Sunshine once again covered the earth. The river caressed the embankment gently with small and irregular waves. The Imperial Guards on the road had dispersed as the vast world fell into silence at dawn. The morning breeze blew away the rubbish left on the road to the grass beside the roadbed. Fallen yellow leaves gathered into piles. This was the fall the road of the countryside was full of unattended ripened fruits. Apples on the ground have already begun to rot, releasing a miserable smell as the fall wind gushed through.
An Imperial Guards officer walked down from the embankment. He happened to encounter an apple that had not been touched by a field mouse as he wandered around the abandoned countryside. The officer picked it up, wiped it on his uniform, and took a big bite at the juicy fruit.
