Fresh Dung
"I'm glad to see you all here, it has been a dream come true for you and for the country. Looking back at the earlier days when I first joined the military, it is like a dream come true, and now as a commander I'm glad to impart my knowledge and patriotism to you and hopefully pass the baton to one of you who excels."
While the commander droned on, Saka was thinking of how to escape. He and most of the young men standing in line had been conscripted and they had no choice — it had been the army or on the spot execution. The war had been going badly for some time now, people had been dying in the name of patriotism yet no one wanted to say the truth that the war was meaningless and stupid. He was brought back to reality when the commander's voice boomed, "As a patriotic citizen, you can stand in front of a bullet to save your leader." Saka shuddered, believing he hadn't heard him well. He whispered to the guy beside him, "Bro, is he serious?"
"Which part?" the guy asked him.
"About taking a bullet for our leader?"
"Sure, he is serious."
"Not me," Saka whispered. "I'm too young to die, besides I'm not the cause of the conflict — the damn stupid leader is."
"Sssh," the guy hushed him. "If they hear you say that, they would kill you."
"But it is the truth," Saka said stubbornly.
"So?" the guy asked him.
"They are fighting because of a kid. Imagine that."
"Yeah, our leader's daughter was impregnated by his sworn enemy's son, and people are dying while the two kids are enjoying their love in another country."
"There, you have said it," Saka said. "No one wants to say it as it is. I'm not going to die."
"Me too," the guy said. "What is your name?"
"Saka. And yours?"
"Rhoda."
Their talk was cut short by the commander as he walked near them. "You are all fresh dung," he said, looking at them with beady eyes. He was fat, with eyes as small as a rat's. Even shouting had made him tired and you could see him wheezing, his stomach large and pushing at his belt. "You're all fresh dung," he repeated. "You need to be hardened, and what better place than under my command. ARE YOU PATRIOTIC!" he exclaimed. And the young men shouted, "WE ARE PATRIOTIC."
The commander shook his head with a frown. "I don't hear you well," he said, pointing at the side where Saka and his new friend Rhoda were standing. "ARE YOU PATRIOTIC!" he boomed, spittle flying at the recruit in front of him, who instinctively took a step back.
"WE ARE PATRIOTIC!" they exclaimed, and as the voices were dying down, Saka muttered, "Not me though."
---
Two Friends, Two Countries
Elyan Reed is the president of the HalfLand Country, a country that has sun all day and never has night — which gave them the name HalfLand. Finding a solution so he could have night had been a constant thorn in his side. He had been told it was possible by his friend Randy Hall, now president of the Complete Country.
Randy and Elyan used to be very close friends — one could even mistake them for brothers. Randy lived in a country that had only one hour of daylight, and his country shared a border with Elyan's before they each became rulers. This border had a complete full day and night. Deep in the jungle of the border lived an oracle, and the two young men were exploring one day when they stumbled upon his hut. The Oracle had received them with open hands, telling them he had foreseen them stumbling upon his hut and that he had a solution to their countries' problems. They had eagerly agreed to work on the solution with him, and when he told them what to do, the two friends sat back shocked.
"What do you mean?" Elyan had asked, watching the Oracle.
"I mean what I said," the Oracle replied.
"But killing our sisters — like me killing Elyan's sister and Elyan killing my sister — that is not a solution," Randy said, shaking his head.
"This is a solution that needs a life. As the sun and the night are part of life, offering a soul to anchor them together will be the only solution to the problem both your countries are facing," the Oracle replied.
"And what will you gain?" Elyan asked him. "You can't just give a solution without getting paid for it."
"Oh, I will get my reward," the Oracle said. "It will be no border to you."
"Sorry, I can never kill Laura — not for anything. She is like a sister to me. No way am I doing that," Elyan said.
"Yeah," Randy said, not looking up. He was thinking about Elyan's sister Sonia, and how he was going to get his hands on her. "Sure, I can never do that to Sonia. Likewise, she is like a sister to me."
---
The Oracle's Payment
That was how they left. When Randy had become the leader of his country, he had secretly kidnapped Sonia and used her soul to anchor the night and day in his country. When Elyan found out, he vowed to kill Randy.
Elyan had vowed with his blood that he would kill Randy with his own hands, and when Randy's son had secretly impregnated Elyan's daughter, Elyan could take it no more — and so the war started, with casualties recorded on both sides.
What the Oracle had refused to tell them was that the lives of those who would die in their war was the payment he would be taking. He needed the souls of many people to break the veil to the underworld, where there was a ring of power that he required in order to have dominion over the world and live an immortal life.
And so the two presidents recruited young men, and when no one wanted to join the army anymore, they started conscripting them — refusing meant execution on the spot. That was how Saka found himself being dragged to the army that fateful morning.
---
Not Again
"Commander!" A young man called out, interrupting the commander. The commander was red-faced, the veins bulging on his neck as he struggled to breathe. He got angry from the interruption and advanced on the young man. "You don't speak to me unless I have spoken to you, and you start with a sir and end with a sir," he said, punching the young man in the stomach.
The young man never flinched or doubled over. He took it with indifference, which irritated the commander, and he punched him again — but it had no effect on the young man.
"Who are you?" the commander asked.
"I was wondering how you became a commander, sir. You couldn't even hold your own breathing." At this there was a general burst of laughter, and the commander's face got even redder. His small eyes narrowed and Saka could see murder written in them. He took a step back — because at that moment, the commander brought out a gun and started shooting everyone, and as he put it to Saka's head, that was when he woke up and screamed. It was a dream.
He was sweating and panting when his doorbell rang. He staggered to the door and yanked it open, then muttered, "Oh no."
Standing there was the commander, flanked by other junior officers with guns cocked and pointing at him. "You were laughing at me," the commander said, turning to the officers. "Fire."
Just before the bullet hit him, he woke up again and shouted, "Not again." When the doorbell rang this time, he refused to answer it and just sat there, wondering if he was still dreaming or awake.
If you enjoy this, read Kim And Mao
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