Loss

When i think of him, I am still filled with a profound sense of loss as the incident lies embedded in me forever, for hardly could passage of time erode it. I beat my chest in an attempt to hold back my sorrow and tears, but somehow I give in to despair, collapsing into plaintive cries everytime the incident floats about in my mind...

The sky was never clear. To put it another way, It was always shrouded in clouds of smoke as if the chaos had completely taken over the earth. Jonas, my young brother and me, not much different than the other victims of war, were forced to scramble from the menacing enemies, hiding as a fugitive in a settlement. Realization, soon enough, hit me with a jolt that I had to protect Jonas as he was the only relative I left after the death of our parents. To confound it all, he was borne with anemia, growing up with all kinds of physical suffering.

My eyes were glossed with tears as I looked at his petite and fragile body and I instantaneously hugged him tightly to my chest. Looking up his innocent face, I somehow could not understand why he had to face all these sorts of ordeal. Why was the God so cruel? "Jonas, I will protect you, you will be alright, I swear..." In between sobs, I whispered into his ears.

As God had has its own plan and things were never smooth. As usual, I was in the midst of gathering edible resource in the nearby forest while Jonas was staying at the settlement alone. The moment I was returning to the settlement, I was dumbstrucked at once to see that the settlement was caught in fire and the smoke billowed into the sky. My hunch whispered to me that it was probably being invaded a jiffy ago. Jonas... JONAS! I was jolted as I realized Jonas was in danger.

Wasting no time at all, I rushed into the settlement in spite of the scorching flame. "JONAS! JONAS! Where are you!" Panic stricken, I shouted while running along the gravel, in an unsteady gait. When all sorts of unwanted probability danced about in my mind, tears flowed incessantly down my cheeks in rivulet. For suddenly, I tripped over a stone and sprawled onto the ground. I yanked myself up immediately as I forced my will not to give in to despair. Hardly could I afford to lose Jonas.

I gathered my strength again as I felt that my legs weakened, almost buckled beneath me. It was then that a man appeared out of nowhere. "Lady! You must get away from here! It is simply too unsafe!" He hollered. "NO! Unless I could find my brother, otherwise, I am not leaving!" I screamed and cried as I was being dragged away forcibly. Unable to accept the reality, I fainted...

Time passed and there was still no news about Jonas. It took months for me to recover from the trauma, accepting the truth that he had already died. "Jonas, you know how much do I miss you?"



*In response to Mr Shim's short essay, I made myself another one. It could be longer, I think, but I wrote this in order to challenge myself to finish an essay within a minimum time. I guess it ain't too bad.