Chapter 21

They did not know for how many days it was until they came upon another living human being.

If they could be called that.

It was a man, leaning against what had been a house, but now was a pile of rubble with a partially standing wall. He simply sat against the wall, sobbing loudly.

Ga’min and Min’sun attempted to talk to him, but he only answered with sobs.

They continued their journey.

For days, all they found were sobbing men, women and children.

All were alone.

None would talk to them.

It hurt them, but the pair of lovers continued their quest.

“We should do all that we can to save every one of them,” Min’sun reasoned at one point after leaving another sobbing man. “But, if they do not listen to reason, there is nothing we can do for them but leave them and attempt to save them all by finding what is causing this.”

One day, they saw the smoke in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, it was a burning house.

There was nothing they could do.

For days more, they travelled. They found more burning houses, more sobbing people.

There was nothing they could do.

They noticed the air was getting thicker with smoke. They saw more fires in the distance, larger and larger.

They came upon an entire village aflame. There was no living thing around.

There was nothing they could do.

At one point, they came across several burning buildings, in a rage together. Voices screamed from inside.

Ga’min and Min’sun tried with all of their mights to battle the flames, to get past them and to get the voices to safety.

Eventually, the voices silenced themselves.

There was nothing they could do.

They made love that night.

“We should not get that feeling of not being able to do anything consume us,” Ga’min reminded her lover. “Without hope, there is only despair.”

Min’sun nodded in agreement. “My love for you will stop any battle,” she said with a sad smile.