Gloomy and cold.
The drizzle that had been falling gently grew heavier. In the battlefield littered with building rubble, thick mist began to rise.
Rain fell from the sky, slamming hard onto the dark earth.
Aiden, walking across a patch of ruins, suddenly froze mid-step.
He lowered his head and stared silently at the ground below: a filthy toy bear and the shriveled corpse of a little girl.
Her small body was curled up between cracks in the bricks, one withered arm stretched out, as if, even in her final moments, she had tried to reach for that toy bear.
Aiden's eyes were sharp; he could clearly see a tag on the soiled toy bear with words written on it.
[Happy Birthday. Mom and Dad love you forever.]
Victor and Nellie, following behind Aiden, noticed his sudden pause and hurried over.
When they saw the scene, they too fell silent.
Rain slid off their bodies, trickling into cracks, but it could not bring life back to the long-dead corpse.
