Fire And Flame

The last thing she would like to see was this photograph. This photograph alone brought many memories.

In the photograph, there was a man in army uniform, a small girl standing beside him and a woman standing next to the small girl. The girl held both of her parents' hands and smiled widely at the camera. Her pearly white teeth smile was adorable, with a few front teeth missing. She must be young when the picture was taken.

The man was in his army uniform with many badges attached to the shirt on his left c.h.e.s.t and with a batch on his right c.h.e.s.t.

"William Thompson" the batch had this name engraved on it.

As she read the name, a single drop of tear fell on the photograph. She immediately wiped the photograph with the help of her sleeve. Her face showed no emotion yet the tears wouldn't stop flowing out of her eyes. She stared at the photograph and wanted to divert her eyes elsewhere but she missed her father a lot. The man in the photograph was her late father. He was a renowned Major General who died in a tragic accident. He was returning home. But instead of him, his corpse reached the front door of his house.

Lily was twelve years old when she saw the lifeless body of her father drenched in blood. She tried to shake him awake but he wouldn't wake up. She screamed in his ears and slapped his face but her father didn't even open his eyes. She tried and kept trying… the little girl's throat dried after screaming for so long but she kept on calling her father, in a hope that he would listen and return to her. Her mother sobbed silently watching her daughter madly screaming at her dead father.

Laura couldn't help but cry with her best friend.

"Lily, let us go inside. Please..." she pleaded as she tried to pull Lily inside the house.

Lily pushed Laura with all her force which made Laura fall hard on the ground.

"What do you mean? I am not going inside without my daddy!! Daddy, wake up please! Let us go inside. Wake up, daddy… please." she kept shaking his lifeless body. She knew that her father was dead but she couldn't accept it. She wished everything happening right in front of her was a dream. Not a dream but a nightmare…

"Daddy..." Lily came back to her senses when she heard the rain pouring outside followed by thunder.

Little did she know that her mother kept knocking on the door when she was in deep thoughts. Eli noticed the photograph Lily was holding. She couldn't help but rush downstairs. She cried at the kitchen counter as the scene flashed right in front of her.

She quickly washed and wiped her face when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Laura? You here? All okay?" she was surprised seeing Laura all wet in the rain.

"Are you okay, Aunty?" Laura noticed Eli's red and swollen eyes.

"I am. But, Lily is not." Eli tried not to cry in front of Laura but she failed bitterly.

She sobbed holding Laura's hand. Laura hugged Eli tightly and patted her back gently. It was better not to speak much in this situation. She knew what must have happened.

"Where is she?" she asked while wiping Eli's tears.

"Upstairs..." Eli sniffed.

"I will be right back, Aunty. Stay here." Laura ran up the stairs. This time she didn't care about her safety. Her best friend was in need and she wanted to be with her as soon as possible. As she creak opened the door, she saw Lily staring at the photograph. She was murmuring something.

Lily was a happy-go-lucky person. She accepted whatever happened without becoming worried. She hated crying over small things. But whenever she came across this photograph, she couldn't help herself. Tears would automatically flow down her cheeks. Looking at the photograph,

"You just left without saying anything to me, Daddy… Not even a goodbye. This is unfair..." she stared blankly at the photograph, her eyes fixed on her father.

Suddenly, she remembered the funeral ceremony and the warcry. When she went to pay her tribute and respect to her late father, she started screaming the warcry while sobbing in between. The members of the same combatant group joined as soon as they heard the little girl chant the battle cry. It was a tear jerking scene where a little girl of the Major General chanted the warcry which was taught by her father once.

Suddenly, Lily felt someone wrap arms around her waist and hugged her.