Chapter 50: The Night's Nightmare

"I know it's dangerous," She said, softly caressing his cheek. "But we are involved. We must go and help. Your family, my family, and everyone else will surely be affected. That's why I need you to come back alive and safe."

Mr. Wang gripped her fragile and thin hand, hesitating to give an answer. "I'll… go and help. I'll join the military and I will make sure to survive! So wait for me. Wait for me to return by your side."

Chu Hua nodded and let out a pretty smile.

He couldn't refuse her, of course.

He'd give the world to her and to protect that smile, he resolved to join the military and fight in war.

He wanted this. That was the choice he concluded to pick.

Soon, he was deployed in training and conflicts and small errands.

Unfortunately, the war only escalated and the international pacts needed to get involved. It was a whole lot of mess and Mr. Wang got caught up in a much bigger scale of the war as his rank was ascending. He was getting used to the rigid routines and the dangerous life he chose, always keeping close to his chest the promise he had with his wife.

His greatest struggles came from the battlefield.

That was the place he had his most painful wound and his untreatable scars and his worst nightmares. The sound of the guns firing, men shouting, and children crying drilled against his ears at a dizzying rate.

The smell of gunpowder, dirt and mud, blood, and corpses cut through his sanity. His peaceful days were stolen like the night thief on his warm sun. He had been at death's door several times and they were all frightening experiences.

There were a lot of mercenaries who attempted to take his life away. His troops were also in danger a lot of times. Even the food and water supply endangered their life. They had to be wary of hostages and spies. And the government wasn't much of a help at that time. It felt like they were all alone by themselves.

Every night, Mr. Wang prayed for the safety of his family and Chu Hua's. He always cried to sleep, dreaming of a day that all ends like a dream and that he could return with a healed heart.

But what scared him the most was the time he met a dying man. There was a dying man he couldn't forget from that war.

Meanwhile, back at the safe area of their town, the girl stayed on the flower field during one afternoon when the sunset was showering the daisies with their warmth and glow. And she truly glowed among them.

Her beauty shone as she picked one of the flowers. She smelled it, closing her eyes, remembering her memories with Mr. Wang. And she wondered when he would come back home in her arms filled with tears of joy.

But that day was too far yet.