Cries Of War

prolouge

Home is where the heart is. My home is Irene. A green village located near the Serena river. It is a beautiful village.. in fact the most beautiful one. I am shakeer, a small boy in this lovely village. I love this place. The sweet mangoes that ripe in the mango trees, the fresh milk the cows give us, the refreshing waterfalls are the highlights of this village. "Shakeer!" I hear someone calling. I turn to see that it is my mom. She is the most beautiful woman in this village. Her skin is as white as milk, her lips are as red as roses and her eyes are a short version of the galaxy. I run towards her as she opens her arms wide to hug me. I hug her tightly. She kisses me with her rose red lips. "Mom!" I say. "I am a big boy! I am 6 years old" I tell her. She hugs me again and she whispers something in my ear. "You will always be my baby" she tells me. I hug her even more tightly. This is why I believe she is the most beautiful woman on earth. She is so warm and welcoming just like the camp fires during the night. Her deep blue eyes look at me and she tells me to go home. "I have mangoes for you" she tells me. I jump around in joy. Eating a mango is the best thing a six year old boy will like. I nod my head and I thank her. I try to run but she grabs my hand. "I have another surprise for you my boy" she tells me. I jump around with even more joy. I hug her and run home, eager to see what surprise awaited me. On my way I see ravi. He waves me a hello. "Hi ravi!!" I shout back at him. He comes to me. "Where are you going buddy" he asks me. "My mom has kept some mangoes for me! She has also another surprise!" I tell him eagerly. He gasps with joy and greets my hand. " you are so lucky my friend, he tells me. " come with me ravi!" I tell him. He smiles. "But how that's your surprise" he tells me hesitantly. "Are we different? You know elders say that friends are the same suul with two bodies" I tell him. "Thats soul not suul" he tells me. I put my hand on his shoulder and he does the same. "We are going to mango land buddy!" I tell him. "Yes suulmate, we will enjoy!" He tells me and mocks me at the same time. I frown at him and try to make myself look angry. He smiles mischeviously at me. I try to stare more at him but my effort goes in vain. I smile and he smiles back. We keep talking about mangoes and ravi tells me about how he accidentally broke his neighbours hand while playing Gilli danda. I keep laughing while ravi narrates how that man got angry and started chasing him. "Is he alright" I ask him still not over laughing. "Yeah! Otherwise I won't be hear now" he tells me with a smile. "Shakeer!" My grandma shouts. I wave her a hi. My friends millu, meera, ammerr and hari who were playing ball till now came running toward me and ravi. "Where are you going" they all ask together in chorus. "He is going to eat mango" says ravi. I nod my head with pride. " and I also have a surprise at home" I tell them. They all clap. "Come lets go" i tell them. I run towards my home and I see my mom is already there. " ready to eat mangoes?" She asks me. "Yes Maya aunty" my friends reply. My mom looks at me. "So you brought your friends to" she asks me. I nod with a big smile. "You only told me that only when you share something, you really feel it's happiness. I thought if I would share my mangoes with my friends I could eat them withdrew happiness!" I tell her. She smiled and strokes my hair. "Can I also get a share?" Asks a deep voice from within the room. "Appu!!" I shout. So this was my surprise. He comes from the dark room. His green eyes look deep into mine and his pink lips go wide into a beautiful smile. I run to hug him. "I missed you!" I tell him. "Me to" he tells me. From a distance I can hear my friends clapping and whistling. My mom cuts the mangoes and gives each one of us one. We eat with the pulp dripping from our mouth and hands. No one could ever resist the taste of our village. Everyone becomes a child while eating these mangoes. I could see it. Even my dad was eating like us. This is why I love my village. It's not just the mangoes but also this love and affection.