A Citizen’s Duty
The hope of walking through the streets of Sandriver in order to forget for a moment that his town would turn into a battlefield soon turned out to be in vain. Having this moment for himself did not help him clear his mind as he had hoped. —…— Wherever he looked he found a city that was preparing to receive a stronger army than the militia formed by a couple of trained soldiers and civilians. Many days had passed in which he did not seen the nobles anywhere. Only their written down harangues lead to think that the aristocrats pretended to take arms alongside their compatriots in the lurking battle. The pamphlets hanging on almost every external wall contributed to ignite the patriotic fire to the point where different pickets were searching for families which ready to fight males did not enlist yet. Qavo, who just celebrated his seventieth birthday, stopped in front of a banner that did not talk about «resisting» but about «squashing the enemy without mercy». — Ah, «our Sandriver»… — It seems strange that our leaders say this now when they have been very keen to maintain their privileges with blood and sword in the past. It was not long before Qavo shook his head, realizing that the nobility was not able to offer a plan to fight the invader. Those pieces of paper only talked about «the patriotic spirit», «the inevitable victory» and «how Sandriver had survived every other past crisis until today». This whole History lesson is sweet and all but it will do very little to help us once the mercenaries are in our city. Qavo exchanged a look with another old man whose face was marked by wrinkles caused by desperation. That very man spoke many times about «how the elite would escape the city even before things got ugly, leaving everyone behind like nothing». This only brought him the mockery of many fellow compatriots, but something was true: the doors to the noble residences remained closed. After removing a small rock located between his right foot and the sandal of that side Qavo returned to his house where his loved ones were awaiting his return. On his way back he greeted a group of kids equipped with wooden swords expecting to receive real ones soon. This whole madness makes these children believe they are warriors. Arrogance in a situation like this will make the pain even more hurtful. With every step in the sand the old man created new clouds of dust that seemed to follow him everywhere. His clothes consisted in a tunic with brown stripes of different intensities. Right under it Qavo was wearing simple trousers which did little to help him bear the atmosphere. The heat is the same as the preceding days. This sensation is not caused by the sun. After cleaning the sweat from his forehead many times, he ceased to do so as soon as he saw his house. Opening the entrance turned out to be more difficult than he remembered. The key fit just fine, but the lock would not turn. — ¿? — The scream of «Long live Sandriver!» found an echo in a group of nearby women who applauded as soon as they watched a patrol passing by. Qavo needed almost two whole minutes in order to open the wooden separation, entering a home where the vast majority did not share his viewpoint. The young males were speculating on how «they would expose the dissected heads of the killed enemies on the walls». Meanwhile the exterior needed a much urgent renovation due to some fragments falling down from the front. The young men promised to fix this for almost a year without doing it. My young ones believe the tale. And they are going to the slaughter… His wife greeted him with a kiss on the lips which expressed her fears more eloquently than any succession of words could have. They were invisible details for the rest of them but enough for Qavo to realize that his spouse was worried sick. The old man knew that his first and only woman almost did not sleep as well as he sensed an irregular heartbeating in her. On top of that he witnessed his wife having nightmares covered in tears. That state was something she tried to hide in front of their four children and seven grandchildren at all times. The eleven of them were talking again about «their desire to cross arms» and «the battle to defend their homeland». All of you should be ashamed of yourselves, doing something like this to a woman that gave you everything. Who took care of you when you were sick, damn it!? The pain of a mother and grandmother… — Hello, my dear. I… I am not hungry today but I will sit down with you. — His offspring shared his dark skin as well as the abundant locks and a strong beard. Qavo’s hair lost his original black tone over time to turn gray and white in most recent years. The food consisted of bread and a stew with chickpeas in it. The conversation revolved around messages with the same content as the flyers allotted in town. They memorized the speeches very well. What hurts the most is that there will almost be no time for their hopes to get crushed when the enemy attacks. Every time somebody asked him about «how many enemies would fall against their family» Qavo just smiled without saying a word. The feeling that he was lying without opening his mouth made his soul cringe. There was no possibility to escape anymore since the patrols had order to detain every citizen who tried to leave. —…— During nighttime the old man waited for his wife to fall asleep. It was not long before he watched her pillow get wet with tears. She most likely knows that I am aware of this but none of us has the strength to talk about it. Qavo walked to the bedroom window in order to observe the stars. He heard from a merchant that «there were times they heeded the wishes of the creatures looking at them from the ground». That made the old man try his luck. If there is no way to prevent this tragedy, at least give us a strong enough warrior who can destroy the Ancestor and his ridiculous cult. Nevertheless the wind shut down the candles he had on the window shelf. The popular belief stated that «bad luck would bestow a home» if that happened. — Hm… — The laughter he perceived from a house nearby made him turn his head in its direction. That lazy bum Zeev and his family live there. I just hope nothing bad happens to his young brother. The father is spending a lot of money and effort to turn at least one of his sons into somebody respectable. I am sorry for you, little man. You are not at fault for the stupidity of us adults. Sleep tight, Sandriver. The nightmare will start very soon…
