Few men were still moved by that incident, including Zaccheus. The fatigued soldiers tumbled down into their blood shredded camp. Zaccheus’s mind was roaming cluelessly inside a blank canvas as he sat below a Chamaebatia.

He could hear the wearisome but stressless heaves, cries and laughter of his fellow comrades. While Zaccheus himself remained expressionless, with a dull look on his face.

The soldiers’ voices went through his ear drums as the cries of his friend. Forest animals scurried through leftover foods. On seeing the flapping wings of birds who flew out of the battlefield, he bit his lips violently.

-We were supposed to get out together. He wasn’t supposed to die- was what echoed again and again in his ears, as he sunk in slumber. Not even the joyful voices of the soldiers brought him back into reality…

The inexperienced recruits gathered themselves for dinner. Meanwhile, Zaccheus took out his diary and shuffled through its pages. Then he started writing something on it. At that instant, two hungry soldiers spotted Zaccheus.

A tall and pale looking man ran towards him, followed by a tanned man.

The two amigos joined him bedside the plant. Even at their arrival, Zaccheus didn’t stop jotting.

‘Zacch, come on, let’s grab something to eat,’ Amos said.

‘I’m not hungry,’ he replied in a quiverish tone.

‘He’s gone Zaccheus, you must move on’ Judas gabbled, holding his breath.

‘Just leave me alone,’ Zaccheus said gruffly as waterdrops inched out of his red eyes.

‘What are you even scribbling in your diary?’ Judas asked.

‘I had the same question in my mind,’ added Amos.

Zaccheus rubbed his tears and glared away from his friends.

(Also sumbimtted on royal road)

‘Zaccheus, you seem lost… Could it be?’ Amos asked curiously, with widening eyes staring freakishly onto Zaccheus.

‘He ate the pork chop that I gifted him for his birthday!’ Amos exclaimed.

‘The one you used to keep under your armpit at night?’ asked Judas. Passing soldiers glanced and giggled with each other.

‘Yep!’ Amos exclaimed. He was now frothing.

‘I spat it out the moment I heard of it!’ Zaccheus yelled.

‘What! How dare you!’ Amos shouted in dismay.

‘Amos, I think that he actually wants revenge for that guy,’ Judas said.

‘You mean for that tall cocky soldier who would talk only to Zacch?’ Amos asked in disbelief.

‘Yes! And his name is Duraivan!’ Judas shouted and groaned.

The two friends, turned towards Zaccheus once more. He was expressionless and still gaping away from them. Then he turned towards them for which Amos flung back with a small yelp.

‘Guys,’ Zaccheus said gravely.

‘Promise me that you would keep this a secret,’ Zaccheus continued.

‘Probably not,’ Amos smirked.

Judas smacked Amos on the head.

‘Be quiet! Alright, we will keep it a secret,’ Judas told.

‘Good, and DO NOT INTERRUPT,’ Zaccheus ordered. His eyes pointed towards Amos as he finished.

‘Guys I found it,’ Zaccheus said boldly, staring upwards at the withered leaves.

There was a long pause; only the crushing of dead dry leaves as some soldiers walked past was heard.

‘I found the way to win this losing war! I found the way!’ Zaccheus shouted.

Judas and Amos glanced at each other for a quick second. By now most of the soldiers had walked past them.

‘That’s great! Let’s go share this news to everyone!’ Judas shouted impatiently. But just as he was about to turn away, Zaccheus reached out to him.

‘No! This shouldn’t be told to anyone!’ Zaccheus told strictly.

‘Why?’ Amos asked.

‘Because… They shouldn’t know…,’ but then Zaccheus stopped and started glaring past his friends. Soon, the two friends too turned around. They were startled.

A man was rushing towards them. His loose shirt waved around his small body. Some letters in his name tag were missing.

The man tottered with his left foot landing right and right landing left. Zaccheus looked at the ridiculous man with concern.

He was quickly intercepted by Amos. But the man tripped down and his uniform was showered with sweat.

‘Hold your horses Gabriel,’ Amos said. He then supported Gabriel as he sat on a boulder. After a while,

‘Gentlemen,’ Gabriel told as he kept his hands on his knees, heaving.

‘He is here,’ he continued.

‘Who?’

The man took a couple of seconds to catch his breath; his legs trembled. Judas kept his sight on Gabriel, his foot patting the ground several times.

‘Spit it out already!’ Judas yelled.

‘George Washington, he is here at the central camp!’ Gabriel shouted.

There was a small stop after the man finished his line.

‘What!’

All of them gasped, and glanced at each other nervously. Hair from their arms stood up.

‘I think we better get going,’ Gabriel said.

Then, like men revived from death, they rushed towards the heart of the camp, without uttering a word.

It wasn’t that long before the four men arrived to the main camp. The stinky odor of their uniforms was smelt by Amos even before they reached the camp.

When they tumbled into the small graveyard, they noticed that every soldier had already lined up.

Zaccheus also spotted a tornado of smoke and ash behind the lines.

All eyes were on them, including Sir Washington’s. His aura made Amos gulp, who struggled to hide the shivering in his body.

On seeing Amos’s face, Judas bumped into his shoulder and whispered in his ears.

‘You see that white haired grumpy- looking man, he is George Washington.’

Amos gave a quick glimpse back at Judas.

‘You aren’t making me feel any better,’ Amos murmured.

Actually, Washington was scrutinizing Zaccheus, who stood still as a statue. His shrunken and sorrowful eyes stared past the leader’s presence, to where piles of dead men were placed for burning.

After coming back from his thoughts, Zaccheus came up to Washington with a solemn face.

He saluted with a high head and negligible fear. Then,

‘Let those dead soldiers be buried,’ Zaccheus asserted. His voice was merged with blends of harsh and hopeless tones.

‘Why? You do know that it is very much time consuming to bury them, right?’ Washington berated Zaccheus, completely annoyed at his sight.

‘Bury them. They died for you and for this nation,’ Zaccheus ordered and said, his arrogant voice echoed through Washington’s ears. Veins started appearing from his forehead.

And he kept hearing the cumulated gasps of hundreds of soldiers after hearing what Zaccheus had told.

Before things exploded, Judas pulled Zaccheus into the ranks of the soldiers. But the damage was already done. Washington kept his gaze upon Zaccheus until he got lost into the disordered lines.

It took some time to calm the excited soldiers, whom kept talking about Zaccheus now. Soldiers kept glancing at Zaccheus, their face refilled with small drop of hope. In another part of the line, Amos patted on Gabriel’s shoulder.

‘Any idea why Washington has come to our useless camp?’ Amos questioned.

‘I do actually,’

‘Continue’

‘I’ve heard that Washington has come to praise our regiment for successfully completing over a hundred missions,’ Gabriel replied.

‘I’ve heard that he will be residing in our camp for about two days,’ he added.

‘I bet Zaccheus isn’t going to enjoy that, is he?’

‘Definitely,’ Gabriel answered.

In another part of the disordered line, Judas kept asking questions to Zaccheus.

‘Zaccheus, please tell me what have you written in that diary?’

‘And why shouldn’t I tell it to anyone?’

Zaccheus didn’t reply, his forehead was covered with sweat and his hands were clenched shut.

‘Please answer!’ Judas yelled. But still no reply…

Soon the murmurings came to an end, but only after their officer in-charge yelled at them several times.

After a few more hushed but intense minutes, all the soldiers were dismissed by Washington himself. His eyes were dull and discouraged and he let out a meaningful sigh.

The men scattered out of the place rapidly.

In short, all the soldiers were exhausted from the battle. But Zaccheus was still thinking about Duraivan. He took that bullet to save him, and that regret was still hanging in his chest. Why should he, was another one of his unanswered questions.

Everyone was chattering with each other throughout the day and slowly arrived to their tents. They were surrounded by large forest trees and shrubs. The humid day soon became chillier.

But while the others rested in their shabby tents at the arrival of night, Zaccheus grabbed his diary and snatched a picture of his brother from his dirty uniform. He then pocketed a knife out of his pocket and set out.

Despite few men spotting him, he was ignored by them. He then climbed up the hill where the main road passed through.

Sharply, Zaccheus brisked his way through the unpaved rock road. It was completely empty and the chilly wind rushed through abandoned tents of dead men.

Resting upside down on twigs and branches of hideous trees, several bats screeched at him along the sidewalk. And owls stared at the suspicious man with glowing yellow eyes. A cloud of mosquitos whirled around his head.

But Zaccheus didn’t slow down, his footsteps thumped and crushed on worms and insects. Somewhere far off, wolves howled at the sight of the full moon. Suddenly a drop of water splashed onto his nose. It was followed by drizzles and a cry of thunder.

Finally, he came to a halt at where the prior confrontation with George occurred. He gazed upon Washington’s bright tent. Light flooded out of the thin holes in between the large tent’s fabric.

Zaccheus started grabbing some coal beside the dead soldiers and stuffed it in his pocket.

Zaccheus listened carefully to the cheerful chatters and loud jokes coming from the large tent. He then wrote something on his wrist. -5 men- it read. After the voices grew louder, he started crouching his way to his nearest side of the green tent. As he sneaked, he snapped several twigs into pieces and rolled multiple rocks away from him with every step.

His eyes closed as his hand ran across the smooth and elegant fabric of the tent.

From there he took his knife and teared a small eye hole into it. A fog of warmth flew out of the hole. The sudden gush of hotness ran through Zaccheus’s spine.

Then, he kept his right eye into the hole.

Without wasting time, he started to count the number of candles he could see. For every candle, he sticked out one of his fingers. At the end six of his fingers were popping out.

His pupils moved left and right.

After thinking for a while, Zaccheus reached out to his pocket and took out large amounts of black coal. He then set it on fire and threw it underneath the tent’s foot. Zaccheus rushed towards the back of a tree.

After a while the men began to cough and light glowed dimmer than before.

Zaccheus covered his nose with a smooth cloth. And after a long wait, smoke started to overflow out of the tent.

The insiders shouted and cried for help. Darkness covered the tent and Zaccheus started to move.

Soon the insiders managed to come out of the tent. The drizzles grew stronger and heavier. Just as the last one came out, the ruined tent was caught by the wind and flew out of sight.

Zaccheus slowly sneaked behind them, holding his sharpened knife cautiously. The naive victims let out a sigh of relief and horror.

‘What just happened?’ one of them asked.

‘Perhaps an accident?’ a familiar voice added.

‘Then what about the needles?’ another man questioned.

Just as Zaccheus was about to pounce on those five men, he noticed something. It was him…

At that instant, his heart stopped pounding, and he stopped moving entirely. Skin broke out of his dry lips. After verifying his eyes, Zaccheus dropped his knife. The alarmed soldiers raised their pistols.

‘Who’s there?’ One asked loudly. They all waved their pistols around like mad men

Zaccheus’s fingers trembled as he came out of hiding after double-checking his vision.

‘Look there!’ one man shouted.

Another man fired a bullet at Zaccheus’s shoulder. Zaccheus let out a cry of pain.

Another came flying into his thigh. Zaccheus collapsed and landed onto the muddy-wet ground. His blood fused with the water and formed blooms of pinkish waves…

The soldiers approached the unconscious Zaccheus. Then,

‘Carry him to the cabin,’ Washington said.

‘Why not kill him right now?’ Judas asked.

‘As you said before, we need that diary,’ Washington replied.

‘Alright,’

Judas together with a few other men lifted the half-dead Zaccheus into the woods. They walked for quite some time. Sounds of cricket rang through the sleeping forest. Once more the sky roared thunder and the rain was turning into a storm.

Just as the rain was about to pour heavily, they got into the cabin.

After they reached the cabin, they tied Zaccheus into a chair. And they waited for Zaccheus to stop mumbling. When Washington splashed some water onto his face, he got up gasping.

‘Good, he’s awake,’ Washington sniggered. For some time, not one dared opening their mouth. Then,

‘Judas, why? How could you?’ Zaccheus asked, his eyes were teeming with tears.

‘Sorry Zaccheus, we have to win, for our freedom,’ Judas explained, his head low.

‘So, you chose America, over a brother?’ Zaccheus asked.

‘Yes,’ Judas told without any hesitation.

‘Cut the chatter and tell us where is the diary,’ Washington instructed.

Zaccheus didn’t reply. Washington swung a slap onto his cheek. But Zaccheus started laughing, and spat out one his broken tooth out of his bloody mouth, at Washington.

‘Strip him up!’ Washington ordered. He then sat on a chair next to Zaccheus.

They bet him for hours, his limbs were fractured, his abdomen was bleeding and his legs were scratched. Yet he refused to utter a word. In fact, he kept talking about Duraivan and how he was a loyal friend, unlike Judas.

‘Enough soldiers!’

They all stopped banging him and turned towards Washington. He looked out of the window, at the pouring rain.

‘Why have you told us to stop sir?’, one soldier asked with annoyance. The others nodded their heads to the question.

‘We are losers! He thinks of us as beggars who are desperately fighting each other!’ Washington exclaimed.

Zaccheus laughed out loudly.

‘At least he understood!’ Zaccheus shouted.

‘But now I understand soldiers,’ Washington told boldly.

‘We must unite all the armies of the 13 colonies to win this war,’ he continued.

‘Do you think it would be enough?’ Judas asked.

‘Might not, but at least we won’t be dependent on this treacherous pig!’ Washington replied highly.

Zaccheus didn’t reply to his comment; his chin touched his chest and he himself was motionless. One of the soldiers tried waking him up several times.

‘Get up! I said, get up!’ he yelled.

But it was completely silent. Blood dripped from the chair into the creaks of the wooden planks. A salty scent flew to every corner of the cabin.

‘Sir, I think he’s gone…’ the soldier said.

‘So? Just place him in the dead pile,’ Washington said in response…

It wasn’t long before every one forgot about that incident. Washington went on to share his idea with the other leaders.

They all loved it, and together they fended of those British from their motherland, to finally get their independence.

On 4th July 1776, imperialist buildings were set on fire and the British flag was stamped on and used as towels.

But amidst the party, Amos alone stood beside his tomb, Zaccheus’s tomb. Not one was there, even Zaccheus’s brother didn’t show up.

‘I’ll miss you Zacch… I wish you luck in the after world,’ Amos cried, his cheeks were flooded with tears.

‘You were a hero Zaccheus, and you always will be a hero!’ Amos shouted.

‘No Amos,’ a voice from his back said calmly. Amos turned back as he wiped his tears away. It was Judas.

‘It’s been years since I have seen you wear this fancy dress,’ Amos told softly as he remembered the day he bought this for Judas.

‘He betrayed our country Amos… He could’ve ended this war sooner,’ Judas told.

‘Out of everyone, I thought you would understand him the most Judas,’ Amos replied.

‘What? Are you supporting that traitor?’ Judas asked, his hair was neatly combed.

Amos didn’t reply, he instead took out Zaccheus’s diary from his coat.

‘Here,’ Amos said as he handed it over to Judas.

Judas’s hair twirled back into a mess as he held the diary in his hands.

‘Is this, his?’

‘Just open it Judas,’ Amos replied.

Judas filled his chest with air and slowly started opening it. -What? - was his reaction as he held the hard frame of the diary in his sweaty palms. Judas kept blinking.

‘There is… Nothing!’ Judas shouted as he flipped over the pages.

‘It was Duraivan’s plan all along,’ Amos said chuckling.

Judas looked up at Amos.

‘He realized the problem why we were losing the war,’ Amos continued shortly after.

‘Unity?’ Judas asked with a raised eyebrow.

‘Zaccheus conveyed Duraivan’s message, all he did was a heartbreaking play! He gave his life for them, to make them realize what they didn’t!’ Amos yelled, his tears grew.

‘He could’ve just told it, why this drama?’ Judas asked in reply.

‘Who listens to a pathetic man who lives for friends?’ Amos asked back.

Judas was speechless. He threw the diary away with frustration and gazed upon the sky.

‘I am sorry Zaccheus, believe me…’ he said…

(Also found on royal road)