I Was Only 19 ... Will I See 20?

• Sybilla Hooke, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

SNAP! They all flinched as an unlucky soldier trod on a hidden branch underneath the wet reeds. Tentatively, they all marched forward to their doom. Quick as lightning, the soldiers all ducked as a foreign bullet charged like an angry, determined bull at them. SLAP! Mosquitoes attacked their sticky, uniformed, sweat drenched bodies. The air was thick and hazy with smoke. They could all taste the mud, the blood, the tears, the tension. Pop! Pop! Pop! Bullets whizzed by, burning their eardrums. Wondering, they questioned themselves, would this be their last day on earth? They all felt like kids again, playing war; but this time, one wrong move can be your last. Reeds brushed against their tortured faces as if bidding them farewell. What had they done to deserve this hell? Deeper, deeper, deeper their feet sunk into the mud. Massive M16’s in the distance aimed at them; the people behind them were all thinking the same thoughts. This wasn’t a war against others, but a war against themselves. Sadly, they all closed their eyes and thought about something else. God help them, they were only 19.