Julio U.

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Our commander gathered us around an improvised podium made of boxes and told us everything a few minutes ago, they will come for us tomorrow, that was the last thing I heard before my ears were shocked by the joyful celebrations of all my war buddies who jumped and lifted their arms on a chaotic dance of relief and happiness, screaming things like “We are going home”, “I will see my child” and “It’s finally over” which resonated through all the camp, I could even swear I saw one or two with teardrops flowing along their cheeks.

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But I didn’t want to go home, there was no home for me in my country after all these years. My family died from hunger and my friends from lead rains that never reached me, maybe because God loved me, maybe because he hated me; the point is that I didn’t want to leave. I can’t understand, this is the only place where a man like me could still live with a purpose and now, we had to go because our superiors, the same men who got us here in the first place, told us so. Cowards, they are all cowards; why would we surrender so easily? I heard that we were killing more mud monkeys than they were killing us, isn’t that enough sign to show us that we are winning?

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These thoughts wormed my head as I saw my companions emptying our sleeping place, trying to save all their belongings as fast as they could like children when they heard the bell that dictated that school-day was over. It was like this all afternoon, and I couldn’t do anything but feel emptier as my final hours in my home began to fade away.

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I can’t sleep. I have been watching the rain forest since sunset, all those giant trees and dense vegetation, the view gives the idea of being stuck right in the heart of Mother Nature, it’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time. It wouldn’t be something out of the usual if it weren’t for the whispers. Apart from the distant sound of the river that was meters far away from the camp and the branches moving from the wind, I could hear whispers, they sounded really far away, something in the deepness of the forest was creating them and I couldn’t help but think about them.

If this was my last day here, then nothing mattered now, I needed to kill one more mud dog, and if they killed me, I wouldn’t care less, I would have died doing what I was meant to do. So, I did; I grabbed my rifle, my machete and my supply bag and found my way inside the rainforest with the moon and its light as my only allies making the ground at least slightly visible, so I continued following the whispers that called me louder and louder with each step that I did deeper on the jungle.

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Finally, and after what seemed like hours of walking, I found the source of the whispers. Right in front of me, away from others like him and in the middle of a celeste light ring made by the moonlight was that tree, standing there with its trunk twisted in a bizarre way, however, when I looked up to its crown I found a bed of red flowers decorating the top, the green leaves were overshadowed by those blood-colored blossoms that demonstrated its uniqueness and dominance against the other darkish trees around.

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It was then that I began to approach the tree that I heard another whisper, but this time instead of unintelligible gibberish I heard an almost humane voice.

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-I need bodies- I heard the tree exclaiming in my ear -I need you to get bodies for me- his hoarse voice resonated through my body like a trembling, as if it knew that something wasn’t right; but now a primal curiosity kept me listening instead of running away.

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-I know what are you feeling right now, it must be frustrating that they can’t see your full potential- He paused for a moment -They think they can throw you away like trash, but I can’t let all that potential go to waste, I can give you an opportunity, Ethan Clayton, to do what you know best, kill someone and lay his body against my trunk, that is everything I will request you-. The air flowed through his leaves and my skin as I began to question his offer in the silence of the night until he interrupted my thoughts again -You must be tired, please, sleep under my gaze, you can start your task tomorrow- So, I did, without anywhere to go I rested my tired head against his trunk and closed my eyes.

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Although everything about this situation was uncanny, I couldn’t deny that this was the perfect excuse to give myself a final little treat before I needed to return to my camp and to my home nation. I walked through a clearing that I found near the end of the rainforest to find a person quickly. A solitary place like this was perfect, however, I had already wasted half an hour trying to find at least a trace of human civilization.

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It was then that I saw in the distance a man, he was lifting baskets full of rice plants and wearing the cone hat I have commonly seen on these people. He was old, and his steps were slow and trembling as I walked through the clearing to what I intuited was the path to his home.

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One bullet on his head and he fell peacefully into the hard ground, my first tribute for the tree was ready so I didn't waste any time, I grabbed the man and placed it on my shoulders, carrying his old body back to the deepness of the forest and placing it delicately against the tree’s trunk, just how it told me.

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I swear to God that I saw how the tree writhed with satisfaction for an instant before he talked to me again. – Excellent job Clayton, I knew that you were the most capable man for this mission – he paused - You know, I called you specifically because you aren’t like other men, you have something special, I can see it – his words were strangely appeasing, he surely was really thankful for me to made such a weird quest – Actually; you deserve a reward for all your hard work, this is something that I don’t do recurrently, but I want you to take one of my flowers, tear one off, and let that be your gift from my part –

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So, I did, again. I found the nearest branch to the floor and with my tired arms I grabbed one of those crimson blossoms, it was so beautiful that I found sad the fact of having to tear it off from the tree, but there wasn’t much to do at this point so I just placed it inside my satchel bag, just like I did with the medals I received on the military school. It was then that my thought train was again interrupted by the tree. – This may sound rushed, but I have another offer for you; I want you to get more bodies for me, I want you to stay here. –

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– I just can’t lose you Clayton, so much potential and greatness in one person can’t stay hidden; and don’t worry about your necessities, you can satiate your hunger and thirst with your surroundings, and I can give you a shelter below my branches. I can give you back your life meaning that they wanted to snatch away from you, the only thing you have to do is to keep feeding me corpses. – I felt my stomach sink as I heard its words, but I would have been lying if I’d say that its offer wasn’t tempting. I needed to make a decision now, so I grabbed the flower from my bag and looked at it. Is this what I really wanted?

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If I needed to be sincere, I really didn’t want to leave this jungle, even if it was terrifying at times, I have always had the feeling that I belong here. I raised my gaze to look at the tree. Even though I knew that this situation was completely out of this world, I really felt appreciated by him, something that I hadn’t felt since I entered the military school; it’s like being at home.

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I have finally made a decision, I will work for him, maybe because deep inside me I know that I need him more than he needs me.

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The sunrays were disappearing again and I was carrying another body to give to Mr. tree, this time it was a woman, she was really thin and light so I could get to him at time before the light would dissipate completely, I had luck with this one, however, as I walked through the same clearing I saw a pair of green eyes watching me, its shape was tall and slim

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He must be the son of that farmer, same eyes, same nose, I knew he was related, but I couldn't analyze further because he started screaming a language that I couldn't understand, but one thing was sure, he was completely mad about something. Before I could have my turn to talk, he started running towards me with his machete ready to be used, I rapidly dropped the body of the woman to aim my rifle at the head of the young.

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First bullet, I missed; it was hard to see with all this darkness affecting my vision. Second bullet, there wasn't a second bullet, I was out of ammo, my machete was with Mr. Tree and the boy was riskily near me, even a soldier like me knew that fighting a machete with bare hands was a suicide, so I had to eat my pride and start running to hide in the deepness of the forest. The boy kept screaming incoherent words as the pursuit continued through the forest. He was really fast, so I tried to confuse him by running in a strange pattern, taking unpredictable paths just like the mud monkeys did when we chased them in places like these.

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Finally, no sunray was lightning the terrain anymore, but the boy didn't seem to stop, I could hear his steps right behind me, hungry for vengeance when I hardly spotted a slope in front of me, when I reached it I used all my forces to climb it as fast as I could until I got on top of it, I saw how the boy started climbing too, but I had a plan, I grabbed a big rock next to a tree and throw it with all my strength, it hit his head, and thanks to the pain he fell to the ground. I was more intelligent, and the last thing I heard was more unintelligible phrases as he ran away. I won for today, so I continued my path until I finally found the tree again. It had been a hard day, so I lay next to the corpse and tried to sleep, knowing Mr. Tree would protect me.

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I couldn't sleep well. Every few minutes I woke up with thoughts about that boy, letting him live was an atrocious mistake, and now everything I can think about is the possibility of him returning to finish what he began.

I was starting to be consumed by the paranoia when once again Mr. Tree began to talk to me: - I know you are scared Clayton, but strong men must not be scared by the death, and I know that you are a strong man – He told me – You must be ready for the moment death starts chasing you, you did it once already, why wouldn’t you do it now? -

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As I thought about what to do, a sudden sound of a far-off lost bullet was heard in the forest, they were looking for me, and the fear got me again. - You must end what you began with, just like that boy is going to do - He told me as I grabbed my rifle once again, I knew this time I wouldn’t miss the shot.

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Minutes felt like hours as I tried to hear my surroundings, the yells from more than one person disoriented me, the boy with the green eyes wasn’t alone, and it seemed that there were people in every direction searching for me. Everyone surely wants me dead, but I can’t blame them.

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I was so immersed in my thoughts that my body shocked when I felt a bullet piercing the left side of my stomach, I could feel my blood staining my shirt as I rapidly held my rifle with both hands and turned over to see the old man who tried to take me down, I responded the same way, finishing the whole magazine as he fell to the ground, but even if he didn’t kill me, I started to feel weak. – You are dying Clayton, the clock is already ticking against you – Mr. Tree told me – but you can’t give up now, every corpse apports to the cause, to the numbers, you must keep going. Even if you die here, I will remember you as a hero – I knew that I had to continue.

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The fact that he wouldn’t be damaged if I didn’t tell them he was the one who gave me the instructions calmed me down, however, I found sad that Mr. tree would be alone after my death, if I could talk to my pursuers, if I could tell them that sometimes we aren’t enough ourselves, that sometimes we need someone else to take roots into our heads and make us a happier person, to encourage us to do what we most want in our lives.

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I was starting to feel a stinging pain in my stomach when I saw the boy with at least 4 other men running to my position, the noise of the bullets surely alerted them. I made a final effort to stand up as I wielded my machete, and then the men began to surround me. I tried to swing it to defend myself, but my attacks were slow and predictable, and I didn’t stop with the hope that I could be useful in my last moments.

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The final thing I could see was the boy with green eyes, with his principal characteristic being overshadowed by the crimson-colored blood on his hands, as he pulled the trigger and made my final hours in my home fade away.

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