>> |
03/14/12(Wed)08:58 No.18323098 File: 1331729934.jpg-(136 KB, 540x775, whitewall5.jpg)
"They say you can judge the measure of a man by who comes to visit them on their death bed. The soldier slowly opens his eyes. No Kings stand to greet him. Nor dukes, dragons, dignitaries or demi-gods, but the space around his bed was not empty. Instead, it is filled with those who he so proudly calls his children. Fighting back tears they look down at the aged man laying in his bed, their hands out stretched to rest on his cold frame, fruitlessly trying to warm his weakened body. Strength left the soldier quite suddenly weeks ago, and he knew his time was short. Smiling up at his children and reassuring them that everything will be alright, the elderly soldier thinks back on all the good times, his mind never once settling on the war. His life as a soldier had ended long ago when he took that first step, and he has been walking ever since. But now, as he prepares to take his final step, he is reminded of one task left undone. Searching for a particular set of eyes, the soldier pulls a single, ordinary looking brass key out from around his neck. The boy who once tried to rob him on the side of the road is standing closest to his head, unable to suppress his tears as they flow soundlessly down his cheeks. No longer a child, the mans eyes seem confused as the brass key is pushed into the palm of his hand. The elderly soldier smiles weakly, and in an almost sing song voice recites the phrase every person in that room has heard almost a thousand times while growing up.
'Where the corrupt seek to conquer the small, That is the place where the White Wall stands tall.'
There, surrounded by his beloved children, the soldier closes his eyes for the last time. And right as his consciousness fades into darkness, he can't help but notice how this final step is infinitely easier than the first." |