Chapter 30

Inside the dark cave he watches the blizzard outside with his captain still on his shoulders, until the pain caused by fatigue starts to bother him. He goes a little further into that cave and gently puts his captain on the ground leaning his head on his backpack. Lighting a lantern to light the place, he realizes that that cave was empty, but it had a bonfire mark on the ground, it was a black blur made by fire, indicating that someone was using that place, but it was no longer there.

-Ughh!! (captain)

His captain had regained consciousness, but at the same time he was beginning to writhe from the pain he was feeling. He was weak-eyed and still sweating a lot, it could have been a fever.

-Wait a moment. (Arthur)

Arthur takes a towel from his bag and dips it in the warm water he carried in his thermos, after which he places it on his captain's forehead. Realizing that he was quite cold, he decided to change his shirt which was a little damp because he had been sweating in it for a long time. But when Arthur starts to undo the top button he sees a stain on the white shirt that his captain wore underneath, he wonders what it could be and because of his curiosity he starts to undo the rest with extreme speed. But when he saw what that spot was, his eyes widen, in the region of his companion's chest, which was overlaid by white first-aid strips, he sees an intense amount of blood.

-What is that? (Arthur)

Looking at his captain who just watched him as he wondered where he got that wound from. However, his captain's silence was enough for him to get his answer, he had been shot in that region and by the amount of blood more than one hit him.

-Like? How did this happen? (Arthur)

-Some enemies caught me... I was distracted and ended up taking those shots. (captain)

A terrible feeling begins to haunt Arthur's heart, living something for the second time, his eyes fill with tears.

-Was it when you were carrying me?! (Arthur)

Seeing the look of concern in his soldier's eyes he thinks for a moment to carefully answer the question put to him.

-No, it was before that. While I was still looking for them. (captain)

Looking sadly at his captain's body, Arthur showed exhausted, he didn't know what he could do. In the middle of that storm there was no way to look for help or medical care, they were alone and without any equipment to do first aid.

-Have you been putting up with this pain for all this time? (Arthur)

The captain looks at Arthur with his eyes filled with sadness to see him suffer so much from his situation.

-I'm sorry... I'm sorry for not having noticed... you were suffering so much... and I wasn't looking at you properly to notice... I kept throwing a tantrum all this time... if only I had noticed , you would not be in the situation you are in right now. (Arthur)

Sobbing from crying, Arthur demonstrates his feelings openly and it touches the heart of his captain who, upon realizing these feelings, is extremely moved by someone caring so much about him.

-No need to worry, this is not your fault. That was the cause of my recklessness and just that. (captain)

-But... (Arthur)

-Like I said... urghhh... (Captain)

Feeling a terrible pain in his right side, captain puts one of his hands on top of the place, it seems that there was not much time left for him.

-Captain! (Arthur)

-Like I said, no need to worry, this was caused by my recklessness and not yours. So Arthur doesn't look like that. (captain)

With a serene look on his face, Captain starts to smile at Arthur. Even though this was the last moment of his life, he didn't show any sign of concern for himself, just for his inexperienced soldier.

-Why are you so kind to me? I don't deserve such compassion. (Arthur)

Deconstructing the smile on his face, Captain answers Arthur's doubt calmly without showing any trace of feeling.

-You're wrong Arthur, you always showed such kindness, even before the enemy and that always caught my attention. You were an enlightened being, you seemed to carry such empathy to others, the smiles you gave were also special. You were amazing in my eyes, as well as a certain person important to me. (captain)

That line caught Arthur's curiosity.

-A person important to you?... (Arthur)

With a small smile on his face, he decided to answer the boy's question in the time he had left.

-Yes, that person so special to me and that I could see his image in his attitudes was my son. (captain)

He looks back at Arthur's face and realizes that he has stopped crying so intensely because his attention is focused on something other than his fatal state. Glad for that, he continues to tell the story.

-He only had physical features similar to mine, because in the rest he was a totally different person from mine. Like you, he was extremely friendly to everyone around him, always smiling and respectful. As Mike was, he thanked and acted like an idiot in front of others, but it was because of his unique way of being that he attracted many people who wanted his well-being around him. As a father I was very happy, my son was touched by the light and that made me grateful for being born, just looking at him was my conviction that living was worth it. But I was blinded by this feeling. (captain)

The mood of the story began to change, the smile on his face had been replaced by one of regret and bitterness.

-Arthur answer me. Do you think all people who are born into this world are free? (captain)

-I think so, I wasn't very good at philosophy, but I remember that everyone is free to do what they want. (Arthur)

-Good, but I don't think so anymore. I'm sure that at one point in the individual's life he was free, but over time the currents that society creates bind him and make him walk a line without being able to question. That's what I always believed, because that's what happened to me. When my son was born I was extremely happy, I loved him so much. However, a feeling began to take over my thoughts, what if I lost it. It consumed me, I couldn't imagine the pain and suffering I would feel if I lost my little ray of light, that's why I chained it up. Can you imagine how cruel that is? Does the father himself do something like that to his son? But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I kept keeping him under my control, just as society kept me. I cut your wings so you wouldn't be disappointed in the future for not being able to be something I dreamed so much since I was a child. I'd rip his legs off so he wouldn't run from me and I'd lose sight of him. But my son was just a child and he sometimes made mistakes, just like any other child who is learning. However, I couldn't let that happen. (captain)

At that moment the anguish in the man's heart was so great that he could not contain the tears that followed in front of a repentant face.

-Do you know what I did? So he wouldn't disobey me anymore? I did a very cruel thing to him, how can a father who loves his son so much beat him to make him suffer. But the “I” of that time was consumed by the fear of the freedom my son contained, so he wanted to end it so that my son would not suffer in the future. However, despite all these things I did to him, despite having made him suffer intensely, despite having chained him, he continued to smile at me, he continued to love me all the same. How can you? Someone as gentle as him being the child of a monster like me? The days continued like this, while I grew up without disobeying me, our lives continued to be happy, it was a normal happiness just like any normal family's, but I was happy with it. I didn't need surprising events or happenings to spice up my life and my son's, just the old and ordinary candy of happiness of being with the person I loved was enough for me. However, that all changed on that fateful day, I still don't know if it was an act of rebellion or something else, but he joined the army when he turned 18. At first I was extremely worried, but with time my worry dissipated and in the end I was happy that he did it, as now I could see him even in my work. Seeing and hearing from his colleagues the achievements he was making in his platoon made me completely happy. (captain)

Realizing the longing he possessed in his heart for his son, Arthur knew he shouldn't delve into it, but again, his curiosity was heightened.

-What happened to him? (Arthur)

-Huhm... I still can't process very well what happened that day, but I remember perfectly the vision I had. We were on a mission and we were ordered to retreat, it was an order and you cannot obey orders. But he didn't want to know, he who was already inside one of the trucks jumped and ran towards his friends who still hadn't managed to escape. He passed right by my side as I was heading towards the trucks and at that moment my world froze. After he gets close to his friends a tank shot hits them... there wasn't even a trace of my son after that. (captain)

Sensing the pain that was inside him, Arthur feels bad for having asked.

-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... (Arthur)

-He knew it was an order and that you can't disobey orders, yet he went to save his friends. However, the strangest thing about it all is that at that moment I didn't feel any anger or any concern at seeing him do that. What I felt at that moment was pride. I was proud of my son because he was free. (captain)

-Did you feel proud that he was free? (Arthur)

-Yes... unlike me who lived all my life in chains... my son was free, like a bird and I could watch him fly for the last time. (Arthur)

Arthur didn't know what to say and when he looks at his captain's face he realizes he was staring at him.

-Besides, I was able to watch again a bird fly like my son flew that day. That Arthur bird was you. In the warehouse I gave you an order, no, what I gave you was a way of life, in which you must always kill your enemies without thinking. But every time, just like on warehouse day, you refused. At the time I thought, but what can you do if you don't shoot enemies? How do you hope to help your friends without killing the people who try to kill them? That's when that gate started to move. I, who always thought that there was only one way to solve things, that there was only one way to act, realized that life is filled with infinite choices and that your choice at that moment saved us all. (captain)

Arthur looks admiringly at his captain as he sees him praising him. His captain stretches out his hand and Arthur immediately takes it.

-Listen to me Arthur, don't stop being yourself. Be sure to make the choices that characterize who you are! Because all of this is proof that you are no longer one who walks under the control of those who hold the chains. It is proof that you are free. So, until the end of this war, continue with this thought, don't kill any people. (captain)

Arthur notices that he has started to find it difficult to continue talking and that his eyes have started to close.

-Captain! (Arthur)

-Uhhhh... my... name... (Captain)

Arthur watched closely at his captain as he tried to say his last words.

-He who walks with chains... Xained. (Xained)

After saying these words his eyes close and his hand loses the strength to stay upright and is dumped on the hard floor of the cave. Intense tears start to trickle down Arthur's face, he starts to scream. During that blizzard, none of her screams could be heard outside that cave. Arthur was alone, with no one else around, as his only companion had left him. The next day, after the blizzard is gone and a sunny morning breaks out, Arthur carries Xained's body in his arms. He arrives at a spot among the trees and starts digging. After a few hours he prays and leaves, leaving behind a wooden cross stuck in the ground.