War

Little do I know that my life would end up this way. It was during the World War II when I was
drafted into the army. A man with a match stick like figure like me was taken into the military due to
my language skills. Confrontation with the whole world calls up for my expertise in Russian and
German in the battlefield to deal with the extraction of information from the numerous prisoners of
war. Thinking back about it, it was really a stupid a decision for me to join the army for I was really in
most part of my life, a pacifist. But the roaring nationalism spirits that was blew into our ears through
the radio made my lose my mind and earn me a place among the 21
st
Brigadier Squad under the
leadership of Major Sephiroth.
There is more joy and smiles to be found in a graveyard than to be amongst the 21
st
Brigadier
Squad. There were 10 of us and we were constantly thrown in the frontline of battles. The first week I
spent with this company was nothing short than a surprise. Not a day goes by without avoiding a
shower of bullets and grenades and clinging on to dear life from being separated from this humble
body. It was then I really learn the fact that life is indeed fleeting and temporary. Though I thread
every skirmish with fear and worry my comrades ploughed through the battlefield with a smile
carved on their face. Every kill they score would bring such joy to these emotionless soldiers. I
resented them, I felt like there is no more trace of humanity left in them especially Major Sephiroth.
He seemed to enjoy the whole massacre like a sport and would never hesitate to take another life
away.
“What’s the matter Big Brain? Cat got your tongue?” Clark seems to enjoy calling me that
nickname. The grin on his face annoyed me but I was hardly in any position to demand respect
especially when they have been keeping me alive all these while.
“No nothing… I’m just thinking how nice it is for all of you to enjoy a war so much without
thinking about your family at home”
There was a sudden silence that loomed and the air went still. In my 1 month of experience
on the battlefield I’ve never felt this threatened before. The whole squad was throwing daggers of
look to me and even without saying a word I felt cornered.
“So that is what you think of us huh, Big Brain?”
“With all due respect sir, that was just my opinion. You seem to genuinely enjoy all these
bloodshed Major.”
To my surprised, everyone then suddenly burst out a deafening laughter. It just doesn’t make
any sense, at one moment they were all scary and now they are all laughing at me. Perplexed by the
laughter I left the room in distress.
On the next morning we were assigned to extract an important informer who was stuck in
Berlin. It was an awkward morning, everyone looked so drained away. I told myself that they must
have had too much drink last night and brushed the thought away. We used a local truck to infiltrate
inside Berlin. Unfortunately lady luck was not on our side that day as a random Nazi checkpoint was
established at the road towards our destination. With our cover blown, we had to fight back. When
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the Major threw a rifle to me I had a premonition that this will be the end of me. Normally the whole
squad is composed enough during any encounter with the enemy but this time it was different. There
was no more a look of joy on their faces. It was a side of them that I had never known.
The fight for survival at the North German Plains was a real definition of hell on Earth. The
deafening sound of bullets and mortars filled my ear and numb my hearing. Clark managed to get us
away from the checkpoint but we were not without a loss. James, Ethan, Mark and Donovan was killed
inside the truck with numerous bullets going through their head. The inside of the truck was no more
than a pool of blood and the stench of it made my stomach twist and turn at the same time.
“Hey Big Brain..”
As the voice recalled my sanity back to Earth, I looked towards the major who called me. He
was sweating profusely but still he was wearing that emotionless face that he always had.
“Get the letters… from their body….”
“What letter? I don’t follow you sir…”
Sephiroth reached the inside of his uniform and revealed a blood stained letter. No word was
uttered but I took the letter from him in total agreement of the importance of the letter. Slowly I
waded through the bodies in the truck in search of letters inside their uniform. As I was done with the
assignment, Clark told me that he is going to drop me at the extraction point. I was confused at first
as to why am I being sent there but he said that I will understand.
I will not forget the soft smile on Clark’s face when I was taken away by a chopper at the
helipad. It was a smile with tenderness and hope and these two words were the last word in the
dictionary if I were to ever describe the 21
st
Brigadier. As I contemplate my fate, I take a look at the
letters and discovered the addresses were already written on it. Some of it was smeared by blood but
I could make out the words written.
“Those are farewell letters, Rookie. You’re in charge of delivering them now.” The man with
the name tag “Alex” explained to me.
It took me weeks to getting around delivering the letters. As I reached my final destination,
my eyes widened. I double checked the address and it turned out to be correct and I was not
dreaming. Major Sephiroth’s letter was addressed to an orphanage. I expected his letters to be sent
to his mother or wife just like the rest of the team but this was beyond my imagination. As I
approached the entrance, a woman in her mid-20s caught a glimpse of me and smiled. Her eyes
wandered about my uniform and once she was done she slowly walked towards me.
“Its Sephiroth isn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am. He died an honourable death Ma’am! I’ve never seen a man as fearless as he!”
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Just when I was about to hand her the letter, rain started to fall. The girl however was fixed to
the ground reading the letter. Her eyes were definitely wandering off to a distant land. The
loneliness reflected inside the iris sucked every senses out me. I believe that the rain was still falling
but I couldn’t tell anymore
“Honourable death you say? What is the use of “honour” when you are “dead”?”
I stood there motionless, not knowing what to say. Realizing my predicament the girl placed
her hand on my chest.
“Good sir, honour doesn’t feed children nor does it make the world run.”
Suddenly the door of the orphanage flung opened and a group of kids ran towards my
direction. The girl was still oblivious towards the rain that has soaked her dress but she was quick to
realize that the children were worried of her.
“Daddy Seph won’t be coming home anymore, he has to work overseas for a very long time.”
“Awww! I wanted to show him my drawings!”
“Hush~!”
The scene that I saw that day will ever be engraved in my mind. I have no idea about their
background at all and I assumed that all of them were nothing but bloodthirsty mercenaries. The look
of joy on the children’s faces when they talked of the major and the hollow smile of the girl in front
of me was that final blow that struck my mind of how guilty I am of placing such shallow judgment on
all of them. As I took my leave, the girl was just standing there watching me go under the shower of
the pouring rain and my heart shattered.
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