text: The night is occupied by the squeaks of critters and the soft wind on the trees. It’s a time for the earth to rest. He stares into the base of the fire as he’s cooking his meat on a stick. Time itself seems to stop for him, but the fire continues to burn. The flames themselves seems to be caught in a cycle, and even in death the embers will provide nutrients and continue to live on in the earth, as do all things. He thinks to himself “I find myself caught in that cycle, an eternal flame that cannot die out. Will the warmth of the flames keep me anchored to this existence forever? What good will this flame do for me if I can’t go forward” . The bushes began to rustle, and he breaks from the self induced trance to his weapon ready and pointing in the direction of the sounds. His tight grip loosens as two small children creep out the bushes, dirty and famished. He breaks the silence as he lets the two children (older girl and younger boy) feed themselves. The children began to savagely rip into the cubes of hot meat, not even letting time for them to cool. “You’re not as mean as all the others” the little girl says. “To be truthful, I stop myself because of your brother... nothing but innocence fills his eyes. So much power. But when I say your eyes, I saw distrust, fear, and hatred, void of the life and love your brother has and replaced with a burning fire” he confesses. “It didn’t take me long to realize that I had no choice but to be strong, for my brother”. She seems to finally have a time to relieve all the stress and tension that has been consuming her. “These are dark times that lay on us, all we can do now is protect what’s dear to us. Never let that love your brother has for you or anyone else die out, its the seeds for the next era to grow. For that to be possible you cannot let the fire in you fade, stay strong for your brother... and for yourself. This is the burden of responsibility. Maybe one day I can fight to restore the innocence you once had.” The older child cuts back “And what, keep us blinded to the horrors that plague this land. I wasn’t going to survive with the naivety that I once had. I was left wondering what else I had left to sacrifice for the sake of my brother. I lost my parents, my friends and all that once knew to be fun... There’s nothing left for me.” He thinks to himself “The pain she holds is much too familiar. 1000 times over I have felt pain like that, and 1000 more times I will endure it if I can find an end to this suffering” He lifts his head up to gaze at the night sky “I want you to look up to the stars, each one of those flickers of light is a sun much like our own, with a whole other world that it harbors. The struggles of our existence can start to become so insignificant. It’s up to us to cherish what we hold dear, to hopefully give us some sense of validity to this reality.” He looks now to the girl “There is something left, your brother. Even though innocence can fade, it isn’t lost. The energies of love and peace can withstand the test of time, its the one truth we all share, the driving force of the universe, and it lives on in children like your brother. The energies of the universe lie within souls like your brother, and maybe even in us. The whole world may feel like it’s against you, but as long as you have your brother here, there is still something to fight for. “Well what do you fight for? What do you cherish?” She ask “Part of me is still trying to figure that out, but when I see eyes like your brother I feel like I’m getting closer to an answer” “Who are you?” The younger brother ask in a soft innocent tone He removes his gaze from the night sky and into the fireplace, embers fading into smoke and wood cracking, “Just a warrior lost in time” First draft lmk how y’all like it. Open to any criticism (or praise) If you have questions for clarification or curiosity ask away.