[ IP ] Glade

One morning I was out in the field when my son came up to me and asked, “ What are all the white pillars? ” He had been playing in this field since he was young, and he had come to notice that I was on edge whenever he grabbed the pillars violently. Because of his antics, a few of them were starting to lean. 
 
 I took a seat on the grassy field and had my son come sit beside me. If he was going to get this story, then he would finally understand why this field was so important for me. He was not old enough to get the whole story, but I hoped he might finally give the space the reverence it deserved. 
 
 “ Son, you know I am a soldier and that I can be gone for quite a while. ” The boy nodded. “ Well, the reason I am gone is because the King has me fight his enemies to ensure our freedom. ” It was at that moment that I paused as I looked at the pillars. “ These pillars are a reminder of the battles that I have fought. They remind me of the soldiers that I have lost in our fight and of the men that I have killed. ” 
 
 The boy looked at all the pillars throughout the field. There were nearly a hundred spikes sticking out of the ground. “ Father, you ’ ve been in a lot of battles. ” 
 
 “ Yes, Son. Now please be more careful in this field. Each of these pillars comes from an important part of my life, ” I told my son who got up right then and restarted his play. 
 
 As much as I wanted to tell my son the full stories of this field, I could not. He was much too young to fully comprehend the sanctity of these pillars. They were a reminder both of the battles that I had been in, but also the one I had missed. These pillars were made of rubble from my home village. While I had been training, raiders had come and destroyed my village. Had I been there, perhaps the village would have survived. At the very least, I would have died with the rest of my friends and family. Instead, now I was a soldier for hire trying to make up for the battle I missed. I was both a coward and a killer, and this field was my reminder.
