Nodin's forehead was covered with sweats. The road had no intention of coming to an end. It seemed as if it was a fathomless path into the unknown. He did not know what had happened in the world. All he knew was the dispute between some countries. Nothing was related to his country, how they got involved, he wondered.
Nodin kept on looking at the little girl. She was breathing as fast as she could. Her face had become pale. He tried to pick her up but he couldn't walk while carrying the backpack and the child. He wasn't an athletic person so he had not developed his muscles and they couldn't handle just everything.
Time passed and no sound was being heard from their mouths but the sound of their respirations.
"Hey, what's your name?"
Nodin broke the silence.
The girl lifted her shoulders and refused to answer.
Nodin had started to doubt her ability to talk.
"Can you talk?"
Nodin asked.
The girl nodded.
"If she can talk then why does she refuse to talk?"
Nodin thought.
"Is it from the shock or she just doesn't feel like talking? I wish I could ask her."
Nodin was deep in his thoughts.
Something came to his mind which he wasn't sure whether to ask or not. As he was deciding, the words slipped out from his mouth.
"Do you miss your mom?"
He shouldn't have asked such an obvious thing.
The kid stopped walking.
Nodin knelt down on the ground.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'm really sorry. How can you not miss her? Even I miss mine."
The child lifted her head and stared at Nodin's eyes. She was crying silently. Her tears stabbed Nodin's heart as if they were daggers. The fact that she was crying but not even the slightest sound didn't come out of her was unbearable for him.
He hugged her and cried alongside her.
"What the world has done to her is unforgivable. She doesn't even cry like normal kids. She swallows her own sound. She misses her mom but she can't get back to her and cry in her warm embrace. How can I comfort her? How can I replace her when I'm nothing near to what she needs?"
He patted on her back, tried to embrace her but she was still silently crying. Her silent cries echoed in his minds even though they were not heard.
"What might her mother feel seeing her daughter like this? I'm sorry Mother. I made your daughter cry."
Nodin blamed himself.
"I'm so sorry that I can't take better care of her. I'm sorry I'm such a loser."
As they were busy crying their eyes out, Nodin heard something moving. It seemed to be a vehicle. He wiped his tears and looked around the area.
There were two possibilities, it might be help, or the enemy.
"Who the heck is the enemy? Which country? Which nation? Which creature? Who is even called our enemy?"
He had the right to know who they were fighting against, or maybe trying to defend against. However, he didn't know, nobody told him, there was no news on the net or the newspapers before the explosion.
They had no idea who was attacking them. The only thing that the survivors got to witness was the soldiers covered in their armors. "Who was the enemy?" was the new question which he didn't have the time to think about. It didn't even matter who was the enemy. As long as they knew there was war threatening them, they could get the motivation to survive on their own. Who cared for the identity of enemy?
No one cared but deep down they all cared.
Nodin took the girl behind the biggest tree and hid there. they were waiting for the vehicle. If it was the enemy, all they had to do was sit still and not make a sound until they go away, but if it was other people, they could ask them for help.
The vehicle came with a man and a woman in. The man was lying and the woman was driving. They had no weapon with nor seemed to be soldiers. The man was injured. Nodin took the girl and came in front of the car.
The woman who was surprised to see them stopped the car at once.
"Are you crazy?"
Nodin looked at her and the car then said.
"I'm sorry if I startle you, can you take us with you?"
"Where are you going?"
"Anywhere that you're going."
"Wait a sec! Are you a resident of the previous town?"
"Yes. Can we get in?"
"Yeah, get on. I didn't know there were other survivors beside us."
"I'm surprised as well to see you. You are really our hero. We couldn't walk anymore."
Nodin and the girl got on and they headed towards the end of the road.
"What's your name?"
The woman asked.
"I'm Nodin."
"I'm Anna, that man is Eden."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Is she your daughter?"
"No, she's not. We found each other."
"What's her name?"
"I don't know, she refuses to talk, so I don't know."
"Poor thing. It must have been hard for her."
"Yeah, that's her share of luck."
"Everything will become better. I mean it has to become better. I'm sure she's gonna be happier and live a long life. She's gonna live the share of my son's life, too. I'm sure of it."
"I hope so. Did your son die in the explosion?"
"No, a soldier shot him."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, I can handle it."
As she uttered the last words, her tears dropped own one by one.
That day seemed to be the day when everyone was supposed to cry. After trying so hard to find somewhere safe to sleep and relax, all they could find was another friend to rely on and a new road ahead of them which had no bad news with. They could finally let their inner self come out and soothe their burned souls a bit.
Nodin offered to drive and Anna accepted. She sat beside the little girl and had her in her arms. She let herself out and cried.
Nodin was surprised to see even Anna was crying in silent. Was it a common thing between women or was it from another story? Or was it due to the fact that each of them had to show that they were strong?
Were people always like this? Trying to show they were strong like a mountain when they were in pieces. Were people always trying to deceive themselves or were they forced to be like this? Were they forced to choose something unlike their wills? Why did people like them had to suffer? Why did humanity had to suffer?
Nodin couldn't understand such behaviors anymore. They had nothing else to lose but why did they insisted on doing so?
The road was long, Eden was sleeping, Anna and the little girl had fallen asleep, it was only him who was awake, so he made himself busy with questions which were unsolvable.
"We are scattered, stunned; the remnant of heart left alive is filled with brotherly hate... Whose fault? Everybody blamed somebody else. Only the dead heroes left stiff and stark on the battlefield escape."
Mary Boykin Chesnut