After the end

It was early in the morning when Drûkar and I reached the clearing. As our journey seemed to go on forever, we decided to draw our resources from the forest. We had packed our backpacks with the essentials. The tent and sleeping bags were buried deep within them. The soft moss at this time of year was enough for us. Bows and arrows were used more often than shoes and socks. Late spring was perfect for us.

Drûkar and I had spent a lot of time together. Since we fled six years ago, none of our kind had crossed our path, apparently they weren't looking for us.

But even paradise is not perfect. We had reached the clearing, but what we found confirmed my fears. The village had been razed to the ground. The people who were so cruelly massacred here were just spread out everywhere. An ice-cold shiver ran down my spine. The picture might not fit the idyll and yet I saw this terrible scene in front of me. I felt deep grief, because nobody deserved this suffering. Neither do the humans. I shed one tear for those who died and two for any survivors who had experienced more pain.

I caresses my rounded stomach. Fear gripped me. We lived in a torn world. War had severely decimated the population of this world. Which was even worse for my people, because we barely had children. So I was happy when I noticed the changes in my body.

But now the fear was there.

Fear for my child

Fear for Drûkar.

fear for our future.

Religious fanatics had gathered. They believed in only one God. This god should give them a new, ideal world. For this, non-believers and heathens had to be converted or exterminated.

Their armies were mighty. I suspected that this village had fallen victim to them. In my eyes, anyone who inflicts such suffering on others had nothing about them to be considered an equal and respectable being. Whatever the reason, inflicting such torment on someone is by no means well founded. Aside from the fact that war involves too many sacrifices to call it "won," it is also unkind to living beings to call this ideology worthwhile. Especially in our advanced society it is unthinkable that something like religion is used as a reason for war.

I took Drûkar's hand and pulled him away from the clearing. He said something, but I was stunned. I heard nothing, I felt nothing. My only thought was to escape.

In retrospect, that was the perfect decision. The fanatics couldn't create their utopia and so my little family was spared. Today we live in a small forest settlement with others of our kind. I am happy and so are my children.

Peace reigns and stillness now.