Day by day we run
Fighting on the war
of life
But when grace
knocks upon the door
Would you have the courage for love ?
It’s not an old news : People are looking for true
love. Finding life partners have never been less popular. Children are seeking
for acceptance from their parents. A lot of time, we stuck and afterwards, wage
a battle against the mission. For a long time I have forgotten, not until the
new episode brings me to feet,
It was
unusually a long journey to a village called Caritas. There has been plenty of
fascinating stories in between I would like to share to, but this one
particularly captivates my soul. Anyway, I met Carl, a uniquely-red-haired
middle-aged gentleman who kindly offers me a ride in his cart; being in a tantamount
course to Caritas. He was so amiable that very quickly I had been engrossed in
a deep conversation with him.
"So, young man, what do you intend to find in Caritas ?", he
asked.
"There have been rumors about this man; perhaps about your age;
that has been accommodating refugees of war for years. I would like to meet him
and perhaps, find out more.", I replied.
“Ah, a curious one ! You see, I know a lot about him if you'd like to
hear."
“It never hurts to bring a plate to the
feast I guess.”, I chuckled.
And so we kept
talking and talking about the man while time flew too swiftly as we finally
arrived in the village.
"I am afraid we must part ways here, young man. I need to take care
of my horses before it gets too dark. So long, Cis.", he said that while
throwing a soft smile to me.
That was
probably the first and only time he mentioned my name and not addressing me by
'young man'. That's weird, I thought. Nevertheless, I went to say goodbye to
him and proceed to find the man I was looking for.
Caritas was
a very plain village. Yet, this is the reason why it was not too hard of a task
to find out where the man lives. Anyone that comes to this village must notice
a single house that stands on top of the hill on the south side. Oh and by the
way, he is called Gera, and he looked as old as Carl. When I come and
introduced myself, he invited me to a dinner like I am a guest of honor from
some great kingdom. He showed me around the village to see the refugees that he
helped. He especially accommodated orphans and old people who has no more
relatives, in his house.
There really
was a great number of them for a small village and so this Mister Gera certainly
must have a great amount of wealth, I believed. I wonder whether he is a local that
managed to break through the wall of poverty or some rich man who was somehow
moved to help these unfortunate villagers.
In any case,
it was dinner time. I didn’t waste the moment to confirm the things I had been
hearing about him from Carl.
“Yes, everything you said is true. But, how
could you know all these things ?”, he asked me.
“I met a guy in the middle of my trip. He
was red-haired, about the same age as you and very friendly. He offered me a
ride to Caritas with his cart and.. he said he knows a lot about you.”
“I see.. Anyway, I don’t think I recognize anyone as you described. Refugees
nowadays don’t have red hair. But.. he seems like someone I knew. Did he
mention his name ?”, he responded while grabbing his cup.
“Yes, Carl it is.”, I quickly replied.
Suddenly, he
put his cup back to the table, folded his arms and lowered his sight. He looks
stupefied. What’s wrong, I thought.
“Cis, I guess I need to tell you
something. I wouldn’t want to hide the facts but I prefer not to share
recklessly. Would you have time to hear it ?”, he spoke in a very serious tone.
I nodded as
a sign of agreement as he was preparing himself to continue,
“Twenty years ago, I was a soldier for a
kingdom in the west of Caritas. In fact, this village hasn’t existed at that
time. I quickly rose up in rank due to my skills and leadership until I become a
General. People would call me General Gera, or just The General. At that moment I was commanding army of tens of
thousands. I was a man made for war, but definitely not to stop doing it.”
What was
that supposed to mean ? He noticed my confusion and immediately carried on,
“By that I mean I was a massive killer. I don’t mean the killing in the battlefield. I hated
the women and children as I hated the soldiers that I faced in every combat. I
considered all of them as enemies. I had the need to finish the task : eradicating every enemies once and for all.
Yes, I slaughtered all the so-called refugees of war. I was a victim myself
when I was a child and I did so for a revenge.”, he stopped a bit.
I was very surprised. And yet this is the same man that does the complete
opposite for the villagers of Caritas ? His eyes told me that he would like to
erase these memories from his mind.
“Due to this attitude of mine, I was well-known for being a scoundrel
and subsequently, made a lot of enemies out there. But no one dared to make a
move on me. Our army was very strong, I had bodyguards and I am a pretty good
combatant, too.”, he giggled which somewhat remedied the negative aura.
“Until one day, I was leading an army of 20 or so to a village in which
I was told there was the remaining of refugees from previous battle. Apparently,
it was a trap set-up by a joint force meant to end my regime. They know The General would love to finish the job personally no matter
what. As we were entering the village,
we got surrounded and ambushed by hundreds of cavalries. We were individually
superior but we were outnumbered by too much. Ultimately, I tried to found my
way out but it was a futile effort. They finished all my men and I was caught alive.
They wanted to make a special ceremony where I will be hanged the
next day, in front of everyone.”
This is
getting hilarious. Well of course the ceremony didn’t happen otherwise I am
seeing ghost right now. So how did he survive ? And what does that have to do
with Carl ?
“I was bound and locked inside the barn on the village, guarded by the
soldiers outside. If it was not enough to know that I would be humiliated
tomorrow, I had to spend the night in a very smelly place because you know, it
was a barn. I couldn’t even attempt a suicide by biting my tongue as they
covered my mouth with cloth. That was the most hopeless moment in my life,
though I totally deserved every bit of it. I cried that night for the first
time since forever.”
“It was not until midnight that a miracle entered. A miracle by the name
of Carl”, he emphasized the name while looking at me.
“So Carl was the one who saved you from that barn ? But how ? You got
surrounded by soldiers too !”, I replied agitatedly.
“That was only a little part of the
story, young man. So that night he come unexpectedly from the back door. He
wore a soldier’s armor so I thought he was one of the guards checking on me.
But then he removed every single protector in his body and that’s when I
realized he was not one of them as he was an old man. I was thinking whether he was one of the
refugees whose relatives have been killed by my armies and whether he wanted to
kill me by his own hand. I was expecting nothing but this : he suddenly smiled
at me and without saying anything, cut off the rope that tied me down. I quickly
took a step back, but then he simply introduced himself and explained to me to
not be afraid.”
“That’s when I said that I deserved all
of this and why would he even help me ?”
“You did. But you will continue living
and your life will never be the same again, starting from tomorrow.”, Gera
repeated what Carl said to him.
“His statement was so short yet struck me so strongly. I was at the peak
of my emotional turmoil when that happened and I couldn’t resist but to agree
to his plan.”
“In short, he managed to distract the other guards so that I could run
away from that village. I would be pretty sure he got killed for that matter. He
sacrificed his life to save a public enemy and I didn’t even know him..”, he
sighed as a sign of disappointment.
“When I finally got back home, I instantly revoked my status as General
and left the army and the kingdom, leaving others in astonishment. I already
decided to dedicate my life for the refugees. For those whose life I ended. I
did bring all my wealth with me, but I would never use it for my own ever
again.”
“Truly, I had never
ever seen or heard about him before the incident. I couldn’t manage to retrieve
his body afterwards, too. He might have been
dead, but I believed his spirit was reborn in me throughout the following years
of my life. I built this village, Caritas, upon his name and vision. Maybe he
wanted me to remind me of everything by the means of meeting you. Thank you
Cis, and thank you Carl, wherever you are.”
It was the defining minute for me when he finished. Perhaps everything about Carl is a miracle. But the story didn’t end there. A second chance for a second life. It would have been hard for Gera at the beginning. But regardless, he changed, he strived, and now he is living his new life triumphantly.
----------------------------------------------------------------
We might have been victims. Victims to the cruelty
of life. Maybe we have tried our best to find a way back to love. But we keep falling
in despair. Yet every single time, the same question will arise : would you have
the courage for love ? For the truest love ?
With love,
"Cis Harry"
“There is no fear in love. But
perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The
one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
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