Family in the Fall

       The door open bringing a freezing draft inside, a dark shape hidden beneath layers of ill fitting jackets and layers ambles through. In his arms are holiday gifts. They aren’t giftwrapped nor are they aren’t even toys. It’s food. More valuable than gold.

             “I found a supply drop that landed in one of the ruins not far away, there’s a lot of good stuff I got from it.” The boy under the jackets boasts, laying out a variety of packaged items over the dirty boarded floor.

             The oldest of the small group picks up a tin, reading aloud to herself, “Beef Soup, Type One. This is a great, Koda.”

             The bustling streets and ancient urban landscape outside had all but become vacant. Everything had come into short supply, and nothing was easy to get. For many, desperation and depression had taken over, but some hold onto faith and many had found themselves humble in its austerity and even grateful for the small things. Food, shelter, companionship. It is irreplaceable when life comes to standstill.

Koda draws a small canister from his pocket, “I found a fuel canister for the stove too. Hopefully it works.”

             The youngest of them beams, “Can we make hot food for dinner? Please?”

             The girl answers as she screws the fuel container underneath the small stove, “Lets see if it works first.” As she twists the ignition switch, a small flame puffs into existence, and she grins, “For Thanksgiving, of course we will. Koda didn’t go out just to risk his neck for nothing.”

             Koda pokes the tin of soup with a knife and peels the lid and pours the contents into a dented army tin and notes, “So there has been no explosions all day. When I was walking through a trench in the street, a soldier said there was a ceasefire called for today. He said the shelling start would again tomorrow.”

             The little boy looks back at the door leading outside, “Why don’t we go outside then? Now’s the perfect time since it’s safe.”

             The girl shakes her head, “It’s too dangerous, Preston. You know the city is still dangerous. There isn’t anything outside that is good for us right now.”

             Her stern demeaner softens seeing his crestfallen face but she still knows better. She still remembers when she had seen the silver gleaming aircraft and the angry black cloud puffs that followed around them. She saw the black clusters fall from them and then the screaming whistles before the shattering roars of the explosions around her. The windows of her flat had been blew inward and most of the living room was upturned by the blasts. One bomb had crashed through the roof and landed in the kitchen of a neighbor a floor below. She was grateful though, she not only survived, but she was able to collect food, more clothing, and a family picture. Then the rumors became reality – that the enemy was just outside the city, and then the shelling began.

             She turns her attention back to the boy though, “Preston, we will find your parents when the Army makes the city safe again. It will happen any day. I had gotten a letter from my dad just the other day saying he was doing well and that they have the enemy on the ropes.”

             He purses lips and tries to make a convincing smile, “Thanks Melody. Promise?”

             “I do. Come here kiddo.”

He shuffles over and finds himself wrapped with a wool blanket next to her. Before long the thin cool air begins to smell of peppered beef and vegetable broth as the soup heats.

             Before it’s ready Melody looks at the two boys, “So, what do we say?”              

Preston answers, “We say Grace together.”

             “And what else for Thanksgiving?”

             “We hold hands together and say we are thankful for the food.”

             “Let’s do that.” Melody answers, “I will start.”

             The kids rest their hands in each other’s and Melody starts, “We are thankful for the food that has been provided for us and the risk that the pilots had taken to bring the supplies not just the Army but to the innocent people who live here. We are thankful of our friend here, Koda, who braved the outside to get the food which we are about to eat.”

She pauses, “And what are you thankful for, Preston?”

             Caught by surprise, he stammers, “I-uhm. I am… I am thankful for this food. I am thankful for finding you both when I was lost in the streets. For Koda saving me when the bombers where flying over the city… I am thankful for the Army that protects us and their sacrifice.”

             Koda picks up, “And I am thankful for the three of us here who we can all share dinner with. I am grateful that I can do something to make the lives of others better and I am thankful for your kindness Melody, when you dragged me out of the ruins. I appreciate it…”

             Melody’s mouth opens slightly with embarrassment and her green eyes flash towards him but Koda’s acts as though he was just being modest and Preston remains as if he had heard and seen nothing. His parents had often done little things like this, and he figured it is what adults do.

             “Amen” Melody concludes.

             At that, Koda opens his eyes and passes the soup to Preston, “The youngest should always eat first. That is only right.”

             The young boy eagerly brings a spoonful of the hot broth and meat to his lips, but quickly splutters, “Ack- it’s hot.”

             Koda snorts a laugh, “Well, don’t waste it. Obviously, it’s hot, take your time and blow on it.”

             The second time, he blows gently on his spoonful and drinks the soup, chewing on the beef bits and vegetables.

             Melody’s voice breaks the silence, “So you’re not from this city nor the Army, Koda?”

             “No,” he answers with an element of caution, “I am from on the southern provinces, but I support the war. I think the East is a threat and they would have done something if we hadn’t moved first. Like, what if your country didn’t invade mine? War from the East would have come to both of our countries anyways. And you said you’re from a university here?”

 “I am, I was studying urban planning. I know it sounds boring, but I never understood why our country’s roads were so poorly planned. It always bothered me, getting lost in such an illogical maze.  But that ended when the war began and instead I volunteered to help in the city hospitals.”

The hospitals where known for being a difficult and depressing place to work in. Many hundreds went through the state hospitals, and many of them didn’t survive.

“I can’t imagine it was easy.” Koda answers.

She nods as Koda passes the half empty soup tin to her, “It never got easier. Maybe the shock wore away…” her eyes wander to Preston, “but I always had hope. I wanted to do my best so that some could come back home to their family. No matter how hard it got. I couldn’t let myself fail because I would want my dad to have that same care if he got hurt.”

“That’s why I want to volunteer when I turn eighteen. I want to make my family proud and defend our country. I want you two to be safe.”

The soup does little to wash away the distance in her eyes, “You should never want to be in the military. I would like to see you live to see the end of this war.”

“Who else will defend our way of life? I can’t sit back and watch everyone else sacrifice their lives for us.”

“I didn’t say you shouldn’t.” she answers softly, “It should be anyone’s duty to defend their home, but would it make you happy to kill the man who breaks into your home? Or to fight strangers who have family too? War should make no one happy. War is why I haven’t seen my dad in two years, and he is the kindest and most loving person I have ever met. I prayed every day I would get another letter from him, and now there is no place his letters will even be delivered to. I would have been grateful just to see him once before I lost my home.”

“I have suffered too Melody.” Koda growls, “I haven’t heard from my father in months. When my home was bombed, I was drafted into a construction unit on the spot and ended up here. Then this happened. Aside from you, I have known no one in weeks. All that has happened is that I’ve gotten shot at, bombed, and every day I am hungry. What difference would it be if I had a gun or if I got killed.”

Her eyes switch between Preston and him, knowing that the boy was listen, “Can you not right now?”

Koda pauses and his anger is replaced by an apologetic look towards Preston, “I’m sorry. I don’t plan on dying.” He sighs and rests his hand on his shoulder, “I will be here as long as you need me. I won’t let you go hungry, I promise.”

He digs into his bag and draws a load of bread wrapped in cloth, “Lets eat, I am still hungry, aren’t you?”

***

In a city of ruins, countless lives are lost, and they are but few in a world where countless more are extinguished. In the end, even at the lowest points of life, unlikely strangers often become family who forge the strongest bonds. A shared dinner is often the first brick needed to start another chapter of life and survive for the next day, in times of difficulty and not.

***

Five Years Later

             A woman speaks among a couple guests, opening, “I am thankful that my best friends could be here tonight and that the war is over. What about you?”

             The young man looks across the table filled with fresh Thanksgiving food and drinks, “I am grateful we all made it through the hard times so that we could enjoy today and the future ahead of us. Because Thanksgiving had always been about knowing that hard times come before the summer, but you can survive it when you have family and friends.”