NYAC | 3min Read
Published on May 14, 2026
Boy
Boy
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
– George Santayana
It looked as if he were just moving into the flat. It was empty and free of furniture. In
reality, he was leaving. There were several cardboard boxes placed precariously on a table,
and in front of it stood Boy. Yes, he was commonly accepted as ‘Boy’
, as no one bothered to
remember his origin, or remember him at all. The only people who did visit his house
everyday were the locals, who had come just to tell him and all his neighbours to make a
move, followed by everyone’s confusion. He was a fresh-water-sailor in living alone and
this was the first time that his life, or his country, had thrown such a calamity upon him, so
expected as if an act of god.He had moved into a room shack, and now it had half a room and a large pile of bricks. A
truly agonizing moment every hour, where the people of power and official word, fought
for revenge like a game. The same guns which the poor thought as fortune and rare metal,
were the regular household utensils for these people. Of course there were the people who
weren’t involved in the turmoil, and didn’t want to be part, but as we know – whatever the
uppers do, the lower ones will be part of it, at any cost. More than 80% of the population at
the time, consisted of the peasants. Two months into the conflict, this was reduced to 30%.
But this didn’t matter, because yet with some of the poor alive currently, no difference was
made in the perspective of the people who steered the world. I didn’t blame them. No one
did. A country which fights first, has to be fought back at, during war, regardless of the
setbacks and killings. The satisfaction of the people meant everything.
This is where the story of Boy comes in. But the difference was that he was seven, and had
no idea about what a war was due to uneducation, but exactly knew how it felt. That day
was his last day to evacuate, as the mk80 bomb series was being tested there. The military
had chosen this area as perfect for this for the preparation of war, as the life meter showed
the number ‘0’
. No human life and no animal life (which they had ended in the previous
testing). Of course there was Boy and a couple of his neighbours, but they didn’t count as
their death wouldn’t leave a mark. Boy had no coherent plans. A half baked plan after
another. It wasn’t until midnight, when he was on his move. He passed the abandoned and
barren land where he had been living for all his life, and was very sad. But he didn’t really
have a choice. He walked over several broken bricks and tiles, and came across several
markings. He heard the sound of thunder. The blasting fire of the gigantic jets flying
towards his direction! It was too late, and he started to run. He was deafened by the sound
and eventually fell hard to the ground, tripping on a wire. He didn’t have any energy to get
himself back up. There was pitch black everywhere and soon the world collapsed around
him.
Back at the National Army centre, the reports were good! All of the newly launched mk80
bombs were working perfectly fine and people were clapping. It was even in the news that
day and you probably went through it, proudly. Their country had finally reached the
position of strong army, and that’s all that matters.
