All is fair in love and war

We signed our lives away. Using the same pen, we put our names forward and we signed our lives away. We were unarmed and unprepared; young and foolish. Curious children who believed they had nothing to lose.

Together, side by side we stepped onto the battle grounds. Promises were spoken of how we would be; together ‘til the end, we would jump each hurdle as it came. We would have each other’s backs and we both sincerely believed each one. We had been given our equipment; our guns, armour and training. We had no idea of how insignificant these things really were. We had no idea that when we stepped forward how easily things would change.

It began one night, as we lay awake on the same cold ground we had been fighting on for so long. We had never talked about the horrible things we’d seen, or the way they crippled us from the inside-out, but tonight was different. I had sat alone a while before lying at your side and asked of how you coped with your hurt. You turned to your side, facing away from me and spoke in a soft tone, “There is no hurt to cope with. This is life”.That night I silently cried, nursing my bruised ego. I felt so weak and vulnerable that I started to cover myself in thick layers of padding and hid them beneath my uniform. It was heavy and weighed me down, but I worked hard to march beside you, as to not be left behind. 

It wasn’t long before we reached enemy territory and found ourselves under heavy attack. We were both frightened yet stood our ground. We dug our heels into the dirt and refused to budge. Bullets raced by us and still we did not move. As was to be expected, we were both shot down. Almost immediately after I watched you fall, my knees met the ground. I looked down to my wound and found no blood. Just a bullet buried in the padding I’d used. 
“You didn’t get hurt”, You said, staring at the padding revealed from under my clothing “You knew I had not been prepared and you let me take the fall”. A trail of blood leaked from a small wound in your arm. I tried to hold your arm as I covered the cut, but you stood up again, firing your weapon aggressively, only to be knocked down seconds later with another wound and less armour than before. “Look at what you’ve done”, You said, “Why are you letting me hurt?” Again I crawled to your side and began to fix the wounds.

You pushed me down hard and stood once more; raging as you fired your weapon. Pieces of your armour had been torn away in the flood of bullets and you were continuously beaten back down. I did not know you that day; your eyes were dark and full of rage. “Get up!” you shouted at me, not taking the time to look as the tears welled in my eyes. I was blind with fear and hurt and I closed my eyes for a second and fired my weapon just once.

The entire world became quiet and all that was around us ceased to exist. There was you and I and nothing else. I opened my eyes and my body went numb. My knees became so weak that I dropped to the ground. Before me, you stood; eyes open wide with shock and a gaping wound, spilling blood from your chest. I ran to you and pulled you close to me as you lost control and collapsed into my arms. I screamed your name and pulled you in tight. You lay before me dying, staring deep into my eyes as if you were trying to see my soul.

You were lying only a minute before you spoke your last words. The words that would cut me deeper than any weapon ever had; ever could. “This was your intention all along”, you spit your words out in such a harsh tone, and with that you were no more. You closed your eyes and I watched you slip away. I released my grip and let you fall to the ground at my knees. I pried the gun from your fingers, and turned it to myself. Without a moments hesitation I pulled the trigger and sent a bullet plunging into my broken heart. All is fair in love and war; nothing is fair in love and war.