Saved by a dead soldier!

It was hot mid-summer time. The scattered clouds in the pale horizon were hiding some bashful and dying sun rays. A vast wave of shades covered the mysterious and thick woods. Such a far jungle is almost still pristine as it had been pretty remote since a long…long time. However, from beyond the dark green trees, a barefoot girl, called Mia, was sauntering in a road at the edge of this forest. She was holding her shoes in her hands and walking in the midst of the road. She was moving as slowly as some swaying boughs at both sides of the road. The latter seems forlorn and forsaken as neither cars nor people were passing by. There were only some squirrels sprinting from side to another every now and then. Something strange might have brought this girl to this isolated place. Yet Mia seemed apathetic about the danger that might come from such a perilous area. She was lost into an aimless trail with a blatant disregard for howling wolves and cawing crows that own the dusky jungle. Her hovering long black hair was at the mercy of the air cooling her burning face and body. Mia was just surrendering herself to the road leading her to somewhere…or to nowhere.

One hour went by. The atmosphere turned hazier as the daylights started to fade and fall down behind the green kingdom. When her feet got sore, she stopped for a while. She sat down on her knees with her head held high. Then she spread her arms and unleashed a deep yell that broke the deathlike silence of the wilderness awakening all the dormant creatures. She was like releasing something trapped into her aching chest. The echo of her yell was fused with the sound of flapping wings of some startling birds. In spite of an inner pain hiding beneath this peculiar scream, she looked like a lord announcing his absolute rule over the jungle. After a while, the silence settled over the place again. She strained herself to stand up as she was carrying a heavy burden over her shoulders. She looked around her. She made one step forward then stopped again. She wore her shoes, moved to the left side of the road and peered into the forest like a small stone into a river. After taking a long narrow path, she found herself at the edge of a very high cliff overlooking a rocky lake. She got closer and closer to the edge, shut her eyes, and sensed the weight of her feet over the stony ground.Then she opened her arms while tears were rolling down her pale face. She lifted her right foot a little bit and when she was about to jump to death, something strange tickled her ankle.

Awakened from her trail toward doom, she opened her eyes in panic and glanced down at the ground out of dread and innate curiosity. She remained motionless for few moments and then she leaned down to pick something stuck between her feet. She took it eagerly with her fine hands. It was a small piece of paper. It was peculiarly shabby and stained with scarlet spots. It must have been certainly covered with someone’s blood. She opened it carefully as it was rolled a little bit. She could barely see what was written in it. A sudden inquisitiveness haunted her aching heart and thus she made a step backward and started to read:

“Dear my kindred soul Ornela !

I am weary of this war and bored with this world. Now, I am dying here in the midst of nowhere. I can feel it: this is my last agony and the end of my journey. My wish is to ask your forgiveness. I have never meant to leave you this way without one last farewell. I have never meant to be far away from you unwillingly. You know deep inside that I would never surrender easily without fighting all the hindrances keeping us apart. Yet, my breaths have been betraying me, and the flowers of this land have been blooming with my blood. I just want you to know that I did fight to survive neither for sake of the glory nor the land nor the life itself, but only to see your eyes again. You know, you have been always my only purpose in this pointless journey called life.

Do you still recall the night I had lost my parents and siblings? In that terrible day, you ran away from your house and spent the whole night by my side in what left of my ruined house, to ease my horrible grieves, our horrible grieves. Do you still recall Shirazi's words you kept murmuring it to me that night?

’I know the voice of depression

Still calls to you.

I know those habits that can ruin your life

Still send their invitations.

But you are with the Friend now

And look so much stronger.

You can stay that way

And even bloom!…’

Ornela, I crave one last thing from you: promise me to move to our secret place till this horrible war is over. Promise me to survive, just survive…

May these words be the guardians of your soul, … my kindred soul!

Yours Borislav

Bosnia, 14 september, 1994”

Thunderstruck. Mia turned the paper and found another note:

“I would be grateful if you take this letter to the address written below. Whoever you are, I hope you will find my love Ornella and hand her this letter before it will be too late.No words could convey my gratitude to you ”

The rain started to pour. Mia put the letter in the right pocket of her dusty dress. She wiped some warm tears streaming down her cheeks. Mia realized that she had at last a reason to live longer. She slowly receded from the edge of the cliff to sink into the woods again…