Part 4
//Why? Why did this happen?
I know you’re out there: watching, waiting.
Come and take me!
Free me from my misery!//
~~I
watch as the flames lick what used to be my home as Mayle continues to pull me
along. My eyes never leave the dancing spirits, as my feet
unconsciously keep moving. Mayle
carefully ducks us around debris and chunks of earth the size of cars.
“Keep
up with me!” Mayle yells at me when I slow my pace.
My body has already been pushed well beyond its limits.
She appears to have not even tired after being injured.
“If you want to continue living you will keep up.”
Those
words chill my blood. There was
something new about Mayle that I had never seen before.
Her words are cold and distant. She
won’t even look at me. What is it
about these huge machines that can make someone as fun loving as Mayle to become
a harsh shell of a person? How many
other people feel the same?
She
pulls me under the cover of a shrub next to the central gazebo.
Hiding between the plant and the structure, we wait.
The battle goes on without these two participants.
The barrage of bullets continues, the sound of explosions un-relentless. The only reason I am calmed is by Mayle gently stroking my
blond hair. It is obviously
something that she is doing subconsciously since her eyes and attention are
trained on the burning palace.
“Damn
them. We had no intention of war,
yet they attack us!” I had never
heard Mayle curse before and it scares me.
She had seemed so unable to use such language.
“Why
are they doing this?”
“Because
the Alliance is made up of scum who believe war is promise and peace is just a
fool’s wish. They’re afraid of
what effects pacifism might have on the world and therefore they are trying to
destroy it. So they send these
mobile suits into an unarmed country. What
cowards they are, I bet the man who ordered this is hiding behind his desk and
title at this moment. It’s just
like the men who make the decisions not to get their hands dirty in the process.
Cowardly bastards, all of them.
“Master
Milliardo, I beg of you not to become like those men.
When you lead, always fight along side those who follow. Then you will be a true leader.
Don’t let politics interfere with the way that you live your life; it
will only burden you even more. Know
your enemies, know them better then you know your allies.
You will never be defeated if you follow that advice.”
The
hollow sound of a scream erupts from within the inferno.
“Mother! She’s still
inside!”
“Don’t
move. Do not move one inch from
where you are now. Once the suits
have left I want you to run. Take
the path through the grove to the nearest home.
I have no doubt that they will help you.
I will come find you when all this is over.”
I
grab her arm and hold on tight, “Mayle, don’t go!”
Tears stream out of my eyes; I can’t help but have the feeling that I
will never see her again. “I need
you!” My body is shuddering with
the sobs and soon she pulls her arm out of my grasp.
“I
will see you again, Milliardo.” With
that she darts off towards the flame-engulfed palace.
I can only hide and cry while my best friend risks her life for my
family. I watch horrified as she
enters the palace pulling her sleeve over her nose.
The smoke is pouring out of the entryway in plums.
Soon Mayle lets herself be grabbed and pulled into the grasp of the
demon.
“No! It wasn’t supposed to be this way. You were supposed to teach me about Sagittarius tonight.
I was supposed to look at the stars you put up on my bedroom ceiling and
name all the constellations that you have taught me.
I was supposed to look at the pictures in your astronomy text.
But that won’t happen now. There
is no more bedroom. The text is now
ashes. And soon there might not be
anymore you, and then the stars will never shine as brightly in the heavens.”
I whisper to myself, sobs distorting the words.
Curling up into a ball I allow the horrible reality to seep in.
~~
Faint
echoes of my name being called over and over again.
I wish to call out to the unknown being, but I am too weak.
The soft voice is so inviting, so comforting. I wish to run to its source, but I can’t.
The heavy restraints of gravity hold me back.
‘Come, I am here!’ The
voice grows louder for one repetition before it fades away as if it never
existed at all.