Snow Soldier
by Konnar Lamb
My eyes flutter open, and I see the dark, navy blue sky; stars dot across it and glitter. I let out a breath of air and a small cloud appears and disappears above me. I turn my head, and I realize that I’m lying in soft, silk white snow. I sit up and see a large field with trees that line the edges in front of me. The branches are bare and there is no sign of any life. There is a strange smell in the air. It is familiar, and it is like the smell of blood. I turn my body to see what’s behind me, and all I can see is a field full of bloodied bodies. I look away in horror, and I think to myself, "Where and why am I here?" I turn my head once again back to the field, and I see someone move.
My eyes widen, I struggle to get up, and I run as hard as I can to get to them. I drop down to my knees, and I try to shake them awake, but my hands are going through their arms. I try to take their helmet off, and my fingers slip through the strap. Then, all of a sudden, the man’s eyes open, and he starts looking around in a state of panic. I start calling to him, but he doesn’t acknowledge me, and so I call louder and louder. He still doesn’t answer. He then limps out of the field, in a panic, and into the lining of the trees. He is gone. I sit there for a few moments and wait. I don’t know what I’m waiting for. Then it comes to me. I’m on a battlefield and that man must have been some sort of spirit or ghost.
I look down at my clothing, and I’m wearing some sort of uniform, but there’s no sign of blood. I look back from where I came from, and I see a single body. Cold chills run up my back as I slowly get back on my feet. Each step I take feels like I’m going to my death, but once I reach the body, I know I am not. The body on the ground is wearing the same uniform I am, but there is a great amount of fresh blood on the left side of the body, along with a small pool of it staining the snow. I glance at his blood spattered face; it is my own. The pale blue eyes are still open, and they look so distant.
I feel tears start to run down my face slowly, and I wipe them away, but they just keep coming, and I can’t stop. I just stare at my body lying there in the snow, and I can’t stop thinking about the family I have just left behind. My daughter and wife are now alone, and my little girl is going to grow up without me, her own father.