My mother, sister and I are hiding in the house. All I can hear is screaming. I crawled to the nearest window to see what was going on. Every man in my village is outside, but all I can see are strangers. Strangers with weapons, and armor. My mother yells "Kato! Get down here, or they'll see us!" All I can think about is what I saw. Every house was being barged into, ransacked, and then burnt down. So, I knew we were going to be next.
"Mother, our people are dying! Somebody needs to do somethi-…" I said before being interrupted by a loud crash coming from the back door.
The first thing I saw was my father. He was rushing in to protect his family. Shortly after he took his first step inside, a sword pierced his back, sticking out of the front of his abdomen. He dropped to his knees, and with his dying breath, pulled out his fishing knife, and stabbed the strange, armor-covered man in the neck.
My mother grabbed me and my sister and headed to the front door. We were greeted with a flock of other strange men. Looking around, all I could see was my friends and family lying around, dead. Houses burnt down. Women being raped. And these strange men were laughing about it. Since my mother, sister and I were the last ones in the village left alive, they decided to beat us, and take their time killing us.
My mother stood at the front. And told us to run. Me and my sister headed in different directions, and I couldn't look back. The fear in my stomach wouldn't let me. I started hearing my mom screaming, and crying, "Run! Run far away from here and don't look back!" So, I did exactly that.
I couldn't protect my sister. I couldn't protect my mother. And my father died protecting all of us. I ran to the end of the village before I tripped and fell. Soldiers that were pursuing me, were soon to catch up. I crawled into the nearest hut, my bone was sticking out of my leg from the fall, and I was certain I was going to die there. On my ninth birthday.
When I got inside, I was disgusted by what I saw... There was a pile of dead women in the main living area. Stacked up taller than I was. Scared for my life, I crawled onto the pile, and pulled as many of these corpses over myself as I could. The soldiers came by looking for me, as I was holding my breath trying not to be found.
"This is it. There's no way I'll be able to survive this. Even if I do... There's no one left." I thought to myself, before losing consciousness.
–
All my life, I've had this natural instinct to protect what's right. I've always put the weak and the poor ahead of myself. My father was the village leader. I looked up to him. He was the kind of man who didn't seek power, or an advantage over someone else. That's exactly why he became the leader of our village. People inherently respected him.
I couldn't hurt a fly. I dedicated my time to training my body and mind so one day, I could fight for those who needed my help. Maybe that mindset originated from my poor upbringing, in such a humble village. I always heard stories my elders would talk about. How people aren't as nice as we are outside this village. People hurt other people for power, and money. Or even for less distinguishable reasons. Personal desire, or the need to be recognized. I never wanted any of that. I just wanted everybody in the world to be happy and safe. If everyone wants happiness, why can't we all make sure everyone around us is happy? I don't understand it. Why do people hurt innocent people? What is worth starting a war? Why do people fight for other peoples' causes? And why do people follow orders so blindly, they're willing to hurt other people for it?
My father always said that if you want to achieve a goal, you can. All you must do is work for it. It takes time, but work pays off. "Patience is a virtue. And virtue is a blessing." I'll never forget those words.
I asked him when I was younger. "Dad, If I can achieve anything, do you think I can solve the problems of this world? Like war?"
"Absolutely." He said. "That is a big plague in the world. People fight over love. And when there's love, there will always be hate. People are passionate by nature. If you're going to tackle a problem like this, you need to be strong, in your mind, and in your body. And It'll take more than just you. You must convince a lot of people to think the way you think. But you can never force your beliefs on anyone. Or it'll never work. I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet, son. That's why we formed the village, Pax Mundi. It means 'world of peace' in the old language."
I'll never forget those words either.