Vicka deeply breathed in the scent of home as he was appreciating the green and tranquil scenery of Greenly. Only now he had learned how much he loved the hills and farms, green grasses and fresh air. He was sure he would never miss Bangoli Plain where the soil turned red and the air smelled like a slaughterhouse.

"Ouch," moaned Vicka in pain as the small truck jumped on the bumpy road. At each jump, he felt a sharp excruciating pain in his knee. When that Goli soldier stabbed him, it burst his kneecap and tore the tendon along with it. The doctor said it would take years to be able to walk again.

However, that excruciating pain was nothing compared to the wound inside his heart. Whenever he thought about the story of Berry which Clooney told him, he choked.

That night, Berry also was part of the charge. Even though his mental state was not in full recovery, the officers added him to the list. When Clooney and Vicka advanced across the grey land, Berry also ran along with everyone. But in the middle of the charge, Berry collapsed.

Under overwhelming stress from continuous artilleries and gunfires, Berry broke down completely. For kind-hearted Berry, all the pains and suffering, screaming and moaning, bodies and blood took a toll on his unstable mind. At some point, he decided that it was best to end quickly than suffered for a long time. Berry pointed his own gun toward his chin and ended his life.

"You okay?" asked Clooney worriedly to Vicka as he understood the rough road would mercilessly kill Vicka's knee. Then again, he also had to walk on a crutch just like Vicka. His feet had to be cut off due to 'trench foot' disease.

"No. I am not. Any rum left?"

"Nah."

"Hell."

The two kept complaining on the road as their little truck approached Greenly slowly. They hitchhiked a truck used by the government to collect farming products from villages as tax. Their families rode in cargo seats.

"Can't you go slower?" told Vicka to the driver. Annoyed, the driver shut him down by asking if he wanted to drive himself.

Soon their little khaki truck stopped at the village centre. When they approached the village, small children playing in the field saw them and ran toward the village to tell everyone that their war heroes had returned. So when the truck opened the door, the whole village welcomed them with huge applause.

As soon as Clooney got down from the truck, he proudly showed off his medal dangling on the chest of his khaki uniform. While Clooney was busy showing off, Vicka did not. He did not enjoy any of it. He felt no honour in destroying the land of others. When he closed his eyes, he still vividly saw how the serene green plain of Bangoli had turned into a horrible dusty grey land where no life grow big.

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Vicka was not the only one who felt like that. The man from the alley of plum town felt the same. So he and some same minds started an anti-war club where they would print posters and journals about the truths they believed. They even planned to call for a march. However, it was crushed before bud.

The man was arrested and sent to five years in prison along with his peers.

"See this small rifle over the tower? It was the rifle I used to bring down the enemy. Dir '09. While Goli shoots 7 rounds, we can shoot up to 9," continued Clooney. The children were amazed to finally meet someone who actually shot the infamous rifle they had all heard about. They had been pretending with sticks.

Seeing Clooney all boast with the medal, Vicka chuckled at him. He remembered how much Clooney was angry that day when the medal was presented.

Four days ago, in the capital city of Davia, prime minister Balling himself presented the awards to all the soldiers who bravely fought in the battle of Bangoli at the National Dome of Opera.

Vicka and Clooney were angry because the government would not give Berry a medal. It claimed that there was no honour in death by own bullet. They argued back that just like everyone else, Berry guarded the nation dutifully day and night. Just like everyone else, Berry endured the sun and rain inside the trenches. In fact, the death of Berry was the fault of an officer who forced a mentally unstable soldier to take part in advance. The government should have treated Berry first before sending him back out.

Of course, their argument was a futile attempt. Although the clerk said that he would send the complaint to upper management, nobody would actually listen to a mere private and private first class. When they turned their backs, the clerk crunched the complaint paper and threw it into the trash bin like a basketball.

And the anger of Clooney did not last long either. When he walked up the stage to accept the medal, he was smiling ears to ears. Even though Balling said not to salute back because it would be difficult to with a crutch yet he proudly returned a handsome salute. He completely forgot his frustration with Balling and the government within an hour.

Vicka did not feel bad about Clooney about it though. Because he understood that just as Berry deserved one, Clooney also rightfully deserved it and rightfully was proud of it.

At the near end of the ceremony, Vicka saw the three men sitting comfortably on their velvet-cushioned mahogany chairs on the stage. They were lt. colonel Winslate with an incredible moustache, colonel Mckanthy with a handsome jawline and General Brundy with a big fat belly.

He noticed that Winslate was now a colonel, Mckanthy a general and Brundy a three-star general. But that was not all. He saw the medals on their kakhi shirts shining brighter than his. They were not bronze but gold and not just one but two.

There was only one battle so Vicka did not understand what the other medal was for. They were also rewarded a land and a car each for their great performances in Bangoli plain.

Little did they know, in the next five months, another Goli attack would retake the hard-fought plain and the two nations had to sign a peace treaty for the war they no longer afford by sharing the oil fields.

But nobody knew that future at that time, so_.

As he checked his dull medal and their shiny ones in turn, he broke out into a chuckle.

"So that's why doctors give sugar to kids after visits."