Far, Far away, in the south China Sea-ah.
I left, a girl, with tears in here eyes.
I could still see the pain in her eyes as she silently helped me put on my uniform. She never once looked at my face; it seemed that her gaze was permanently locked onto my chest. I knew then that my strong, strong wife was doing something i never thought she'd do.
She started to weep, but no sound came from her lips. She took a step back and covered her mouth in an attempt to stop any sound from escaping. She watched as i put on my combat harness, checked my field pack for its readiness, and adjusted the straps of my helmet.
It was time to say goodbye.
We stood apart for a moment, both wishing so intensely that it was all a dream and that nothing was real, except for our love. It was a fool's hope. Finally, she looked into my eyes, and i saw the tear tracks down her perfect cheeks. Her will was strong. The tears that were there before had been banished completely. Only a love and a fierce hope for my return burned brightly through her gaze.
She came closer, and tapped the word on my left hand chest pocket.
Singapore."Make us proud." She kissed me, infusing all her desire, all her sorrow, all her anger into one sweet embrace, that i felt was too swift for me.
"And come back to me, husband. I love you."
I must go where the brave men die-ah.
A soldier has to fight the fight because he loves his land-yah!
A soldier has to fight the fight, he has, to DIE!
The march was intense. It had been many months since i had walked very long distances, and tonight, the night of all nights, i was seriously in need of a rest. But i glanced at my men. They walked on, silent in the darkness, and i felt buoyed by their determintaion. These men would fight and die for their country. They would do the same for me.
The forward platoon swerved into the undergrowth, and i signalled for mty point section to follow. The first few kilometers had been covered on dirt tracks, but the rest would have to be done through thick vegetation that, hopefully, has been cleared by the recon team. it was much darker here, but it suited our purpose; the enemy would feel the power of our attack before they understood that their deaths had arrived slightly earlier than expected.
In the inky blackness of the humid night, with sweat pouring like a brimming fountain, i grinned as i fingered my rifle stock.
it was hours before a halt was called. With hand signals, the company HQ had passed down a message. " O-group". Orders group. I nodded, passed down the message, and got up to move forward.
Platoon Commander 1 was already there, his runner a shadow behind him. i had forgotten about my runner. I stopped to go back, but a shadow bumped into me from behind, and there was a quiet whisper of apology. My runner had came after all.
I patted him on the sholder, and carried on to kneel in the circle of the orders group. The OC was tapping slowly on his weapon, checking his watch from time to time. He seemed calm, accept for his tapping, although i surmised that it was not despair or anticipation that made him do so, rather a need to get things done fast. He was extremely particular on punctuality.
The 3rd platoon commander finally arrived, his runner in tow, and the OC fixed him with a glare that was like flares in the night. The 3rd PC began to offer an explanation but the captain quickly silenced him with a gesture.
"No time for that. Gentlemen, you know what to do. So go do it. 2Lt Taufiq, you will takeyour platoon and capture this objective. stay behind as the company goes past. Remember, 0600 is the h-hour." he nodded at me, and continued on with the briefing. I wasnt listening. i felt numb. But slowly, movement came to my limbs. i felt myself wake up, my sensors overloading as adrenalin filled my veins to the brim.
"Alright. Taufiq, your move. The rest of us, lets go."
'Cos we are the ones who hold the front.
Cos we are the ones who holds the guns.
We are mighty warriors of our land-yah!
(note: This is a song in the army that i can identify with. Unfortunately, i cant continue the story becos its starting to sound like an adventure show, so ill stop. the main part is the beginning actually. hmm..)
