With mud as witness and fire as offering,31Please respect copyright.PENANAboZtuB4GKC
the pigs protected one another——31Please respect copyright.PENANAeCQ7gBoAl8
and learned to say goodbye, and to remember.31Please respect copyright.PENANAxfWhKS8HS2
31Please respect copyright.PENANAn5UJXH2ZwY
Generations passed, yet the struggles never ceased——31Please respect copyright.PENANADfxVJkjB1f
but some things had quietly begun to change.
31Please respect copyright.PENANAL8I2QGIp7S
31Please respect copyright.PENANAhfjb58IEbw
The clash had died down,31Please respect copyright.PENANAR4PtoCHWlm
yet the air remained thick with dust and blood.
Two large pigs, their bodies marked with dried and freshly bleeding wounds.
Dust and broken tiles scattered beneath their hooves as they stared into the depths of the village——
Their once-familiar home had been reduced to rubble, nothing left but shattered walls and broken beams.
In an instant, they dropped their sticks and began clawing through the rubble.
The pig mother pawed through the ruins with all four limbs, panting, her voice trembling.
“Babies, Mama’s here!”
The pig father, voice hoarse, kept clawing into the wreckage, shouting into the depths of the house:
“Can you hear me? Please… answer Papa… please…”
Then——a faint sound.
They froze for a split second, then scrambled toward it with all their might.
A broken beam was lifted, revealing a small, familiar hoof buried in dust.
It was a little pig, battered and bruised, still gripping a snapped wooden stick.
The pig father carefully lifted him, hooves shaking, only to find a smaller body curled beneath his own.
The little pig’s breathing was uneven, and he stammered, “Sister… is she… okay…”
“Whimper…”
The pig mother held back her sobs and quickly wrapped the trembling daughter in her embrace.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, “She’s fine. You protected her really well.”
The little pig looked up, his gaze already fading.
“Am I… a brave warrior…?”
The pig father pressed down on his child’s wound, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Eyes rimmed with red, he lowered his head and forced his voice to stay steady.
“Yes. You’re the bravest warrior Papa has ever known.”
Upon hearing this, the little pig smiled faintly.
Thud——
The small stick slipped from his hoof.
And the light in his eyes went out.
The air froze. A breeze blew through the broken tiles, lifting a swirl of dust31Please respect copyright.PENANAj061zsOogE
that drifted gently in the silence.
31Please respect copyright.PENANAg8OQ5tFSk9
31Please respect copyright.PENANAzofeE7Ma3Y
The night wind howled low,31Please respect copyright.PENANAXwZpDpCk6k
and firelight flickered between the ruins of the village.
The elder slowly stepped into the center of the clearing,31Please respect copyright.PENANANKiv9SoBIR
his body stained with soot and mud.
He bent down, picked up a charred branch,31Please respect copyright.PENANAJWdhst2ink
and drew a curved line across the ground.
Then, lifting his head, he calmly swept his gaze over the gathered crowd.
“Everyone——”
"Prepare the marks."
Clumps of damp clay were passed to the hooves of the bereaved.
They gently pressed a part of their loved one’s body into the mud,31Please respect copyright.PENANAs0CuPOgSmW
leaving behind a mark that was theirs alone.
As the ritual progressed, one body after another31Please respect copyright.PENANAKqy99msvvN
was carefully placed in the clearing beside the bonfire.
A broad-shouldered boar stepped forward,31Please respect copyright.PENANAKqe7c5rqI3
a heavy blade strapped to his side.
He stopped, faced his kin,31Please respect copyright.PENANAjuz34lEA4y
then lowered his head and bowed deeply.
“I, first warrior of the boar tribe,31Please respect copyright.PENANA0LmWqzP1rB
will carry our kin through their final journey.”
As his words faded, the firelight flickered across his face——31Please respect copyright.PENANATd315ysubU
a face both solemn and resolute.
The tribe silently nodded and stepped aside.
The warrior entered the fire circle,31Please respect copyright.PENANAM1wA6glX4R
and with a swift motion, brought the blade down.
31Please respect copyright.PENANAq0b6JyDkqe
31Please respect copyright.PENANA5euSHjEi0k
The firewood crackled, crisp and soft, mixing with the scent of wind and grass.
Just a step from the fire, rows of mud trays lay neatly on the ground. Some bore hoofprints, others an ear or a snout——some marks were too blurred to tell.
Finally, a gentle aroma began to spread through the stillness.
The pigs lifted their bowls and gathered around the fire.31Please respect copyright.PENANA4rHjtO2qkv
They ate and talked——some with laughter, some with tears—— as if recounting a reunion long overdue.
31Please respect copyright.PENANA3o2l0caKV1
31Please respect copyright.PENANALdSPLzquI8
That night, the sky was unusually bright.31Please respect copyright.PENANAXpqugYsaNK
Smoke curled upward, rising like starlight, and faded into the sky.