Asher and his family hide in the vast forest, going from town to town to see if any villages aren't destroyed.
After two years of living in the jungle and going to villages to steal some resources to survive, they find a village in the outskirts of the country still alive and thriving.
They left the forest to try and live in the village to finally escape the forest. Asher notices how similar it is to his village. It has the same colorful elements: the night sky makes the colors pop even more than they would when the sun is out.
Asher feels how all of the people were staring at him after his father talked to the leader and managed to convince them to live here for the time being. Asher feels how especially the girls look at him. He has seen his reflection, but not having an interaction with people for so long makes him anxious.
Asher sees how a swarm of girls suddenly walk up to him. His first instinct is to walk faster; when he sees they are getting closer to him, he goes into a full sprint.
"Is he your brother?" One of the girls asked Dalia.
"Yeah, I don't know why he ran. He is normally very talkative, but recently he has changed." Dalia, looking a little concerned, responds to the girl.
Asher went into the house of the leader with his father. Seeing how beautiful it is makes his eyes expand. The entire house was covered in shiny luxury with people all through the house. Asher, in the corner of his eye, saw a woman.
Asher could not take his eyes from her. She is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her silk black skin, dark eyes, and straight, long black hair made Asher feel an emotion he felt he was touched by but didn't know where.
"Ouch!" Asher felt a strong emotion enter his soul; it was pure sadness as if someone had already broken his heart.
Asher leaves the house while only thinking of that woman. He sees Dalia, and they both go into their new home. On the way home, Asher could still feel the stares of the girls, but his mind was completely absorbed by that woman.
"We are here!" Dalia feels a large surge of calmness from saying something she always said in her original home.
"Hello! Did you speak to the kids outside to make new friends?" Her mother asked Dalia
"Yes, they are very intrigued to learn what is happening outside the town." Dalia proclaimed.
Asher decided to explore the new small house. Its design is very simple, only having two rooms and a bathroom. The design is very colorful due to it being the backup to the backup home of the leader.
Asher sees the entire house, finding it very interesting, but nothing could make him forget that woman. Asher wants to see her again, but he feels something bad will happen if he does that. He decides to forget her to focus on living his life.
…
Asher is celebrating his eighteenth birthday; it also marks a year since he has been in this town. In the year Asher got dreads to complement his already long hair, his mother hated it but could not do anything for him to change it.
Dalia a few months ago celebrated her sixteenth birthday, and his little brother Amadi is going to turn ten in a few years. Everything is going very well in Asher's life; the war was out of his mind, but the war only grew and grew until it reached them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Everyone runs; they have reached it.
Asher immediately ran outside, recognizing the sounds that caused his village to fall. Asher sees the enemy start to get closer and closer to them.
Asher starts frantically to search for his family. Finding only his siblings. Asher tries to find his parents, but they are nowhere to be seen.
Asher decided to take care of his siblings and pray that his parents were fine. Asher cannot shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen to his parents. Deciding to pay close attention to the front line only to see both of his parents, who are armed and ready to fight.
Asher did not know, but the clause for them to rest was that both of his parents had to fight if the enemies arrived. Asher had a feeling that this was the last time he would see his parents live. Asher tried to run towards them, but he was cut off by the fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Asher can only see how his parents are fighting against the enemy. Seeing how they both are running, hiding, shooting, and doing everything to survive.
Boom!
Swift!
Asher feels a large explosion in the direction of his parents. Asher, in shock, could only pray that when the dust cleared, his parents were alive.
Asher saw only the remains of his parents holding hands. There is nothing left of them except them holding hands. Asher can only look back petrified and decides to run away with his siblings.
Asher grabs his sibling's hands and runs away into the forest. Seeing how little by little the last remaining town is now conquered by the enemy. Asher can only feel a large fire inside of him. The same feeling he had when his brother was sick was amplified by a hundred. All he wanted to do was eliminate the enemy.
Asher decides to go back to his village, feeling that there is no one living there and that it's a ghost town. Making it a good choice for them to live.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots were fired at the sky signifying the capture of the town. The entire town is burning, with dead bodies everywhere. The enemy captured all the women in town for their feast.