Friendship

• Weixi Teng, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

A veteran wakes up in the battlefield. The rotting stench of decaying meat attacks his nostrils. All around him, were the remains of a battle that took heavy casualties on both sides. He could remember every raid and attack that they had repelled and followed through with. Yet, the last battle was clouded in his mind. His hand trembled at seeing his friends lying on the ground. Their ghastly appearance to him saddened him greatly.

He could only remember the start of the final battle, when men rushed towards their enemies to gain glory and fame. The rapid crossfire was savage and tiring. Though fate had been set before the battle begun. It was a last, desperate throw by his commander, in an effort to bring the opposition down with them. In his mind, he could distantly remember that all of his comrades knew that they would be defeated. Though something had kept them going. His friends told him it was the spirit of soldiers.

Now, he wandered through the fields that were littered with blood red plants. He believed they were poppies. Suddenly, a mournful yowl pierced his thoughts and filled the unnatural silence with plaintive barks. Then he saw it. A dog limping with three legs with the fourth one disables. The soldier dashes towards the dog, feeling a sense of sadness for the canine and yet a sense of happiness to see something else alive. As the dog peered at him, the veteran could see how well trained the dog really was

Around its neck was a tag coloured red. Engraved into the tag was the name "Soldier". Soldier limped towards him snuffling his hand and his pocket. As the dog moved forward, the soldier could see that its fourth leg had been dislocated. As the soldier approaches the dog, the soldier first puts a calming hand the dog, then pushes the leg back with great care. The soldier feels tears of joy threatening to burst out. He had saved a life.

As the veteran took out some biscuits from his pocket, he gifts them to "Soldier" smiling as the dog snuffles the cookies, consuming them at a great speed. Then the two limp from the battefield together, leaving the past behind them and leaving as newfound friends.