Day Eight

For the last eight days, I've been a soldier: The one who shoots at loyalists, with a gun in my hand and no smile in my face. My only job was to kill and kill more loyalists. I thought that I would have to do this forever since the war was also never going to end. I thought that all I'm useful for is to shoot at the loyalists. Even today, I was at a major battle with the loyalists to gain control over San Ildefonso. We did the best we could, we survived but we lost. But that did not mean that we had lost an entire war. It was just one of the battles within the war. I was injured on my arm but it wasn't something that didn't worry me when I finally got to talk to Nacio. (That’s how I call Ignacio) Lolo was hurt and it was obvious that he was badly injured. He was sent away in a helicopter but all I can do now is to believe that he is okay and that he will live. However what I was surprised at was the fact that I hadn't died. I was alive and according to Nacio, Captain Mendoza told him that I will be sent back to my village to become a teacher and Nacio would be sent to U.S. to become a doctor for the country. At first, I was puzzled by the decisions made by Captain Mendoza. After all, it was him who had brought us here, to become a soldier, to fight for the country. But I realized that I wasn't thinking deeply enough. Yes, I won't be shooting at loyalists like we have been told in the last few days, and so would Nacio. I will be studying and then teaching but all for my country. Just becuase I am not participating in the war, it does not mean that I am abandoning my country. Like Captain Medoza and Nacio, I'll be fighting in my own way.

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