Red Poppy

“If anyone wants to quit, tell me now.”I looked at the men standing in front of me.“The climb is going to be tough. It's cold, it's dangerous, and we don't know what we'll find on the other side.”Nobody spoke.I looked at their faces.Some of them lowered their heads.I noticed a few hands gripping each other tightly.“Okay,” I said. “Anyone who wants to leave can do so. I'll write a letter to the commander. He'll understand.”I knew why they wanted to quit.It was November.Who wanted to walk toward death's door?We continued through the jungle.The ground was wet, and our clothes were already soaked. After several hours of walking, nobody was speaking.“There is no joy when everyone stays quiet,” I said. “Say something.”One of the boys looked at me.“Okay, sir. What should we say?”“Silly boys.”A few of them laughed.“Fine. Let's take a break.”Everyone immediately dropped their bags.The mood changed instantly.I smiled.“My name is Aru. I'm a fifth General by rank.”I pointed toward the others.“This is Nick, seventh General, and Umang, sixth General. What about you? What's your name?”“Sir, my name is Lewis. I'm from Falkland.”Lewis.The name hit me like a hammer.*Why that name?*Suddenly, I saw him.The boy.Lewis.The dead boy from the battlefield.He stood behind the soldier with a small smile on his face.I blinked.He vanished.I stared at the place where he had been standing.“Sir?”I came back to myself.“Okay... you next.”“Sir, I'm Rick. From Falkland.”“And you?”“Sir, I'm Hen. Also from Falkland.”I looked around.“What a coincidence. The whole group is from Falkland.”I smiled.“You love your home?”“No, sir. I hate it.”“As expected. Who loves their home?”A voice came from behind me.“Rick does.”Rick laughed.I looked at him.“Okay, let me guess. It's your love... or maybe your wife?”He blushed.I had seen that reaction many times before.Everyone laughed.We drank some water and exchanged a few jokes.For a moment, we were just young men taking a break.Not soldiers.Not killers.Just men.“All right, boys. Break's over. Let's go.”We continued climbing.Hours passed.The air grew thinner.The temperature dropped.We were all shivering.Then I saw them.Red poppies.They grew along the edge of the snow, their bright red petals standing out against the white landscape.They looked like drops of blood scattered across the mountain.“Red poppies,” Nick said quietly.He stared at them.“Maybe somebody died here.”I looked at the flowers.They were beautiful.But something about them made me uncomfortable.Hen stared at them too.“If I die here,” he said, “at least something beautiful will remember me.”I looked at him.“No one is going to die. Understand?”“Yes, sir.”The wind became stronger.We moved one step at a time, connected by a rope so nobody would fall behind.I looked at Nick.“Why did Hen say that?”Nick glanced at Hen.“Hen is an orphan. He doesn't know who his parents are.”He paused.“No letters. Nobody waiting for him.”Nick lowered his voice.“He doesn't talk much because of that.”I looked at Hen.Everyone had their own struggle.Everyone carried something I couldn't see.“Let's walk a few more kilometres,” I said. “Then we'll make shelter.”I kept walking.Huffing.Puffing.My legs hurt.My lungs burned.*What a pain.*I never wanted this.I wanted to go home.Maybe fate had different plans.We continued until the sun began disappearing behind the mountains.“Okay, boys. Stop here.”Everyone dropped their bags.“Umang and Rick, make the tent.”I pointed toward Hen and Nick.“Hen and Nick, prepare the food. Make only a little. We need to save our supplies.”I looked around.“I'll stay on guard. Understand?”“Yes, sir!”“Fast.”The wind became stronger and stronger.Our eyelids began freezing from the cold.We built the tent as quickly as possible.Once it was ready, everyone went inside.We ate our dinner.Then I stepped outside.Everyone went to sleep.I stayed on guard.After some time, Nick came outside.“Sir, it's my turn.”I looked at him.“Okay.”I went inside the tent.Before sleeping, I checked my gun.Reloaded.Checked the magazine.Everything was ready.Then I opened my diary.I wanted to write the date.I stared at the empty page.*What date is it?*I couldn't remember.“Forget it.”I wrote two or three lines about what had happened that day.Nothing more.Then I went outside again.I sat beside the tent.The snow slowly covered my boots.I heard something.Footsteps.I immediately grabbed my gun.I looked into the darkness.Nothing.Only wind.*Imagination.*Hours passed.Eventually, I was almost completely covered in snow.I looked like a snowman.Then Nick came over.“Sir. You can sleep now. I'll stand guard.”I nodded.“Okay.”I crawled into the tent and closed my eyes.---“Sir.”I heard a voice.“Sir, wake up.”I opened my eyes.“Aru, sir. Wake up. We have to travel.”I was half asleep.“Maria... five minutes.”I paused.“Then can you give me a morning kiss?”Silence.I opened my eyes.I was in the middle of nowhere.Snow surrounded me.Nick was staring at me.“Sorry,” I muttered.Nick frowned.“Who is Maria?”“You don't need to know.”I turned away.“Leave me alone.”Nick walked away.I sat there, thinking.*Why did I say Maria?**I don't have anyone.**So why does her name keep coming out of my mouth?*I couldn't find an answer.A few minutes later, everyone was ready.“Sir, we're ready to go.”I stood up.“All right. Let's go. We still have a long way.”We continued through the mountains.Eventually, we entered a narrow tunnel.The darkness surrounded us.After walking for nearly thirty minutes, we saw light at the other end.Rick looked ahead.“We're on the right track.”“Yes.”We moved faster.Then we saw it.The mountain.Everyone stopped.The white mountain opened before us like a goddess rising from the earth.I forgot to blink.I sat on the edge of the slope.The storm had passed.Soft sunlight touched the snow.The wind was gentle.And somewhere below us, mustard-yellow flowers grew among the green grass.The smell reminded me of home.Nick stared at the landscape.“I've never seen anything like this.”Umang smiled.Everyone stood silently, admiring the view.For a moment, I almost forgot that we were soldiers.Then I noticed something beneath the flowers.A rusted helmet.I picked it up.“We're in the third war,” I said. “These mountains have probably seen countless wars.”I looked around.“And they're still standing.”Umang picked up the helmet and turned it over.“850.”I looked at him.“So it was from 850?”“That makes it around one hundred and fifty years old.”I stared at the helmet.One hundred and fifty years.Someone had worn this.Someone had lived.Someone had probably waited for someone to come home.And now...Only the helmet remained.“Let's go.”We continued.I couldn't stop thinking about that soldier.One moment could change everything.A landmine.A bullet.A shell.Death was random.Somewhere, a family might still be waiting for that soldier.Maybe they believed he died a hero.Maybe they never even knew how he died.Maybe he was running.Maybe he was hiding.Maybe the first bullet took him.Nobody knew.A wolf howled somewhere in the distance.I immediately raised my hand.“Be ready.”Everyone stopped.“Something is out there.”We reloaded our weapons.*Click.**Clack.*One by one, magazines were locked into place.We slowly moved toward the edge.I looked ahead.There was a temple standing in the middle of the mountain.“There is a temple.”I lowered my voice.“There could be enemy soldiers inside.”I looked at the others.“I'll go first. You stay here and cover me. Wait for my signal.”I moved forward.I ran.Dropped.Crawled.Sneaked through the snow.Then I looked around.Nothing.I signalled the others.They followed.Inside the temple, I saw skeletons.Old uniforms.Toys.Remnants of people who had once hidden there.I looked at the walls.There were detailed carvings everywhere.I couldn't understand what religion they belonged to.The symbols meant nothing to me.But they were beautiful.We went deeper inside.Dead bodies lay scattered across the floor.Flies covered them.Half the roof had been destroyed by a shell.I looked at the paintings.I couldn't understand what they meant.Nick was staring at one of them.“What are you looking at?”He pointed toward the inscription.“Mors est res maxima in vita.”I looked at him.“What?”He smiled.“You can't read Latin?”“No.”I stared at the words again.“Actually... I know what that means.”Nick looked surprised.I turned away.“Boys, don't waste time. Let's go.”We left the temple.Outside, I noticed candles.Coins.Gold.Bullet holes.Shoes.Things people had abandoned while trying to survive.I looked at the gold.“It's worthless now.”I stared at the temple.“People came here because they thought it was safe.”I paused.“But the safest places became the deadliest.”*What a fate.*We moved forward.The snow became thinner.Green grass appeared beneath our feet.Then Nick suddenly stopped.He froze.“What happened?”“Enemy?”He pointed toward the valley.I looked down.Artillery positions.Ruined structures.And fields covered with red poppies.I froze.I knew this place.I didn't know how.But I knew.“The Battle of Maddog.”Everyone looked at me.I continued staring.“Ten thousand soldiers died here.”I swallowed.“There was no victor.”Nick looked at the valley.“How do you know that?”I didn't answer.I didn't know.I just knew.I looked at the poppies again.They didn't look beautiful anymore.They looked like blood.We continued walking.Eventually, we reached a river.Umang stopped.“Can I fill my bottles?”I looked at him.“Stop wasting time. We need to reach the post. They're waiting for us.”I looked at the river.It reminded me of my hometown.A river knows many secrets.Many stories.And this one had seen enough.Plane parts.Skeletons.Weapons.Bodies.We had no idea how brutal the previous wars had been.Everyone was tired.Everyone wanted to rest.But strangely...I didn't feel tired.I didn't feel exhausted.I looked at my hands.“Who am I?”A strange voice answered.“Don't be impatient.”I froze.“You know everything.”The voice continued.“But you can't see it.”I looked around.“Who are you?”My comrades stared at me.“What do you want from me?”Nobody answered.I took a breath.“Sorry. I was thinking aloud.”We continued walking.This time, nobody spoke.Eventually, we reached a cliff.Ahead of us stood Mount Meldo.Huge.Silent.Waiting.I pointed toward the valley.A ghost town lay below us.“We're almost there.”We crossed the town and climbed higher.Eventually, we reached our destination.I looked around.“Fast, boys.”One of the soldiers looked at the structure.“Why would they build something here?”Another asked,“How old is this?”I looked at the building.Then I looked back at the others.For a moment, they seemed almost lifeless.“Okay,” I said. “We'll make camp here.”I lowered my voice.“No fire. No unnecessary noise.”I looked toward the ghost town.“We don't know what's still out there.”Everyone nodded.“We rest tonight. Tomorrow, we search the area.”I sat down.Then I looked around.“Does anyone have binoculars?”Rick raised his hand.“I do.”“Give them to me.”He handed them over.I looked through them.Nothing.Only darkness.I lowered the binoculars.“You can sleep. I'll guard first. Then we'll rotate.”I looked at the others.“Tonight, Rick and Hen take the next watch.”I looked toward the darkness again.I couldn't see anything.But my heart knew something was wrong.