The Webs We Weave

Prologue

Her green eyes were sad as she turned back towards them. They stared as she walked off towards the coach along with all of the others. A little girl in a sunflower dress started crying and ran towards the green eyed woman. An older girl grabbed the sunflower dress and held the little girl close, suppressing the waterfall she could feel welling up inside of her.

The green eyed woman's gaze stayed fixed on the two girls as she boarded the coach, a man with kind brown eyes put his arms around her and whispered into her hair; a fresh wave of sadness overcame the woman. She took her place on the coach with the man glued to her side and her gaze never faltered from the girls. She blew at kiss at them and forced herself to smile at them; the older girl smiled, fighting against her emotions as much as she could.

The sun shone, British flags waved, the little girl howled until she could cry no more - reaching out to the coach as it crept away; then it all faded. Sand, dead shrubs and crumbling old buildings replaced it. Afghan flags waved in the wind, anti-war murals were plastered on the buildings, and old cars were smashed and burning.

The woman and her team walked past the buildings and cars towards their convoy, her green eyes shone in the light. They walked in a solemn sadness, the woman's mind three thousand miles away and her male companions too emotionally exhausted to talk. The man with the kind eyes glanced in the woman's direction and shot her a knowing smile. In one quick motion, the car exploded throwing glass, nuts, bolts and pieces of dust and building into the air. When the dust and rubbish settled, the woman and her team were visible. The woman’s red hair stained with blood, her face dashed with dirt and dust, her green eyes had the usual hint of sadness: lying in a bed of rubble. All that they knew vanished into thin air, like a ghost, and the legacy they left behind was nothing more than memories tainted by grief.