THE STORY OF A SOLDIER

The National Front troops advanced rapidly towards their goals. It was winter and everything was so frozen that the cold seemed to seep into Juan’s bones, a Spanish soldier.

More and more prisoners from the Republican side were arrested and summary executions were carried out all time.  Juan was horrified to see how humans can contemplate such horror while feeling almost nothing.

Sebastian, captain of Juan’s company, ordered him to join with the next firing squad. All the soldiers boarded on to the truck and four detainees were with them. One of the prisoners was staring at Juan with fear in his eyes. In that moment, Juan thought that he had become a murderer who followed orders without questioning.

Not so long time ago, Juan had been a nice guy who was studying in a high school at Teruel and was full of joy playing football with his classmates. He liked to remember those times watching a photo of the football team in which he played. But the war had changed everything and he had been changed by the war.

Suddenly the truck stopped close to the cemetery walls and the soldiers ordered the inmates to get off and stand next to the wall. In ten minutes the shooting ended the soldiers’ mission; after that they reviewed the clothes of the dead in case there was something of value, before they were buried in a common grave. Juan revised the prisoner belongings who were staring at him in the truck and he found a wallet and an old watch.

When he returned to the camp he opened the wallet and could see that the prisoner carried the same picture of the football team as he did. He was stunned when he checked the prisoner’s ID and realized that he was his best childhood friend.

At that moment he felt devastated by what he had done, he had become a monster. Then he ran out and returned to the walls of the cemetery beside the grave where the bodies were buried, suddenly he took out the picture that kept like a treasure, he looked at the sky and a shot was heard and everything was over. If he could not restore his life at least he would accompany him in the afterlife.