilled those warriors were during battles, and how they brought down invaders from horse back on battlefield spread confidence all over the country, which served as a great boost not only for people at home, but also enhanced fighters morale, finally achieving success over their enemies and forcing them back to where they came!