24/03/2026
where soldiers had started firing toward defensive positions. The peaceful life of Kalinga was disappearing minute by minute.
Not far from the village, a convoy of military trucks stopped near the forest. Soldiers jumped down, preparing their equipment under the pale blue light of early morning. Among them stood Captain Samuel, a tall man with tired eyes and a face shaped by years of war. His uniform was dusty, his hands steady, but his mind was heavy with thoughts he rarely spoke aloud.
Samuel had fought in many battles before this one. He had seen cities destroyed, families separated, and countless young soldiers fall before they ever understood why they were fighting. In the beginning, he believed every battle was necessary, every mission honorable. But over time, the victories had begun to feel empty.
As the soldiers loaded their rifles, Samuel looked toward the distant village.
Lights flickered there.
People were still inside.
“Captain,” one of the soldiers said, adjusting his helmet. “Orders say we move in now.”
Samuel didn’t answer immediately. The wind carried faint sounds of screaming from the town. His jaw tightened.
Finally, he nodded.
“Move carefully,” he said quietly. “There are civilians.”
But war was rarely careful.
Back in the village, Daniel grabbed Lina’s hand and pulled her toward the back door of their house.
“We can’t stay here,” he said urgently.
Outside, smoke drifted across the street, mixing with the smell of burning wood. A distant explosion sent birds flying wildly into the sky. Daniel led Lina toward an old storage hut behind their home, a place where their father once kept farming tools before he left years ago to work in another city.
Inside the hut, it was dark and dusty. Lina sat on the floor, hugging her knees as the sounds of battle grew closer.
“Daniel… are we going to die?” she whispered.
Her voice trembled like a fragile leaf in the wind.
Daniel swallowed hard. He knelt beside her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.
“No,”