[L] To Me, The One Who Love You

1

Blood. It stained the ground beneath my feet. It turned the village's small stream red.

Corpses. Everywhere you look, there are familiar faces with twisted expressions covered in red.

The fence that surrounded the village had already collapsed. The air was thick with the stench of blood, and half of the village had been reduced to scorched earth.

When I found my father's body, his hand was still clenched tightly around a carrying pole, one used for fetching water home.

He clenched it so tightly that even with all of my strength, fourteen-year-old me couldn't get it out. I had no choice but to bury the carrying pole alongside my father, mother, and brother.

And my mom?

I found her body on a path near the village. She was tightly hugging my twin brother, but they were speared together.

The first time I heard the sound of a weapon moving against flesh was when I used all of my strength to pull the spear from the bodies of my brother and mother...

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"Ahh!"

I sprang up from the wooden bed, gasping for air.

The sound of snoring was all around me. Only Jackson, who slept closest to me, was woken up by my gasp.

He rubbed his eyes blearily, then he said, "You had a nightmare again?" He mumbled something as he went back to sleep, as if this was nothing new.

Still catching my breath, I clutched my sweat-soaked clothes of coarse cloth, one that I hardly ever took off.

It had been two years since my family was killed by the Huns, but I would still have dreams of that day from time to time.

It was utterly clear and realistic. I relived it again and again, but despite waking up in cold sweat every time, I would never hate this unyielding nightmare.

On the contrary, I hoped for it whenever night fell, because it was the only place I could see my family again.

I let out a heavy breath, then got up from the shared hardwood bed.

I walked out from the military tent, one occupied by a total of fifteen people.

"Who's there!?" A guard spotted me the instant I walked out from the tent.

It was presently war time; everyone was tense. No one could afford to be careless.

"Reporting! Infantry soldier from YG camp third unit, Liam Manoban!" I reported my unit in a practiced manner.

The patrolling soldier before me let out a breath.

Gripping a halberd and a shield, he checked my name plate carefully, then he turned and left.

I looked up. A full moon in the empty night sky. Its ghostly white moonlight enveloped the entire military camp.