Chapter 56 - A TINY HOPE

Veronica heard the man groaning painfully. She glanced at the wounded soldier. The man opened his eyes and looked at her as well.

"I… I don't feel pain…" the man said in a hoarse voice. "Did… you heal me?"

Veronica felt a bit shy when that guy asked her directly. She scratched her head and spoke uncomfortably, "Yes, do you feel better now?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you! Cough! Cough!" before he could finish speaking, he started coughing due to his dry throat.

Veronica gave him a glass of water and said, "Here, have some water."

"I want some alcohol. Is there any?" that man could hardly talk.

"Yes, please wait a bit." She took out a bottle of brandy she was using to treat wounds and gave it to him saying, "Here."

The soldier sat up with a great effort with her assistance. Then, he gulped down the whole bottle of brandy as though he was drinking water. "…Thank you, Miss Healer. You are kind."

"…" Veronica was speechless seeing the high tolerance of that man. She faintly spoke, "I'm just doing my job. And, this fell on the ground. I believe this belongs to you."

The soldier's eyes began to get heavy. He must be getting drunk. He nodded while responding, "Y-yes, it does. I can't thank you enough. It's very precious to me." He took the locket from her.

"Is it from your mother?" Veronica carefully inquired. Her heart was beating faster as she anticipated an answer.

The soldier jolted by her question. "What? No! It's from someone I treasure the most."

"The person you treasure the most…" It was the first time she heard this phrase. She didn't read that in the romance books Arthur gave her. She was curious. "Who do you treasure?"

The man's eyes were unfocused. His voice slurred as he replied, "The woman I love."

"Is she a pretty woman?" she asked him further, trying to go deep into this matter.

The man's hazy eyes looked at the ceiling. The corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly and he answered slowly, "She was the prettiest woman I've ever met."

"Was?" Veronica coked her head. "Why are you using past tense? Could it be…" she gasped in realization.

The smile on his face was gone. "She died. It was a suicide. She killed herself."

"That's so sad! I'm so sorry I brought up something so painful." For some reason, her heart ached for him but her suspicion grew stronger.

The man's lips quivered. "Painful… so painful that it's hard to breathe."

"Then please don't talk about it. How about talking about something else." For her selfish reason, Veronica didn't want to cause pain to others. Thus, she reluctantly changed their topic of conversation, "You had burned marks all over your body. How did you get burned?"

The soldier thought for a while and then answered, "It was a light."

"A light?" Veronica's emerald orbs flickered. That made people disappear, right?"

The soldier's eyes were suddenly filled with terror. "Yes, they disappeared right in front of my eyes. I couldn't do anything to stop them from vanishing." His head started to clear up as he thought of that fateful night.

Veronica gulped. "That sounds scary."

The man kept going, "I never felt so much fear before. The light was so bright, but it felt so evil. I could… I could hear them crying for help. But everyone was too scared to move. Those who wanted to save them ended up like me. Are… are they alive?"

She hesitated before answering, "We didn't see anyone with burned marks. I guess you are the only one who's survived."

The soldier covered his face and groaned, "Why am I alive? I should have been dead."

Veronica patted his shoulder and tried to ease his pain, "Don't say that. I'm sure the woman you loved wouldn't want that."

The soldier uncovered his face while secretly wiping his tears, "You are just as kind as her."

"What's her name?" She realized she was being too brash and added, "…if you don't mind sharing."

The soldier stated, "Her name is Joana."

Veronica was surprised upon hearing that name. She wasn't expecting this outcome. "Joana… not Ruth?"

The soldier slightly frowned. "Ruth? No, her name is Joana. I can never forget it. Even if I die or lose memories, I will forever remember her name. That precious being died. I was going to propose to her but she took her life."

Upon hearing his story, Veronica felt her heart was suffocated. "Why did she do that? Did she not love you?"

The soldier deeply sighed. "It's because of her family. They didn't approve of her getting married to a person with no status."

Veronica desperately objected as if she was seeing a live show, "But you have a status. You are a soldier."

The soldier slightly shook his head. "That's not enough."

Veronica recalled that there was something like that in Sister Ruth's diary. Sister Ruth had met someone when she went out. Veronica couldn't control herself and questioned him, "How did you meet her?"

The soldier started, "She came to find some…"

"What are you doing, lady? Aren't you finished?"

A crude voice abruptly spoke aloud out of nowhere. Veronica flinched. She was mad at the guard who interrupted their conversation. She was going to learn something good and the guard just ruined it.

She smiled foolishly at him and answered, "I'm almost done. This gentleman wanted to drink some water. I asked him a few things about his injuries."

The impatient guard didn't melt by her words. He rudely shouted, "Whatever! Just get out of here. You have been inside for too long. Our shift is about to change. Leave before the next guards come."

Veronica resigned without a fight. "Yes, yes, I'm leaving. Just don't talk loudly. Patients are tired and sleeping." She left with her backpack. She wished she could talk to that soldier more. 'Oh no! I forgot to ask his name!'

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The next day, the healers were surprised to see that the patients with critical conditions were better than before. They asked several patients and they all said that someone came at night and took care of them. However, they were sleeping and so they didn't notice who did it.

However, the healers were tired after the long journey and they even healed people as soon as they got there. They were sleeping deeply and didn't know who woke up at night to take care of them.

The healers became more enthusiastic afterward and worked hard without complaining. As the patients watched those compassionate healers, they found hope and did their best not to get in the healers' way.

In a week, all the soldiers who were lying down and feeling weak had gone better. Everyone began to praise the hardworking healers. The soldiers were ready for war.

Even after the great success, Veronica didn't seem joyous. She wasn't able to talk to that soldier again. As soon as the guy healed, he was sent to the front line. She didn't get any more opportunity to listen to what happened next after that.

Every night, she would go to bed with her restless heart.

Tonight was the same. She went to bed and closed her eyes. She was too tired to stay awake like other days.

Suddenly, there was an ear-piercing siren. It woke up the entire camp.

Veronica's eyes flew open. She heard men shouting from the outside and noticed the lights were being turned on. She nervously sat up and asked her fellow mates, "What's happening?"

"The camp must be under attack!" Leticia announced.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Although I joined the Spirity Award 2021, truthfully, I'm not competing against other authors. Competition doesn't make me happy, rather my heart fills with a dark feeling and I hate it. It's not good for my imagination skill either.

I feel great joy from sharing my stories and ideas with you. My best gift is your heartfelt comments, reviews, votes, and gifts.

My writing pace is slow because I want to come up with the best plot. To me, plot quality is everything. And, I've got over 60 plots in my head right now.

However, my future career as an author depends on this book. I'll give my all to nourish Tangled by Fate. I don't care about the money prize. After I finish this book, I will survey the whole book. If I don't get the recognition I seek for this webnovel, I might choose another career for my future.

It's a great journey for me and I will never forget this experience. Especially my time with my beloved readers. These are more precious memories than I had with my family. XD