A Promise in the Shadows

What's wrong with him? Ever since my village was destroyed and my family annihilated, I've kept my distance from everybody else. I didn't want to build new connections. I just didn't see the point of it. Life is unpredictable. I don't ever want to experience any kind of grief and longing again. I was walking around the forest near the orphanage when I heard someone scream. I hesitated for a moment. It wasn't my business. The person screamed again. I looked at the rake on my hand. I had developed a weird habit of bringing a rake every time I went out, and I found the rake lying in the yard. I followed the screaming and saw the big white snake slowly lift its head. The boy in front of it was frozen in fear. He just stared back at the beast with a hopeless look on his face. I charged on instinct and swung the rake to the snake's face. The sharp tip lightly cut beneath the snake's right eyes. The expression on its face suddenly became more aggressive. It was determined to kill. It wasn't a particularly difficult monster to deal with. I had read about it in one of the books in the library. It was one of the first monsters to appear. Its eyes are very sensitive especially the one on its forehead.

The snake leapt through the air. I dodged it but I knew if I was a second too late, I would have been a goner. Then I pierced its neck with the rake. It was hurt badly. Somehow, I felt sorry for the creature, but I wasn't in any position to sympathize. I had to live to fulfill my family's dreams. It charged towards me once again. I threw the lump of soil on my hands which I picked up earlier when I dodged its first attack. The dirt hit its eyes - right on target. The snake closed his eyes in reaction, and I saw the opening. It was my only chance. I stabbed it. I stabbed the snake's middle eye. It tossed and turned in pain. Then, it was dead. I won. I defeated it. Perhaps I had gotten stronger and braver. I shivered. I remembered the giant spider. If only we knew how to defeat it, my parents probably wouldn't have died. If only there was any record about it, things would have turned out differently. I fell on my knees and started crying. All those lost lives could have been saved, if only. If only we had weapons, if only the soldiers arrived sooner, if only... I felt so bitter. Fate's too cruel. The boy came to me and I was wrapped in his embrace. It was the first time I had shown my vulnerable side. It was the first outburst of the emotions I've kept suppressed. I certainly never planned to show it to anyone especially that boy. He was the loud obnoxious boy who always ran around with the others in the hallway. The talkative boy I least liked in the orphanage because of the way he looked at me. I could live with the hate in his eyes but the hint of pity I hated the most. I wanted to push him away, but his arms felt so warm. It was comforting.

Ever since that day, he had always stuck beside me. He kept sitting next to me during lunch. He kept talking to me in class though I never said anything in response. He kept accompanying me to the library, asking questions about the books I read. He stuck to me like glue. Ten years later, I found myself entering the gates of the military academy. Ever since the destruction of an entire village, the government established a special elite force trained to handle the high-level monsters. The training was said to be multiple times harder than that of a normal soldier's. I entered the gates full of excitement. I came to take the entrance exam. Unfortunately, the other guy tagged along. I was so surprised when he announced, out of the blue, that he was going to take the entrance exam as well. Yup. Like glue.