Collaborative Shorts - 1. This is the End - Revisited - The Story

The war had raged for so long, those fighting it couldn’t remember why it had started in the first place. Some said it was a territorial dispute, while others insisted it was vengeance for atrocities committed by the other side. Honshee and Xingshu didn’t really care why it started; they only wanted it to be over.

After hearing intel about a planned attack on their town, they tried in vain to warn their neighbors, friends, and families. Jaded by the violence and never-ending false reports, no one listened. So, Honshee and Xingshu headed for safety, sadly leaving their loved ones behind.

This was one instance where they would have liked nothing more than to be proven wrong, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

The town they had lived in had been totally destroyed, but they'd been hiding out in a cave, which is the only reason they'd survived. When they emerged from the cave, they looked around and all they saw was death and destruction, which made it infeasible to remain there, so they decided to flee to an area unaffected by the conflict.

Honshee and Xingshu had been hiding out in the cave for so long that they had run out of food, so they came out to find more, but that turned out to be a huge mistake. Shortly after they emerged from the cave, one of the warriors fighting along border thought they were invaders attacking them from the rear, so he charged them with the knife that he'd been using to gut a rat for cooking. Unfortunately, he stabbed Xingshu before discovering that he wasn't an enemy combatant. Regrettably, the wound was left untreated, since no medical supplies could be found.

Xingshu leaned against one of the few undamaged trees near the road, panting. "I'm not sure how much longer I can continue." His side throbbed from his injury. "Is that a light ahead? Maybe it's the inn that traveler told us about."

Honshee squinted at the lighting ahead. "I think that is the inn. Let's go a bit closer."

As they slowly walked forward, it became clear that it was the inn. "Perhaps they have something which could dress the wound," Honshee mused.

Honshee said, "Let's see if the inn is in shape to feed us, and then we should probably move on. But we need to scout carefully and see if more enemy fighters are there, first."

The inn was able to feed them, and they also had enough medical supplies to properly treat Xingshu’s wound. There was also incredible news – the conflict that had spanned decades was finally over. An historic peace accord had been reached, and so far, both sides were adhering to it.

It had been a long hard conflict along the border, and there had been many casualties along the way, so Honshee was looking forward to rebuilding his life, and the lives of his family, as he reached out to touch Xingshu.

Honshee’s hands trembled on Xingshu's shoulders as he looked into his soulful eyes. The world was full of possibilities, as his heart brimmed with pride.