Illusion of Valor

Extreme sun rays came piercing through the atmosphere and kissed the ground. The clouds went running in panic and the sky was clear but, the irony was that no God could see what was happening in the world of humanity. As the temperature raises, Jermy could see his Popsicle melting on the road through the keyhole of the door. He held his hand on the door knob thinking whether or not to open the door and get his Popsicle lying waste on the road. He took his hand away from the knob and continued looking through the keyhole.

"What are you doing there Jermy?" Jeremy's mom Nelvita screams in anxiety. She comes running at him.

"I was just looking" Jermy answers in a sad tone.

"And I've told you not to, right? " Nelvita gets down on her knees to looking in Jermy's eyes.

"I know. I dropped my Popsicle out when dad pulled me in" Jermy says in a dissapointed tone.

"Don't worry about it. I'll buy you two of those next week" Nelvita tries to please him smilingly.

Jermy's eyes lifted with the smile on his cheeks. He nods and smiles at his mom.

Nelvita gets up and moves just a bit of the window curtain. She does it just enough for her eyes to peak out. She sees the road full of military tanks and soliders marching under the red hot sun with his vicious heat resembling Satan himself. She pulls the curtain back and carries Jermy on her waist and goes inside. She leaves Jermy in a room and assists Tyler, Jermy's brother to keep him busy. Nelvita locks the room from outside. She walks towards the hall and sees her husband Colin sitting on the couch oiling his old rifle.

"Why the hell did you take this out?"

Nelvita asked Colin with an angry tone. 

"This might come handy in times like these" Colin answered looking at his old rifle. 

"Colin, I don't want the kids to see this."

Nelvita tries to convince.

"You think I do? It's inevitable. Look around you. I almost had Jermy and myself shot today" Colin said with a raised tone. 

"I saw him looking at his lost popsicle trough the keyhole. These situations of fear, it's not good for kids. I don't wanna raise them terrified..." As Nelvita was speaking Colin interrupts her. 

"So what do you suggest? Leave this place? You think they're gonna let us? For them we're no more worth than a few bullets. You know that."

Nelvita grabs his hand "It's just that it's not healthy for our kids. We are responsible for their future."

Colin calms down. "I know. I've thought about that. We'll get out of here once the situation gets better." Nelvita drops Colin's hand, gets up and walks towards the curtained window.

"When would the situation get better?" Nelvita asks. 

Colin shooks his head down. He knows he can't answer that question.

Nelvita doesn't look back. She touches the curtain and moves her hand around it gently.

"I don't think anyone would remember old Disica. A nation of unity, respect and integrity. The history, the anthem, the tales of valor. For what? A simple riot turned the whole Disica upside down. I never thought we were a state of mayhem."

Colin raises his head and says.

"We were always fallen. The riots just cleared the mist and showed us what the person in front of us is really doing.

Rightists were never here to administer the country. They always wanted to keep themselves in the power. The found out the best way to do that is to make others fall."

Nelvita turns back at Colin and says.

"So you think what leftists did was right?" Nelvita mocks Colin. "They killed thousands of people like us to keep the violence alive. They are the real reason why Disica is in the situation it is today. No matter who won the election. The people were always loving each other. Now we have nothing."

Colin looks at Nelvita annoyed.

"The one who are making laws right now are the same people who murdered and raped people to get there. They decided to split the nation with its differences like race and religion, and for hell's wish the people acted like the puppets. They are the real reason why a neighbor shoos his neighbor just because he's black and by the way, there's no point in supporting the leftists. There's none of them left. Most of them got killed. Government named the rest of them terrorists."

At this point both Nelvita and Colin gets mad on each other. They hear Tyler calling them loudly from the room. They both run in panic and opens the room door. 

"What's wrong Tyler?" Nelvita asks.

Tyler points at Jermy lying upside own on the bed without showing his face.

"Did you hurt him? " Colin asks Tyler in a serious tone.

"No, he's just upset about a popsicle or something. He played with me for a minute and then started crying for all of a sudden." Tyler explains.

Nelvita goes and sits on the bed beside Jermy and tries to condole him.

Colin looks at Nelvita for a moment and gets out of the room.

Nelvita convinces Jermy and puts him asleep. She comes out of the room.

She sees Colin sitting at the same couch again with the rifle in his hand.

"I've told him that you'll be buying him two of those next week when the shop re-opens." Nelvita says while clearing Te dishes on the table.

"There were a lot of groceries to buy this week because I forgot a few last week. the curfew was about to restart and I started panicking. The sirens went on five minutes early this week. I took Jermy's hand and started running back home. He might have dropped his popsicle while running. While running I saw soldiers marching towards the road. 

I was almost out of breath when I reached home." Colin sighs in anguish. He shooks his head down in frustration.

Nelvita understands how frustrated Colin is. "It's okay. We're safe."

"No we're not." Colin screens out. "Everytime I hear these tanks running on the road I feel frightened for my kids, for you. "

Nelvita says with wide eyes. " Calm down Colin. The kids are sleeping. No matter how sorry we feel like, there's no way we can fix any of these issues. The nation is going through riots. We get two hours off from the curfew every week. That's how it is now. Let's stop being emotional and get the hell out of this place once we can." 

Colin stas silent. Nelvita looks at Colin. He seems agreed. She takes the plates and goes to the sink. She dumps Te dishes in the sink and opens the tap. 

"Looks like water ran out." Nelvita says in an exhausted tone.

"Are you serious?" Colin gets up and goes nears sink. " What the hell? It's not even thursday yet. "

 Nelvita gets annoyed and says "And you're asking me? "

She wipes her hand in a towel. "C'mon, let's get some sleep. We'll figure it out tomorrow". 

Colin says nothing. He walks into the bedroom and leans over the bed. He keeps staring at the photo frame on the wall. Nelvita enters the room. She notices Colin staring at the photo frame.

"Why do you always stare at it like that?" Nelvita asks Colin.

Colin looks at Nelvita

"That's the photo of my grandfather. The photo was taken in front of the fighter plane he rode during the second world war".

"Well, what about it?" Nelvita sits beside Colin and asks. 

"Nothing. I often thought how heroic he felt when he sacrificed his life while serving his nation. My dad always mentioned him as a selfless man. Everything he did, today I wonder whether he would be proud to see this" says Colin.

Nelvita holds his hand and says "Don't think like that. He did what he was supposed to do. It's not his failure that Disica is facing consequences of today, it's ours".

Colin rises up his head.

"Is it though?, or is it the failure of those who are killing their own countryman under an illusion of patriotism?"

Nelvita leans her head on the pillow. 

"I want to sleep Colin". She says angrily.

Colin sighs and goes o sleep.

The whole city is silent. All you can hear is bunch of walkie-talkies conversating with Te soldiers. To the people, sleep was an illusion. Throughout the night they could see the light of watchtower lamping their windows for inspection. Days we're absolute nightmares. People were executed by the soldiers in the broad daylightin front of the people setting an example not to talk against the order. The nights were worse. There were rumors about a group of leftists who used to raid people's houses for shelter and other essential requirements.

Disica was once a beautiful country but now it was nothing but a grave yard. Democracy fell and Disica went under dictatorship. Those who opposed were titled as national criminals and we're given permit to be executed on sight. Every right of the citizens were taken away. There was no education, market, telecommunications, nothing. Disica went invisible in the map soon enough. The beautiful past of Disica was erased in every book known to man by the authorities. People who tried to escape were caught and persecuted. 

The riots followed. Group of individuals including some leftists started violent acts against government and it's properties. They were left with no option for peace. The government announced curfew on its state and order it's citizens to oblige it until the situation is taken under control. The people were given two hours of time one a week to buy their requirements in the local store. It said that any kind of failure in following the curfew will be resulted by a strict concequence. The people were terrified but more likely, they were turned into animals. Everyone forgot humanity and started minding their own business. Now nobody cared if their neighbor gets executed in public. Even though they knew it was wrong they remained silent. 

Nelvita wakes up. She notices Colin is not in the bed. She gets up and walks out of the room. She sees Colin washing dishes. 

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"The water was supplied this morning. I filled up the tank and decided to do dishes while you were asleep". Colin finishes and wipes his hand with the towel.

Tyler comes running through his room and hugs Nelvita. This is their daily morning routine. 

" Aww.. where's your brother? Is everything still upset?" Nelvita asks.

"He wasn't in the room mom" Tyler answers.

Nelvita gets confused. 

"What?, but he never wakes up this early." She looks at Colin. Colin starts walking towards room to check out.

Suddenly they all hear a gun shot outside their house. They all look at each other terrified. Nelvita starts running towards the door crying.