Come the Rain

The general looked down the long lines of his troops in formation for battle. They looked ready for battle. He looked across at the enemy troops loosely set in an attack formation. The enemy looked like a mob more than an army. Yet their reputation for destructive violence was unequaled. Thousands of soldiers on both sides of the field faced each other preparing to wage war.

 “Why do these things happen? Why are we lined up today to kill as many of the enemy as possible” asked the general? “We were at peace till these people decided they wanted our property. Does evil people ever stop being evil?”

  A captain rode beside the general asking, “I saw you talking to yourself, sir. Does something trouble you. The troops are ready to fight and win. Shall we wait for them or attack?”

 “Let us get this over. I assume there’s no word from the envoys about peace?” Asked the general.

“No sir. If the peace process worked, we would know something by now. I believe the only thing their offers of peace accomplish is stalling till their troops are in position to fight.” replied the captain.

 “I think you’re right. They want to surprise us by dragging out the negotiations so they can attack without warning,” the general said. “Signal the troops to attack! No bugle, drums, or chanting to excite the troops. Order them to attack now! Tell them to cross the field as fast as possible and just attack!”   The captain signaled the unit commanders to attack.

The screams of thousands of soldiers carried across the winds for miles. The enemy, caught by surprise from the charging of the general’s army, scrambled to get in position. The problem was, what position? The enemy army seemed to be confused about whether to attack or defend. No one ever attacked the enemy first because their reputation for violent fighting scared most armies away. That is why the enemy leaders looked at each other in confusion as the general and his forces drew closer and closer to their lines. Their leader, realizing what was happening began screaming for his soldiers to attack. The enemy had little time before the general’s soldiers met them on the field.

The collision of the two armies became ear shattering. Weapons consisted of sword, shield, spear, and ax. Archers ranks formed to the rear. There existed no system or rules for hand-to-hand combat except survive. So much depended on luck more than skill. Men swinging their weapons with no regard to who is in front of them made the only goal is living through the battle difficult.

In the middle of the fighting, the leaders of the two armies fought their way to each other and began a fight to the death. The general fought with knowledge and skill in fighting. The leader of the enemy was leader by virtue of being undefeated in war and challenges to combat. His main strategy for a fight relied on brute force, bullying the other warrior into submission. The battle between the two commanders raged for several minutes with yelling and the sound of weapons clanging against each other. The enemy leader taunted and laughed at the general believing he was scaring the general. As the fight continued it became the focus of both armies in the battle. The intensity of their fight increased causing warriors on both sides to stop to watch the two experienced commanders fight. The two went at the task as if their life depended on it because it did. The general knew he wasn’t allowed any sign of weakness much less a mistake. He regretted that one of them must die. The general moved in calculated moves against the wildness of the enemy leader.

After several moves by the enemy leader, the general spoke out loud, “That was a mistake!”

The enemy leader replied, “The mistake was yours for coming!” Even as the words left the enemy leader’s mouth, he felt the general’s sword slice across his throat bringing inevitable death. The enemy leader clutched his throat trying to breathe as he sagged to the ground. His warriors froze in shock.

“Attack now!” the general screamed. A second time, the general’s forces caught the enemy by surprise. The enemy lost their only leader of their army. There was no one else to guide them because the enemy’s leader didn’t trust anyone else to be the leader. This lack of orders from the leader caused panic and confusion within the enemy. Having no direction, the enemy fled in fear with the general’s forces in pursuit. The general’s soldiers chased the enemy till the general’s troops were satisfied the enemy no longer posed a threat to their home.

The general stood and watched his army returning in victory from the pursuit of the enemy. He glanced down at the fallen leader, face down in the grass, dead. The general felt no joy in the enemy leader’s death or the army’s victory. The important thing was his army and the village he protected were safe. But questions that nagged at his heart and mind which he pondered earlier before the battle began returned. Again, talking out loud he asked, “Why does this have to happen? Why can’t we live in peace?” He looked around the battlefield at the many dead. “How many doctors, scientist, and artist lay here dead or dying before their time to live?” the general asked. He suddenly felt useless, dirty. He bowed his head in frustration at fighting tears that would not stop.

 His commanders stood by him, unsure what to say. The general should be celebrating instead of crying. As the general’s tears fell, he felt surprised to feel them mingling with a falling rain. Looking up into the falling rain, it began to fall heavier on him and the battlefield. He felt the rain wash the blood from his body, the dead and the ground. The general fell to a knee, giving thanks for the rain, as it cleansed the grounds of the stink of death, the useless loss of life, and the dirty feeling of taking another person’s life.