[WP] You sit down one night as your wife brings you your tea. On your first forkful, you think "This is cold." You look up and she is gone. The table is covered in dust, the house is in ruins, and the sky is filled with ash.
The war was raging between the kingdoms of Selenia and Askait, nowhere was safe and there was nowhere to hide. We, the survivors from the small town of Afron, did everything we could to survive. We remained in hiding, disguised ourselves. We didn’t have anywhere to go. Whatever word we got of an evacuation village or a group of refugees like us in a nearby town were all nothing to look forward to after we had found the first few in ruins. Whatever settlement we passed through, we barely found anybody there, only corpses.
As the months passed by, we were slowly losing hope of the war ever ending. Our group had thought that we would continue living off whatever scraps we could find in the remains of the wreckage we passed but after a year of the war, things had finally died down and for a moment there was peace.
The very last settlement my group of refugees managed to arrive at, had been our very last stop and the place we were welcomed to rebuild our lives in.
That settlement was the furthest from the center of the chaos and luckily the soldiers never reached that far else, there would have been nothing for us and we would have had to continue until we crossed the borders of another country when half of the people under my care could barely manage anymore. The war had reduced my people by half of our original numbers since we fled our village for safety.
It was vexing having to see the people who had been part of my life disappear one by one before my eyes and I honestly hoped that by staying in that settlement, I wouldn’t have to witness such a thing again. But I was still young, a man still in his 26th year of existence and I was convinced with how the two kingdoms were on bad terms that this peace in the settlement wouldn’t last long yet I still hoped. I truly hoped we could be allowed peace.
Us, all of the people from the village tried to learn their ways and thankfully they were all very patient with teaching us. We also offered to teach our ways that were more efficient and they were welcomed with open arms. By a few week’s time, we had built a comraderie and our settlement thrived.
Soon enough, we had managed to open up trades and exchanges with the few developing settlements near our own. It was a lot of work transporting with just carriages and the uneven paths but we somehow managed each time. I had become one of the settlement’s representatives. It was amazing to have witnessed the growth of our area until it became known as an unnamed town. The lands expanded and we managed to have more citizens. It took almost 5 years for the town to reach the success it has now. And in all those years, there was a woman that stood by my side.
Her name was Annalise, she was one of the daughters of the merchant we often traded with in the next town and although it often took me days at a time, sometimes weeks, before I could see her again, she waited for me each and every time. And each time I would give her the adventure of a lifetime in the forests that separated our areas. Her family also grew very fond of me and countless times, I proved to be a man that would be able to provide for their daughter so our wedding was held in the forest. It was a strange request from us, yes, but we wanted it to symbolize the union of our two towns.
She was the most beautiful I had seen on that day and I could still remember the very first night we were allowed to share a bed. I knew I made the right choice when I asked for her hand.
The days that followed were nothing but sheer bliss. Each day, I was greeted with her radiant smile and a cup of warm tea I could drink as she prepared for our meal. Then after having eaten, she would company me on the trades where she took note of every account even without asking. She was a woman of grace and intelligence and I could not ask for more.
It was heartbreaking when the nearby kingdom of Askait had come to our small unnamed town, however. We all had hoped the last war would be the last but it was unfortunate that it wasn’t. Askait had declared a new war and they needed more soldiers. They gathered all able men and took them to fight on the frontlines. Our town was no exception and I had to separate with my beloved wife and town for months.
We were sent from town to town. At first, it was just to help the wounded soldiers while we were being trained but eventually we had to stain our hands. We had to fight for all of this to end. As pointless as it was, we all just wanted to go home. That was when I heard the news of our town being attacked by Selenia because it was near the borders of Askait and they had suspected our town of being a hideout for its wounded but that was far from the case.
With that knowledge in mind, I fled the battlefront and made my way back to town as quickly as my stead could take me. It still took days and when I arrived, I fell to my knees. The town was in ashes. None remained. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I had remained glued to my spot for who knows how long. When I finally had the mind to stand, I walked. I forced myself to. And dragged my feet to our home. I was hoping she would still be there, waiting for me as she promised.
When I arrived, I hadn’t even realized it was already night. I opened the door, sat myself on the wooden table where we would have our meals. I just felt empty and I just stared blankly at our home. I watched as she took a step away from the stove with a teacup in hand, and placed it in front of me. I took a sip and I first thought of how cold it was. She never serves me cold tea. I saw her radiant smile once more and leaned into her touch as she caressed my cheek and soothe the tears away.
I had thought it was all real but when I reached up to touch her hand, she vanished and I was greeted with dust on the table and a large hole where it was once their kitchen. The house was in shambles as the cold evening wind blew and caressed my skin, I could see the ashes of what used to be our home.
I heaved a deep sigh and I dragged my feet once more to the bed we shared, there I saw her body. Her neck had been slit yet she was as beautiful as he could remember. I had no wish to live his life without everything I had worked so hard for. My life had no meaning anymore even if I returned to the battlefronts so I took my sword in hand and pointed it to myself. I gave myself a clean slit on the neck and what little energy I could muster, I took her in his arms and held her till my last dying breath.
Kind of short because I swear- work won't give me a break 😤😤😤😤😤😤 had to type this I was waiting for the updates and they wanted me to be online so I can work on it ASAP but it has been 45 minutes and still nothing
Bakit naman ganon 😭😭, bigla ko lang naalala ang attack on titan kasi puro sila war, sa mga titan nga at kawawa naman ung mga naiiwan nila kada sasabak sila sa laban. Bakittttttt 😭, mapanakit ka 😭. Sana sa sunod ung happy ending ulit oi.