Believe in one heart and it will act as

2

Written by Emily Parker

A story about love and sufferance

The raindrops splattered onto the ground as I looked at my parents. My mum had silky black hair, and deep brown eyes. She used to be filled with life but as she became older it all sank away. My dad was lying down on the ground, he couldn’t walk anymore. We were all drenched in rain as the roof above our heads was just a thin layer of cardboard. Malaysia looks so pretty in photographs but sometimes it could be my worst nightmare. My mum cascaded her fingers through the prickles of my black hair, and looked deep into my brown murky eyes. I could sense the sadness in her and I am pretty sure she could sense the sadness out of me too. I sometimes asked my self why I was the one that had to suffer through these rough times, but whenever I brought up money or the life that my family and I took place in, my mum always cried. Each time a raindrop fell and trickled against my skin I felt as though one drop of life was leaving my body. My stomach growled I hadn’t eaten something in days and my throat was as dry as the deserts up west. I try to never growl in front of my mother because it always reminds her of the life she couldn’t provide me. I saw food venders proudly prancing along the street selling their luxurious products. I sometimes wished I could be one of their costumers eating sticky pudding, taucu, or steamed fish. I looked around the market and I saw happy family’s skipping along the streets, sometimes I wish that could be my family. Even though we weren’t as blessed as others my mum always told us that if we were all together then there was nothing that could stop us. I saw my mother in the corner of my eye and she smiled at me. It’s the first time she’s smiled in forever.

“Are you ok?” I asked

“Yes, it is just that, you have turned into the most beautiful boy and I am so proud of you.”My mother replayed. I don’t know why she said such a random thing at such a random moment and I knew something was up because in the space of about a minute she turned from the joyous mother we all love to someone who hid in a humongous ball of fear. I know that my mum gets scared a lot but nothing like this. Her hair stood up in a timeless manner, her skin went as white as the snow its self, the color in her lips evaporated, and her eyes turned from a joyous blue to an deep, unsettling, ivory black. I know what this means and I know its not good.

“Are you ok?” I asked

“Yes, it is just that, you have turned into the most beautiful boy and I am so proud of you.”My mother replayed. I don’t know why she said such a random thing at such a random moment and I knew something was up because in the space of about a minute she turned from the joyous mother we all love to someone who hid in a humongous ball of fear. I know that my mum gets scared a lot but nothing like this. Her hair stood up in a timeless manner, her skin went as white as the snow its self, the color in her lips evaporated, and her eyes turned from a joyous blue to an deep, unsettling, ivory black. I know what this means and I know its not good.

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I look next to me and see my father and I can feel his sufferance. My mum looks like she is about to faint.

“Run, run away now”My mother screams. She had a look of anxiety on her face. A look of desperation.

“What are you talking about?Are you ok?”I pant. I feel confused, as though I am in the middle of nowhere. Then a sharp, cold, bony hand grasped my shoulder. It sent a cold shiver down my spine and I winced at the feeling. My mum suddenly burst out crying and held my hand. She held it so hard I thought she broke a few of my bones. I turned around to see a tall man with thin light blond hair and light blue eyes. I finally understand what my mother was crying about. He was going to take me away. But why I wonder?

“My name is Samuel and I am a recruit from the Malaysian Army but I am from the United States. I am here to inform you that the government is an unstable mess and the military would like to take over and rule Malaysia. We will need one man from each house hold to fight for destruction over the governor. The military will let you take 2 days to choose the man and send him to the town center at 4 PM Thursday. If your family do not have a representative then the life of your family will be gone.”As he finishes he walks away and looks back to tell my family and I that we can’t be late. I sit there in shock and in horror as I let his speech sink in. I shudder, my mother quakes, and my dad looked blood less.

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“I have to go.” I say.

“No you can’t!” My mother replays.

“Dad can’t go mother. Stop making him suffer. This is my job and you have no voice in my decision!!” I scream

“Fine.” My mother replays and she walks away. She looks back once more and says,”If this is the way you want to end this then so be it but all I am doing is trying to protect you and there’s nothing wrong with that.” I look at my dad and he looks sad, weak and I know I can’t let him go off to war.

“Come here son.” My father says. He is trying so hard to speak and is having to take deep breaths because its difficult to speak.

“Are you okay dad?” I ask.

“Listen to me boy, I am fine but it would hurt me so much to know that you would be hurt. Just make sure to believe in yourself and there is one more thing. Believe in one heart and it will act as two.”

“Thanks dad.” I replay with confidence. Even though my voice might had sounded strong, in the inside I was petrified. My heart was beating out of my chest and even though I said I was going, I still wasn’t sure.

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“I have to go.” I say.

“No you can’t!” My mother replays.

“Dad can’t go mother. Stop making him suffer. This is my job and you have no voice in my decision!!” I scream

“Fine.” My mother replays and she walks away. She looks back once more and says,”If this is the way you want to end this then so be it but all I am doing is trying to protect you and there’s nothing wrong with that.” I look at my dad and he looks sad, weak and I know I can’t let him go off to war.

“Come here son.” My father says. He is trying so hard to speak and is having to take deep breaths because its difficult to speak.

“Are you okay dad?” I ask.

“Listen to me boy, I am fine but it would hurt me so much to know that you would be hurt. Just make sure to believe in yourself and there is one more thing. Believe in one heart and it will act as two.”

“Thanks dad.” I replay with confidence. Even though my voice might had sounded strong, in the inside I was petrified. My heart was beating out of my chest and even though I said I was going, I still wasn’t sure.

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It was Thursday 3:57PM and I was trembling, and terrified. I couldn’t help but feel a subtle wave of panic. I marched down the street into the town center and didn’t say goodbye to my parents. I knew it would be harder to leave if I saw there faces. I finally arrived at the town center and there were thousands of millions of people and I couldn’t breath in the crowd. I looked down at my baggy clothing and small, skinny, weak body. I felt invisible and felt as though I was the weakest one(which I probably was). Suddenly, I heard a microphone screeching, blistering my ears and someone speaking.

“ Hello and welcome to the fight against our governor. Each person will be in a big group and will be lead by one of the military Sargent’s. Some military professors are coming around with colored wristbands. The color that you have designates it self to a captain. Once you have found your group you will board the train to our military ground base. Does everybody understand.”

“Yes Sir!” The community replayed. I was confused, and scraped out of my mind. What was happening? I looked at my wristband and saw the color pink with a hint of yellow. I saw that Samuel had the same color so I marched up to him. I was kind of glad I knew who he was.

“Everybody, we will board the train immediately as we are the first group.” He stated. We all marched onto the train and picked a small cabin to be in. As I entered my cabin I saw a girl there. She had beautiful brown hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, and extraordinary pink opaque lips. I suddenly new from that point what love felt like. I asked her what her name was and she said Evelyn. I sat down in the cabin with her and we talked on and on about our lives outside of the colossal mess between the military and the government. I couldn’t help but smile that whole night and I completely forgot about leaving my family behind.

I woke up the next morning with a cold sensation down my arms. I looked at them and saw goosebumps all over them. They looked like little marshes that you found in space. Suddenly, the train came to a big holt. We were all asked to leave the train and as I stepped back out in to the world a gush of fresh wind came and thumped against my body. I was trying to find Evelyn but she was nowhere to be found. I ran up to Samuel and my legs had aching cramps in them by the time we got there. I asked him where Evelyn was and then a sad, unfortunate sense crossed his face.

“She is gone.” He said. A feeling of loss in flooded him.

“How? She was only on the train for a few minutes?!”I replayed. My heart sunk deep into my chest and I ran away, I didn’t want to here the answer. The one friend I had was gone and I didn’t know what to do. Sometimes I felt as though the world was just against me.

“Everybody, we will board the train immediately as we are the first group.” He stated. We all marched onto the train and picked a small cabin to be in. As I entered my cabin I saw a girl there. She had beautiful brown hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, and extraordinary pink opaque lips. I suddenly new from that point what love felt like. I asked her what her name was and she said Evelyn. I sat down in the cabin with her and we talked on and on about our lives outside of the colossal mess between the military and the government. I couldn’t help but smile that whole night and I completely forgot about leaving my family behind.

I woke up the next morning with a cold sensation down my arms. I looked at them and saw goosebumps all over them. They looked like little marshes that you found in space. Suddenly, the train came to a big holt. We were all asked to leave the train and as I stepped back out in to the world a gush of fresh wind came and thumped against my body. I was trying to find Evelyn but she was nowhere to be found. I ran up to Samuel and my legs had aching cramps in them by the time we got there. I asked him where Evelyn was and then a sad, unfortunate sense crossed his face.

“She is gone.” He said. A feeling of loss in flooded him.

“How? She was only on the train for a few minutes?!”I replayed. My heart sunk deep into my chest and I ran away, I didn’t want to here the answer. The one friend I had was gone and I didn’t know what to do. Sometimes I felt as though the world was just against me.

I go to the courtyard of the big Camp and find the same man who made the announcement at the town center standing there in the middle of the big stage.
“Ladies and Gentleman of all ages, congratulations on surviving the train ride. A few were lost on the way here but we can’t be affected by those we have lost. All of you must find a cabin and there you will settle down and start training. You will all sprint to find the cabins and the remaining 3 will have shown to be to slow and will be executed right here. On your marks, get set, GO!” Shouted the man. I ran for my life and my legs were already aching from the tun to Samuel. I looked everywhere but couldn’t see a cabin. Then suddenly, I saw a small cabin in the corner of my eye. I sprint as fast as I could and suddenly got there. I entered the door and there were 3 big dudes inside. I entered knowing that there was room for more. But as I walked in I regretted every move.

“What are you doing here?” Asked one of the dudes.
“I am looking for a cabin.”I replayed becoming a little bit nervous about what was going to happen next.
“You look like a little wimp. Don’t disturb us!” He shouted. I got scared at his booming voice as it echoing and repealed against the walls of the cabin. I took a step back but it was to late, he had come at me with a knife. The sharp ends and clean cut edges reflected of the shiny metal as it gashed through my thin skin. I cried in pain as blood gushed out of my body. The 3 men laughed at me as if I was some type of wimp. I howled and shouted for help as more blood oozed out of my body.

Soon a knock accrued at the door. 2 boys came in needing a space to stay. They entered and walked down to the end of the cabin. I didn’t know what to do other than follow them so I did. We walked together until we saw a room with a man-made oak door with beautiful intricate designs. We walked in to see 3 beds, perfect I thought. We all settled down and dropped our bags. We introduced our selves one at a time and I asked them why they were so cool with the 3 bid men outside. They told me that if you don’t bother them that they don’t bother you. I looked down at my arm once again as the blood started to die down. After that I realized that this was real, and that real meant war.

Soon a knock accrued at the door. 2 boys came in needing a space to stay. They entered and walked down to the end of the cabin. I didn’t know what to do other than follow them so I did. We walked together until we saw a room with a man-made oak door with beautiful intricate designs. We walked in to see 3 beds, perfect I thought. We all settled down and dropped our bags. We introduced our selves one at a time and I asked them why they were so cool with the 3 bid men outside. They told me that if you don’t bother them that they don’t bother you. I looked down at my arm once again as the blood started to die down. After that I realized that this was real, and that real meant war.

The leader lead us outside and their we saw 3 people standing. Two of them were boys but one of them was a girl. I suddenly realized who the girl was. It was Evelyn. I wondered why she was up there and then it suddenly hit me. You had to be a man to be in this camp. I suddenly felt a horrific feeling as she walked up to the podium. One minute she was there the next she was gone. I was scared out of my mind about what was coming but then I suddenly remembered my dad and what he had told me before I had left. Believe in one heart and if will act as two. From that moment I knew what he meant.

A few weeks after my big cut and the execution I became a lot stronger and my muscles were built up. I didn’t have any friends but I didn’t care as long as I represented my dad and my family. I trained like a bulldog day and night, people pushed me, and bullied me but I didn’t break. I lost my smile and kindness and learned how to fight for my self, and be my own being. Everything was completely normal and I kept repeating the same words that my dad had told me. “Believe in one heart and it will act as 2.” These words pushed me to my limits and helped me keep believing. I lay down on my bed listening to the whistle of the wind and the echo of soldiers. Suddenly, a knock accrued at the door. I opened it to find Sam standing at the foot of the entrance. He looked at em with sleepy, sad eyes. He handed me a letter that had been ripped on the sides. I opened it and the letter took my breath away, and I was speechless.

Dear Kwan,

We are so sorry to inform you that your dad has passed away. He died from a disease called Amgen that affects the heart. We are so upset that you couldn’t be there and we’d ill send you his ashes in about a day. Your mother is coming along fine and she has been staying at the hospital. The government has covered all charges because of your heroic moves to perform in the military.

We are so sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,
MIH(Malaysian International Hospital)