Never Forget

     I don't know how I'll live with myself after tonight. It's been four months since my first station in that small village. I still remember the people's faces; the brutalized bodies of the twin's parents. It all came back today. There had been rumors going around that the enemy has been recruiting young females to be spies, soldiers, because men don't suspect them as often. I didn't know how young until the ambush.
     Charlies, mostly girls of varying ages, sprung up from the thick bushes are started shooting. They had the element of surprise on their side, so naturally we scattered, desperately searching for some form of cover. Marcus and I seperated in the fray, military training kicking in as we dodged ducked and fired nearly all at once. I was a few yards from the mass of bodies struggling together when a dark-clothed figure jumped ahead into my way. All I could tell as I reloaded my gun and hid behind a tree, was that she was a tiny thing, skinny, and... hesitating. Her mistake. So as not to waste my chance, I fired three shots, and the kid went down.

     Kid? I shot a little girl... I dropped my gun out of sheer shock. Completely drowning out the background noise, I lunged forward, and caught her before she even touched the forest floor. Jesus! She was so small. So familiar. It was the little girl from the village. Why was she here? Where was her brother? I had shot the child that used to call after me, laughing, "khá cậu bé." Had she hesitated because she remembered me?

     I held her in my arms as the last breath left, and then my commanding officer was in my face, yelling at me to get my sorry backside up and start shooting some more.