MOUNTAIN PASS
“Achoo!”
Her voice echoed several times before it disappeared into the mountains. The wind was calm that day, making the army’s passage through the mountains easier. However, it meant their trails would not be masked.
“You alright?” Naoki looked back at her sib. They were both on the same horse, which was being led by one of the soldiers.
“Nothing.”
One of the trailing men caught up on foot to their horse. “You need a blanket, miss?”
“I’m not cold. Just a sneeze.”
“Okay. You two let us know if you need anything.”
“I’ll be sure to, thanks!” Naoki replied. Haruna said nothing and slid deeper under her woolen cloak. The soldier slackened his pace to return to his comrade’s side. There was silence again except for the trotting of the army. Occasionally, the train would stop to verify its route with the scouts, then continue onward.
Naoki pulled up the canteen strapped to the pommel. She took a sip and offered it to Haruna, who was dozing off. “Hey,” she nudged her. “Drink some.” Haruna looked at it with disinterest, but followed her sib’s orders.
“Shouldn’t we be through by now?” Haruna wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“Err, I’m not sure.” Taking back the canteen, Naoki glanced around the landscape. “I didn’t really pay attention when I was on the scouting party.”
Haruna eyed her suspiciously. Naoki quickly corrected herself. “I mean… I was looking around… for threats and such, but it’s not like I needed to memorize anything… Hey! I was just there in case, alright?”
“Not too loud,” Haruna hushed. “Your voice will echo.”
“Well, you started it,” she pouted, taking another sip.
“We’ll be a little bit slower than the scouts were, miss,” said the soldier leading them. “Since we’re moving the entire platoon at once. So please bear with it a little longer.”
Haruna accepted this reasoning and shrank back under her cloak. Naoki abruptly straightened. “Right! That’s what I would’ve said if you hadn’t looked at me like that!”
“There, there,” her sib quietly shushed again. Naoki wanted to retort, but did not.
A soldier ran up to their chaperone and spoke something in a hushed voice. Confused, he peered ahead, then left and right. The messenger quickly and discreetly motioned off to the left side, nodded, then ran off back to the front. Both of the girls noticed this.
The man began to veer left, deeper into the train, then stopped. The rest of the platoon had stopped as well. The two girls looked at each other without a word. They always knew how each other was feeling, after all. Then they also peered ahead.
“What’s going on?” Naoki asked.
“Ah… Just another checkpoint,” the soldier dismissed.
“I don’t believe it,” Haruna thought. Just ahead, they could make out a few figures crouching on the snow.
“Let’s go find out then,” the shorthaired thought back.
“Eh? You sure…?”
“Why not? They won’t stop us. Otherwise we’ll never know.” With an encouraging tug, Naoki jumped off and ran forward. Their chaperone called out in surprise, but did not chase after her, even after Haruna soon followed.
The older sib reached the huddled soldiers first. They were duly surprised as well. She recognized Ken amongst them. They were crouched around a black heap that looked eerily familiar, provoking her to stop dead in her tracks. The playfulness that was left in her washed out with her face.
From her reaction, Haruna was able to discern what was going on before she joined the crowd. She slowed her pace a few steps away, then eventually made it to Naoki’s side. Ken slacked his shoulders. “I was hoping you two wouldn’t see this. But, I guess curiosity killed the cat.”
Naoki looked ashamed, and slowly moved her hands to shield Haruna’s eyes. But the younger girl pushed them away. “I’m not a kid,” she quietly retorted.
“Well, might as well make the best of a bad situation.” The lieutenant came up behind the girls and put his hands on both of their cloaked shoulders. They abruptly looked up, tensing. But the man showed no anger. “This is what war is. Take a good look and prepare yourselves.”
The two girls hung their heads low, guiltily flashing a few glances. The lieutenant lightly encouraged them backwards. “You needn’t look too long, however. While you still can. It’s best to build tolerance over time.” When they didn’t move, he tugged their shoulders a little harder. “Come, let the boys do their work,” and herded them back to their horse.
Later, after night fell, the platoon camped out under one of the mountain ledges. The tents were somewhat spread out in threes from each other as a safety precaution, with a campfire at each set. The two girls were huddled around one of such fires, eating their meals without much of a word. Their chaperone sat nearby, silently eating.
Ken eventually joined the group, briefly greeting the soldier, then sitting down next to the girls. He did not waste any time. “You two coping okay?”
“Mm,” Naoki mumbled. “It’s a bit cold, but food is food.”
“I’m not concerned about the food,” said Ken.
“Ah… We’re fine about… that as well, I guess.” She looked off to the side.
“If there’s anything you need to talk about…”
The two girls didn’t say anything. Ken gave his mate a solemn look. With a silent breath but a look of understanding, he stood up and left the three of them, joining the ranks of another camp. Ken sat and ate in silence with the girls a little longer.
“It’s not like it was nothing new…” the shorthaired eventually spoke up. “But…”
She did not continue. Nor did she continue eating. “I’m listening,” Ken encouraged.
Haruna looked at her sib with concern. “Don’t be—”
“It’s my fault,” confessed Naoki, speaking over Haruna’s muted voice.
Ken was puzzled. “How so?”
“I was the one wanted to go over and look.” She bit her lip. “And encouraged her to follow.”
“It’s not anything new for me either!” Haruna spoke up, though being usually quiet, she had no sense for how loud to be. Her exclamation startled Naoki.
“Sorry, too loud.” Haruna slouched back. “But I’ve seen worse. You know… with my mom… and…” Her voice trailed off.
“Don’t… I understand what you mean.”
Haruna nodded, and continued with her porridge.
“I see,” Ken sighed. “Had me worried over nothing. But I gather you’ve sorted things out with each other.”
The two girls nodded. Naoki leaned forward from the log she sat on. “Do you know who it was?”
He shook his head. “It was too charred to identify. If it was a soldier, any articles that could have identified him were stripped away by his assailants.” He sighed. “Couldn’t even tell whether he was an ally or enemy. Like he was killed twice.”
“Twice?” Naoki implored.
Ken uncomfortably shifted his feet. “Well, he was… taken away by his assailants, then they took away any way to remember him. He will forever remain as a soldier missing-in-action.” He paused to assess their comprehension. “It’s like a second death after you’ve already passed.”
“… I see…”
“Sorry, I took that deeper than I should have.”
“No, that’s fine,” Haruna interjected. “I’m glad you treat us less like children than anyone else does.”
Ken scratched his head. “Not by design, but it can’t be helped I suppose.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his canister still in hand. “I really do want to make sure your souls also leave this war alive.”
They both finally smiled, then ate in silence once more.
The wind was picking up, and down with it came some snow it grabbed from the mountainside. The fires across the camp flickered dangerously, and the men looked out into the rift with concern.
The girls were still preoccupied, however, to notice. “Still, why would they do such a thing?” Haruna asked almost to herself.
“Hm?”
She shrugged, putting aside her empty canister. “I mean, it’s already bad enough he’s no longer alive.”
“Ah… I don’t know. Maybe out of hate. Or revenge.”
“… Where did this hate start from?”
“… I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t know if there was any one origin that brought down the chains of hate upon this world.”
“…”
Naoki watched the two converse in silence, shadows flickering across her face as the wind continued to grow.
“From what I’ve observed in the field, it seems that the deepest hate comes from the most heartfelt love.”
“Eh?” the two girls uttered in unison.
“I’ve seen it happen to some of my comrades before. And once with an enemy. It was quite frightening.”
Naoki couldn’t quite understand. “But, aren’t those feelings supposed to be opposites?” They sat up straight as Ken explained further.
“Yes, love may be the ultimate peak of expression. There’s nothing more sublime than caring for someone so much that you’d sacrifice your life to be with them. But in that same feeling comes an equally tremendous form of expression that arises when one loses the very thing they’d sacrifice their life for.”
“…”
“It doesn’t have to be another human. It could be something else. A sacred artifact. Or sacred land. Or an entire nation, for that matter.”
Naoki glanced at her sib, not sure how to fully comprehend what she was hearing. Haruna was already prepared with another question. “This field experience… then. Was it how it happened with this enemy?”
“Ah, probably the same with one other friend I knew. One of his brothers was struck down, and he went absolutely berserk. We tried to call out to him, but he was long gone. He charged in without fear, even as they shot him several times. Then he took out the very encampment that shot his buddy, and a few other nests before he finally fell.”
The two girls were speechless once more. Ken glanced to the side, as if something caught his eye, then gave a slight nod. He shut his container and reached out to accept the children’s. “I think that’s enough for one day. You two should rest up for tomorrow, as it looks like they’ll be a bit of a blizzard.”
Haruna and Naoki eventually obeyed, sitting out in the cold for a while to assess each other’s thoughts. Eventually, the older sib stood up and prodded for the two of them to enter their tent. They bid their chaperone, who had returned after Ken left, good night, and soon after, he slipped into his own tent.