Forgiveness

Sam dared to lift himself up a bit and gaze over the tangle of barbed wire to the horrific pile of dead bodies and animals that littered No-Mans-Land. It was Christmas tomorrow, and he would be spending his time here…

 He saw movement on the enemy’s side. Could he believe his eyes?! A couple of Germans were picking their way through their barbed wire, really slowly as well. Did they want to get themselves killed?They didn’t even have bayonets!! He was too bemused to even aim his rifle, let alone shoot. The men seemed to be carrying something. It looked like a… football? A football? In the middle of a war? How crazy were these people?!

Craving some explanation, Sam looked over at Sergeant Black who was positioned a few yards away. “What in Christ’s name are they doing?” He asked.

“Christmas truce.” The Sergeant replied. “Along this line we’re ceasing fire for Christmas.” He looked over at the Germans and sniffed distastefully.

Sam looked again at the Germans,  who were by now two thirds of the way through No-man’s land and saw soldiers from his own battalion… breaking ranks and… joining them?! There was no way he would follow. Not after what they did to his brother…

C’mon then!” Alexander grinned, his face splattered with dirt and streaming with sweat. Sam rolled his eyes and followed his brother into No-man’s land. Suddenly, about a quarter of the way into the barren wasteland, Alex jerked back like a puppet on a string. He fell, almost in slow motion, into an old shell hole and lay perfectly still, sprawled on the ground. Sam screamed “No!!!” But it was too late. Alexander’s blank eyes stared unseeing, expressionless. A slow trickle of blood ran down his face and neck, an expression of horror plastered on his face that would never change, never go away; it would haunt Sam forever…

Sam opened his eyes and found himself lying down in the muck, panting hard. He would never forget his brother. He had promised himself that day onwards he would get revenge; he knew someday he would.

Hauling himself up, Sam gazed back over no-man’s land.  Some Germans and allies were playing football, while others recovered wounded and dead soldiers from both sides. Madness.

Sam spotted a young boy near him -16, 17 years old?- wearing a strange uniform. A German! The boy looked at him and said:

 “Hallo.”

Sam didn’t know any German so replied stiffly in English:  “Good day.” 

“To you too.” Said the boy in a strange foreign accent.

“You know English?” Sam questioned, surprised.

 

The boy nodded. He frowned slightly at Sam.

“You don’t look very happy. Is something bothering you?” The boy asked.

If the kid only knew!

 “You... savages killed my brother!” He spat. “I just... hate you!” Sam couldn’t stop the tears streaming from his eyes: a waterfall of grief and bitterness.

 The German looked really remorseful. He whispered hoarsely something that sounded like

“We have no choice but to kill.”

Sam glared at the ignorant brat through his tears. The dammed boy didn’t understand. They killed his brother! 

The German sat on the bank of his trench and said really quietly,

 “I’m so sorry. Forgive us? There is no choice. We either kill or be killed.”

Sam heaved himself up to sit next to the other boy. 

“You’re villains.” He spat. The boy looked at him strangely, like Sam was missing something important.

“You know your brother will never come back, no matter how many times you kill one of us. You need to let go.”

Sam realised the boy was sort of right. “How?” 

“Make peace inside yourself.” 

Sam reflected for a moment. He thought that... that they probably shouldn’t be fighting. It didn’t do good for either side. They should achieve their main goal of peace by using peace. If they just kept fighting they would be fighting for eternity, until everyone was dead. In that sense… there was no winner of war. Even the ‘winners’ have had family and friends killed, and buildings destroyed. He shouldn’t be hung up on Alex dying. He should instead focus on putting an end to war, before war ended them…

“Okay. I get it now. We need to stop this war and make peace.” He stared deep into the boy’s eyes and said “I forgive you.” And he really meant it.

The German smiled. “You’ve got it! That’s all it is. Want to join us in football?”

“Of course.”

 They stood up and shook hands.

A few years later...

Dear Noah,

Thank you so much for everything. You were right. Letting go of Alexander has made my life so much easier. I’m touring the country now, telling everyone my story. They really appreciate it. I think I’ve helped lots of people.

Peace be with you,

Sam

by Jessica
Year 8