With mud as witness and fire as offering,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBa2mLF47V
the pigs protected one another——32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHn9fRCl1u
and learned to say goodbye, and to remember.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LSeAhKG84
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGam395Blm
Generations passed, yet the struggles never ceased——32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFo5BxOZcQ
but some things had quietly begun to change.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1foo4SDgM5
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYykicaGsb
The clash had died down,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiFsCczm4M
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 dust32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9t7idhJpe
that drifted gently in the silence.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkOWkdhHdV
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBX3ymAW07t
The night wind howled low,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN37U0CwifV
and firelight flickered between the ruins of the village.
The elder slowly stepped into the center of the clearing,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsn07WSwnZ9
his body stained with soot and mud.
He bent down, picked up a charred branch,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAz1dKG08O
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,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF21tkNo2HK
leaving behind a mark that was theirs alone.
As the ritual progressed, one body after another32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHK1SwqVaU
was carefully placed in the clearing beside the bonfire.
A broad-shouldered boar stepped forward,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tXZBv0DOv
a heavy blade strapped to his side.
He stopped, faced his kin,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDx0ikYAkKY
then lowered his head and bowed deeply.
“I, first warrior of the boar tribe,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaa9ohJKCED
will carry our kin through their final journey.”
As his words faded, the firelight flickered across his face——32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnxZGY9o7V
a face both solemn and resolute.
The tribe silently nodded and stepped aside.
The warrior entered the fire circle,32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmNWFNofAT
and with a swift motion, brought the blade down.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksKiWTmR3K
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Vr2GoVP8A
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO72QcblLE
They ate and talked——some with laughter, some with tears—— as if recounting a reunion long overdue.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQ2DnDHJLu
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAE7NkplGY
That night, the sky was unusually bright.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjliP9VfsWl
Smoke curled upward, rising like starlight, and faded into the sky.
