Warm Hands

I was in the middle of a war. 

A war started by two petty kings.

I was one of the many soldiers who was drafted forcefully. Our company just got annihilated because of a suicide attack from an enemy General.

A General well-known for his self-attained noble status and war merits he got at a young age.

We were supposed to win this battle easily as the other party was on a bitter path of defeat and was bound to lose the war itself.

All our strategists, generals, and even the King himself believed that the morale was low and the town was on the verge of collapse.

But this one general made it so that we lost the battle. Even if we win the war now, we lost in that town and that would be nothing but a stain on that victory.

I was really looking forward to this battle being over and returning home. That’s what we were told. Anyone who participates in the subjugation of this town would be eligible for an early return. That’s why, I tried to get into this company deliberately.

I knew the battle was bound to be easy.

I am… or was just sixteen years old after all. I had no taste for this battlefield nor the merits that come with it.

I had a long future ahead of me. And I wasn’t prepared to dedicate any more of it to this mindless war. So, I joined this company

Not just me, my whole company is full of youngsters like me, and all of them are dead in the hands of that one enemy general.

Currently, that enemy general is sitting in front of me.

I knew when I died. I could feel my breath and soul leaving my body as if water is leaking out of a cracked pot. I could feel it as I closed my eyes and breathed my last. All I saw was darkness.

Then I came to myself in the carriage I am currently sitting in, with a ticket in my hands.

‘Ticket to Anywhere.’ It said.

And behind it is a message.

“You can go anywhere and to any time of your life. You can revisit your past and do something. Maybe something you regret not doing in your life. This is one last chance to resolve one of your regrets before your soul vanishes into nothingness. Think carefully as you have only one chance. Decide and tear that ticket. The carriage will take you there.”