Chapter Twenty-Five: Relentless Past (Reko)
I will find you, Anastasia, I promise.
A young boy sits against the trunk of a tree, sharpening his knife. His frown and narrowed eyes deter almost every person from approaching him, save the few that have taunted and teased him for being an orphan. The usual suspicions and distrust that surrounded other soldiers concerning the boy would affect how they saw him, too. Everybody seemed to hate him one way or another. But that didn't bother him. He just wanted to go back home, and not spend another year here.
He could hear the loud chatter and exclamations of all the soldiers in his unit from afar in the dining hall. It was yet another celebration of a year well-spent, and a joyous occasion for those who survived to see another year go by.