What Once Was

As I stand here, in the land that once was my home, I swear to not shed a tear. I feel shattered inside to see this wasteland. The total disrespect of nature and human life. The atrocities that have overcome this land have made it unrecognizable. It's swimming in the invader's filth.

Smoke billows from small piles of black ash, rising to the heavens, rising to get away. Nothing living comes here anymore. Even the smoke can't wait to get away. The ashes fly away, dancing in the wind, scattering out over the ocean.

As I look out at the hard, brown ground, I remember a past time when it was lush and green. A time when everything was going to be okay, and the outside world didn't matter. I take a step closer to the ash that was once my home. It seemed a whole world away.

I walked on top of the ash, and it burned my bare feet. I hoped that it would scar. So I could never forget this. Never forget my revenge. The only thing left in what would once be the living room was a grotesquely twisted and melted piece of glass. It had once been a beautiful bowl.

I found a mostly-burnt picture, of my mother, in the ash that would have been her bedroom. I slipped it into my pocket, and left the ash behind, never looking back. On my way out of the destroyed city, I found no other living person. I had to assume the worst. That they were all gone. I said a silent prayer for them.

Even though it was early in the day, the sun was choked out of the sky by the intoxicating smoke. At the city gates, I saw the dead guards. One of them had a sword out of his chest. I pulled it out to examine it.

It was from the north, some city I had only heard of before. Jeni. I silently swore to run this sword through the heart of the leader of Jeni. The one who ordered my home destroyed. I gripped the sword so tightly small beads of blood fell down the hilt.

Revenge.