/THIRD PERSON'S POV/

(BATAAN-1945)

No one in this world wants a bloody war that will only harm innocent civilians and destroy the infrastructures of a country but no one can avoid what is set to happen. 

It has also been four years since Japanese soldiers occupied the Philippines after they bombed Pearl Harbor of Hawaii. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, they immediately tortured and killed many lives, whether they were old, disabled, women or children, they did not miss anything. 

Other civilians have done nothing but seek refuge to save themselves against the foreign invader. Many of them are hiding in their homes or have just left the province to survive. 

Odessa Soriano's family was one of the affected by the invasion and cannot escape the province because they are near from the Japanese camp, so they decided to stay at their home even though they know the risk of it.

“Mother, why is Dad taking long to come back? I'm afraid he might be arrested by those invaders.” the eighteen-year-old girl feels intense concern for her father. 

It has been a few hours since her father left them to find food but until now they don't know what happened to him for taking so long and the girl fears that her father may have been captured by the Japanese soldiers. 

Odessa's mother knew how her daughter was so worried. The caring mother has slowly approached her daughter and touched her hair gently to partially remove the worries in her daughter's mind.

“Let's just trust God that nothing will happen to your father, I know these trials will end as well.” she touched softly the girl's face. 

Odessa felt a little relieved but the apprehension she felt still didn't go away. “I trust God, mom, but I don't trust a conqueror...Mom, I know you are also worried about Dad so I want you to let me go out to look after him.” Odessa's said. 

Odessa was aware of the dangers that could befall her if she insisted on leaving because her boyfriend, a soldier, had warned her about it. 

“But Odessa, you can be in dange—” BOOOM !!! 

“Mommm!, there's a fire !!!” bewildered cry of his brother Sebastian. 

The mother and daughter hurried to the kitchen where they heard Sebastian shouting and were shocked when a blazing fire immediately burst into them. Odessa’s mother tried to remove her brother near the fire but unfortunately, the wood supporting their roof was removed so it fall over her poor mother and brother. 

“Mom!!” shocked the maiden. Odessa was devastated to see how the fire was slowly burning her mother. She quickly tried to remove the heavy, hot wood that had fall over her mother but she haven't enough strength to do so.

“My Odessa...go away...try to live and find your—” the last words from Odessa's mother.

“No..No...Mommm!!!” Odessa roared in tears as she called to it. 

Her mother and brother got died because they couldn't stand the extreme heat anymore. Just seconds after her mother died, another part of their kitchen suddenly collapsed, covering its dead body. 

Everything she witnessed was very painful for her and she had no choice but to go out of their burning house to save herself. 

When Odessa went out of their burning house, she immediately saw other Japanese soldiers not far from their burning home laughing and the girl's world was suddenly destroyed when she finally realized that it was the Japanese who set fire to their house. 

“Hora, koko ni utsukushī on'nanoko ga imasu! (YOU SEE, THERE'S A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN HERE!) ” said Tsuki Akane, a Japanese general. 

The poor girl could not understand what the Japanese had said to her and she was very nervous as the soldier approached her. The girl slowly step away as she forced herself to be brave to stop her nervousness. 

“H-How cruel you are? After you inavaded our country and kill innocent people, now you have even killed my family...you're all evil!!” Odessa spoke loudly as she held back her tears. 

The Japanese soldier did not even see pity in the eyes but stopped walking to order her men to arrest the girl. 

“Kare o tsukamaeru! (CATCH HER!) ” the general ordered. 

Other Japanese soldiers quickly approached Odessa.

“Dare ga anata ni kare ni fureru kenri o ataemashita ka?! (WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO HOLD HER?!)” a man's voice from behind the Japanese. 

The girl couldn't believe that the arrival of her boyfriend Antonio was appropriate. Antonio could speak Japanese because he lived in Japan for three years before the outbreak of the second world war. 

“Kanojo wa anatanokanojodesu ka? (IS SHE YOUR GIRLFRIEND?) ”Akane shouted. 

Instead of answering the Japanese's tease, Antonio decided to order Odessa to run away while the occupiers' attention was focused on him. “Run! I ordered you to run!” Antonio orders the girl. 

Hesitantly, Odessa quickly obeyed Antonio's command. She quickly ran away from the Japanese, but it was immediately noticed by one soldier who was fleeing tried to chase the young woman but fortunately, Antonio shot him immediately. 

“Don't look back! Just run away because you don't have the right to die now! ” Antonio commanded loudly. 

At this point, Odessa finds it difficult to obey the young soldier's orders to her, but she doesn't want to witness how her boyfriend's life will end, so she just continues to run while crying and doesn't look back at her boyfriend's whereabouts. 

Although Odessa could not see what was happening where Antonio was, she could hear the loud shouts that pinched her heart hardly. Odessa knew it was a shout of the heroism of her beloved. 

Suddenly, the rain falling down from the anger clouds as sympathy for the poor girl and was accompanied by sharp lightning bolts while she running. 

•••

During the long run of Odessa, she did not even realize the arrival of the total eclipse because the rain had just ended, so the sky was still gloomy and at the same time the tireless soldiers still found her.