Stillness within Chaos: WWI

In the dim light of dawn, among the haze of trench warfare, a British soldier stood against the advancing German forces. His uniform, once crisp and full of pride, now hung upon him like a drowsy cloth decorated with the mud from countless battles. Through the mist of fog, and raining dirt, his eyes reflected a mixture of determination and exhaustion, a reflection of a man who is petrified that he can’t see his family again…

The battle was set with a symphony of sounds; the distant rumble of artillery, the crackle and piercing of gunfire, and the haunting wail of other British soldiers in agony. As the once-standing British soldier fell to the ground, he felt a moment of eerie stillness amongst the chaos, as the world held its breath in anticipation of the upcoming storm, the Germans. 

The soldier, breathing through his slowly decaying lungs, face against the grime of the dirt, felt as if he was laying back in deep trenches, just trying to ease his mind and rest. Each heartbeat echoed in his ears, a steady drumbeat of defiance against the approaching darkness. 

Suddenly, a movement caught his closing eyes, a shadowy figure emerging from the mist. His sense heightened, every nerve through his body jolting, was it a threat he questioned? A bead of sweat traced his forehead, gradually hitting the dirt on the ground. The shadowy figure approached him and held out its hand, a glowing hand against the drowsy darkness that he called a battlefield. 

With his last bit of energy, he reached out his arm to connect his to the figure. Unexpectedly, his body was energized, lively, and vigorous. Powerful. He felt as if he had control of the chaos, mirroring himself as if he were home with his family. Finally, closing his eyes, his cold dead body rested in the embrace of the earth; the sounds of war faded into an eerie silence, broken only by the mournful cries of other soldiers gathered around him. His last thought in his head was a prayer for peace, in the hope that one day he would reconnect with his family and that the horrors of the war would be nothing more than a distant memory.