For A Moment

The current time has been one of long, tumultuous dread. A war has massacred man’s serenity. In a time where people once lived their days in blissfulness, people now live harboring the fear that they may not awake to see or feel the warm sunrise.

But— for just a moment— there is temporary rest. A moment to unwind and recollect.

A man is standing atop of what used to be a post office, but has now been reduced to a mound of debris. He stands alone overviewing the area, reminiscing the beauty of its original construct. Another man approaches the mound from the opposite direction.

Man1 – [Sigh]

Man2 – Hey there.

Man1 – How ya doin’?

Man2 – Good, good. You?

Man1 – Hmm, can’t really say.

The two stood side by side, staring off into the distance; gazing at all of the destruction.

Man2 – You knew this place?

Man1 – Yeah, uh, it used to be a post office.

Man2 – Ah. Was it any good?

The man puts his head down as he gives a faint chuckle.

Man1 – Heheh. Yeah, they were. I got most of my mail on time. ‘Cept for when they forgot to mail me my W2. Almost missed out on my refund.

Man2 – Huhuh, I know how that is. The post office in my town was complete shit. They lost damn near every package they had.

Man1 – Really?

Man2 – Really. I still haven’t gotten my order from over 17 years ago.

Man1 – Nah.

The two have a good laugh about their experiences with the mail. For just a moment, the air was filled with something other than lamentation.

Man2 – Oh, by the way, the name is Edur Finnet.

Man1 – Dayton Buern.

The two shake hands, properly greeting each other.

Dayton – You a soldier too?

Edur – Is it really that obvious?

Dayton – From one to another.

Edur – Huhuh. Yeah, you got me.

Edur takes a seat and gestures Dayton to follow his lead, to which he does.

Edur – Look at all this. To think the town that once stood here is now nothing but ash and rubble.

Dayton has a somber look on his face. One that gives the impressions of grief and guilt.

Dayton – Yeah. Shitshow, ain’t it? There’s hardly anythin’ left intact. S’all completely unrecognizable.

Edur – You still remember how it all looked?

Dayton – Course I do, the picture is clear in my head. Even though it’s all gone, I can still see the outline of everythin’ standin’ in place, almost like ghosts. Businesses goin’ on lunch right about now. The unnecessary traffic ‘cause of that damn light on Achar Street, never changes. The Griffin Grannies would be takin’ their afternoon jog for about three blocks.

Edur – Hold on, Griffin Grannies?

Dayton – Yeah, heheheh, a group of ladies tryna stay young.

Edur – Huhuhuh, okay.

Dayton – I can still see all of that. All of it playin’ out in real time, like I’m watchin’ ghost run around without a care in the world.

The two sit in silence processing the imagery. For just a moment, an overwhelming heat entered their bodies. A suffocating warmth.

Dayton – This is all our fault, ain’t it?

Edur – You think so?

Dayton – Can’t think otherwise. As soldiers, we the ones who gotta fight. And unlike boxers or wrestlers, we don’t get our own arena. We just fight wherever the enemy shows, and that can be anywhere.

Edur – The shops, the streets, even our own backyards.

Dayton – ‘Xactly.

A silence befell the two. They sat contemplating their actions as soldiers.

Edur – Let me ask you something. How do you feel about this war?

Dayton closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Dayton – I hate everthin’ about it.

Edur – Figured as much.

Dayton – Really, I just don’t get it. What’s the point?

Edur – Well, from what I know, it’s been going on for the past 14 years.

Dayton – For some territorial bullshit!?

Edur – That is one reason, but it’s more than that. We’re fighting a war that’s technically been going on longer than the two of us have been alive. Do you know why that is?

Dayton – Hell nah, I didn’t ask for a history lesson when I joined, I just had to.

Edur – Why?

Dayton takes a moment of silence.

Dayton – Few years ago, I was on my way home from work. That’s when I heard a loud ass explosion. But it wasn’t just one, there was another. Then another. Then another. I knew what was happenin’ from there. War.

Dayton takes a moment of silence.

Dayton – I lost a lot of good people that day. Friends, family, neighbors, colleagues. People you think are gonna be with you for a lifetime, gone, just like that. An unexpected hat trick.

Silence.

Edur – Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.

Dayton – [Sigh] All I want now— is to end this shit as soon as possible.

Silence.

Edur – Yeah, I know the feeling.

Dayton – What’s your story?

Edur – About the same as yours. I watched an enemy soldier come into my home and slaughter everyone.

Dayton – Shit.

Edur – My father was also a soldier, and he used our home as a retreat for his comrades. They knew the enemy was making their way through our town, so they hid in civilian homes as a surprise flank. It all happened so fast that they couldn’t safely evacuate everyone, so most of us were held up in those homes trying to hide. I hid underneath a bed, while the rest of my family hid in closets and bathrooms. When the enemy stepped foot into the town, we were definitely alerted. All I heard was screaming and gunshots. A symphony of warfare. I heard them piercing the walls, breaking the windows, knocking things to the ground. I felt my entire house shaking, like we were being hit with an earthquake.

Edur began to tremble.

Edur – I saw the soldiers barge in and gun down my father’s colleagues. It was horrible. My mom and sister were discovered in the bathroom, and they found my brothers in the closet. They were all taken away somewhere. I haven’t seen them since.

Edur wipes away the tears in his eyes.

Edur – I didn’t want to become a soldier, I had to. When I was found by the rescue team, they drafted me. They told me there was a chance I’d find my family, so that’s why I have to live and keep on the fight.

Silence.

Dayton – All the more reason I hate this shit. No one actually benefits.

Silence.

Edur – Do you hate your enemy?

Dayton – ‘Course I do. After all this shit, how could I not? So many lives lost, and for what? Don’t you feel the same?

Edur – I don’t know. I mean, yeah, I hate the fighting, I hate that my father had to be killed, and I miss my family. We’re part of a feud that’s been intensifying for generations. But what does this outdated feud have to do with us?

Dayton – Huh?

Edur – The way I see it, we’re being forced to fight for a cause that we don’t even know about. Most of us are just here for personal revenge. You said it yourself, you don’t even know the cause of this war. So even though my family was taken, and my father was killed, I don’t hate my enemy. Because I don’t know why I should, and they don’t either. Both sides have just been made to hate each other because our governments told us to.

Dayton – Right, I get that. It’s like fightin’ the clerk across the street just ‘cause their store’s a competitor.

Edur – Huhuh, yeah, something like that.

Dayton – [Sigh] Can’t say I disagree with ya. I’m only here to avenge the dead, like that’ll do anythin’ in the end. Only way I can actually avenge them is by killin’ the bastards that bombed my town. But I don’t even know who did it. I’m bein’ carried by blinded rage. And now that you said it aloud, I don’t know what to think.

Dayton’s head falls into his hands out of despair.

Edur – Maybe one store is just better than the other.

Dayton looks up at Edur out of confusion, and begins to laugh. They laughed for hours, telling jokes at the rate of propeller blades, all the way until dusk.

Dayton – This was fun.

Edur – Yeah, it was. I wish we could stay here forever, laughing until our lungs collapse. For just a moment, I was having a damn good time.

The two stand to their feet.

Edur – But everything comes to an end eventually.

Dayton – Hopefully this fight is one of ‘em.

Edur – I hear you on that.

Edur faces Dayton in preparation for his departure. There’s a hint of sorrow in his expression as he looks Dayton in the eyes.

Edur – Looks like this is goodbye, Dayton, my friend.

Dayton – You sure we friends under these conditions?

Edur – Huhuh. For the moment, at the very least.

Dayton – Heh. Goodbye, friend. I just hope when the battle charges, you won’t be at the end of my gun.

Edur – Hmm, may the best store win.

The two shake hands and go their separate ways.

 For just a moment, there was peace. For just one moment, enemies were able to befriend each other, to talk and laugh with one another.

But the war has yet to end.