By: Kathleen Theresa
St. Augustine Catholic High School

A long time ago, war overcame a village in Tirrugi. Tsurgi, a battered and torn young boy about twelve, was looking over the fight from a distance. He knew how it felt to be in the middle of a war, since he had just crawled out of it just minutes before. Tsurgi was on a hillside near the forest far from the little village that he called home. Just then, Tsurgi heard a rustling in a bush a few paces behind him.

“Who’s there?” he whispered in a low, squeaky voice that didn’t sound like his own.

Just then his sister, Yuki jumped out of the bushes running straight toward Tsurgi.

“T-sergi!” She yelled loudly and jumped right into his arms making him wobble backwards trying to keep his balance. “Me so glad to seeeeee you T-sergi! Something very bad is happening in village. Me is sooo scared, tewll me what is happening to Momma and Poppa and Ichiro. Pwease?”

Tsurgi didn’t know what to say, he was so happy that his two-year old sister is alive. Tsurgi thought, “Maybe Mother had known the war was coming, but she had only warned Yuki because Ichiro and I were doing our survival training exams for the month. Everyone knew Mother was a Seer; in fact, she was the only one in the village. She never told anyone that the war was coming, why was that?” Tsurgi finally came to his senses and answered his confused baby sister.

“Yuki, this is a big fight between many people.” Tsurgi paused for a minute. “You have to be a strong girl even though something hurts a lot.”

Now he himself was starting to feel less confident in himself every passing second. Then, he was distracted by a shaky voice.

“I don’t know what you said means.” A tear rolled slowly down her cheek. “I want my momma!” she screeched in her high-pitched voice.

“It’s okay Yuki, do not cry. Mother wouldn’t want you to cry.”

Yuki stopped crying. “I’m tired.” She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, and then fainted on the dry grass.

Sometime in the night, it started to rain. The war continued as if there isn’t anything important going on in the rest of the world. Tsurgi was so tired, but he heaved him self up off the grass and carried his sister feverishly under the trees. He didn’t have a sundial with him, but by judging by the height of the moon and the brightness of the stars, it was around three in the morning.

Thoughts were screaming in his mind as he laid his head against some leaves.

“I hope mother and father are fine. Where am I supposed to go? How is this supposed to make my life better?”

Tsurgi struggled to fall asleep again. Memories, thoughts and feelings just couldn’t be shut out, especially when everything is changing into a crueller environment.

“Momma! Poppa! Ichiro! Look what I got!”

“Tsurgi, very good! You got an A. Come here and give your mother a big hug.”

“Way ta go, Tsurgi!”

“Tsurgi you are one smart boy to ace that test. To celebrate, we are all going down to the river tomorrow to swim.”

“Poppa…that would be wonderful. I love to swim.”

“T-sergi, T-sergi!” he heard someone calling him. It sounded familiar; it sounded much like him.

“T-SERGI!”

He suddenly awoke. His sister was staring wide-eyed at him.

“The fight is over. We go see momma now?”

“I’m not sure we should go down there. It is dangerous.”

“Pwease T-segi, I will give you no trouble.”

Tsurgi was not sure if it was safe; he wasn’t sure of anything right then.

“O.K.”

Tsurgi and Yuki walked quietly down to the destroyed village. Once they got down there, they saw the whole village dead. Black, putrid ashes were floating through the air. Dead bodies strung all over the floor, blood everywhere. Tsurgi felt something wasn’t right, but he told himself to keep on walking. He could tell Yuki was scared. She clung to him as if they were stuck together.

Finally, they got to the place where their house used to be. Yuki released her grip on his arm and let his hand dangle limp at the side of his body. Then he saw it. Yuki had run at the body lying lifeless on the floor.

“Momma! Wake up!” she cried. “Momma, wake up!”

Tsurgi walked along the side of where the house used to be. If he knew that the war was going to come, he would have got his family out of there, quickly.

“T-T-Tsurgi…” a weak voice that sounded very familiar called. It was Ichiro.

“O m-my g-gosh! Ichiro,” he stuttered and ran over towards the body.

Ichiro was very pale; he was bleeding and all bruised. He had a dagger in his left hand, which looked broken. Ichiro did not have much on. He was naked from his stomach up and his pants had holes and were badly torn. The fire had burned through his clothes. His face was the worse of all. It had bleeding scars all over, a bruised eye and a gruesome slit across his cheek. It was horrifying.

Tsurgi took his older brother’s head in his arms.

“Ichiro, please don’t die.” He whimpered. “ I have already lost both mother and father. I do not want to lose you too.” Now tears started coming. Even though boys are supposed to be tough, Tsurgi just couldn’t help it.

“T-s-u-r-g-i,” he stated slowly, “be strong.” Ichiro closed his eyes and let his body go limp.

Tsurgi sat there hunched over his brother, head in his hands, crying. He was mad at whoever had hurt his family.

“ I will,” Tsurgi whispered.

 “Ahhhhhh!” Yuki screamed.

“Oh no!” Tsurgi rushed over to his sister’s side. An arrow was pierced right through her wrist.

“ Help me T-sergi.” Yuki gulped between breaths.

He grasped his sister’s hand and pulled the arrow out. She screamed. Tsurgi ripped the sleeve of his tunic and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

“We have to get out of here!” He grabbed Yuki by the shoulders’ and started moving as fast as he could.

Tsurgi stopped a few paces from the place they were standing before. Yuki was crying.

“Yuki, you’ve got to tell me. Which way did the arrow come from?”

“Tha way.”

Yuki was pointing in the direction behind them.

“Come! We need to get out of here. Quick!”

Suddenly, another arrow came flying. Tsurgi smothered Yuki as he leapt out of the way from the soaring arrow and onto the soot and ashes.

“Ouch”

He looked into the distance. Standing in the shadows, a short, but muscular man with a bow and arrows was aiming again toward Tsurgi and his sister. Tsurgi watched him aim the bow; pull the arrow back, then let go. Tsurgi rolled violently out of the way checking quickly to see if Yuki was ok.

Before the man could do anything more, Tsurgi took a few stones and sling out from his pocket. He aimed it right at the man’s head slinging it perfectly. He was the best with the sling out of his whole class. The stone flew as accurate as he expected and hit the man right into the forehead.

“That should have knocked him unconscious.” Tsurgi thought.

He rose Yuki up onto his shoulder are stumbled out of sight.

In the next few days, Tsurgi and Yuki travelled. It was said there was a village just past the woods and Tsurgi wanted to get there. It has been two days since his older brother had passed away. His brother’s last words echoed endlessly in his head.

“ Be strong.”

“ T- Sergi, are we there yet?”

“Not yet Yuki, we will be there by tomorrow morning, I’m positive. Eat some berries. There is not much to eat around here.”

The survival training Tsurgi had learned at school was coming in handy. He is becoming more confident in his self about making it to the village. Just then, Tsurgi saw something gleaming in the sun in the distance. He could not believe it. It was his brother’s spirit. Staring wide-eyed at the image of his brother, Ichiro said, holding out a blade, “Take this. Go to the farmers, they are expecting you. They live right outside the forest. You can’t miss them. Leave Yuki behind. Assure her you will definitely come back. Go to the village just north of here and fight for our people’s lives. You are a trueborn warrior. I did not tell you before. Mother told me to keep it a secret.”

Before Tsurgi could reply, the blade dropped to the ground and Ichiro disappeared.

Three days later…

“I promise I will come back. Thank you for everything, but I have a duty to my people.”

Tsurgi set off north. No matter what, he is going to make his brother proud.

© Copyright 2008