Rice and Water My world has been shattered. My life feels empty. I no longer have a soul; my morals are dead to me. Just days ago, I killed someone. As if I had a choice! I never chose to be a part of this! I did not yearn for more than I needed. I did not choose to fight a war fueled by greed. Our leader, King Volsey, he tricked us, and doomed us all. Our planet used to be such a glorious place, a world which was half land and half water. Everyone was happy. How things have changed. My race, the Abku, live in the water and we thrive in underwater cities. Our neighbors, the Doku, live on land. For as long as anyone can remember, the Abku and Doku have had a way of life that benefited both races. We both eat rice. And rice is the only food that we need to live, perhaps an adaptation both races had experienced after all other life, be it plant or animal, went extinct. It only rains on our side of the planet, and rice can only be planted on the fertile soil of the Dokus land. Thus the Abku and Doku need one another. We give the Dokus our water, they grow the rice. But now, we are at war with one another, all because King Volsey wanted to rule the whole of the planet and be the Supreme Ruler. He led us to believe the Abku were planning to attack us, so we were rushed into battle before we could come to our senses. It was only then I realized how flawed our society was. Since the day we were born, my fellow Abku and I have let our superiors make all the decisions for us. How naïve we were, thinking that someone else maneuvering our lifestyles was ideal. Thanks to this war, at least I am free now. I shudder just thinking of how I used to be, living every day without really living. We would like to believe we were given false information from King Volsey, but the truth is that we willingly marched off to battle, being so used to taking orders. We let this happen, I let this happen. At first King Adran, leader of the Doku, sought for an end to the violence, but the war soon opened his eyes that the Doku were more advanced than the Abku, and that he could easily do away with King Volsey and be Supreme Ruler himself. And so it became both our leaders succumbed to the temptations of greed. King Adrans people are fighting for revenge, but they do not realize King Adran will not stop fighting until he controls the entire planet. I know nothing good can come from such greed. I killed a man Cinsy! Cinsy! What are you doing?! We have to get ready! Hurry! A scout says a small army of Doku is headed this way! We must shoot them down before they get to close to the fort! Grab your bow! Toss that silly book of yours aside! No Jip, I said. We must not fight; we have to convince the Doku we no longer wish to continue this war! Dont be so foolish, the Doku want revenge. Weve already invaded their lands and burned their villages. It was wrong of us, but it cant be helped. Now hurry! I grabbed my bow and followed my squad leader up one of the archery towers. But I did not wish to fight. Look at that! marveled Jip. They must be mad! Their army is only slightly larger than ours and they know it! With no obvious victor, this will surely be a bloodbath. I must go organize the swordsmen. Prepare your bows! Prepare your arrows! Theyre almost within range! shrieked the Officer. I did as I was told, but suddenly stopped and looked around me. I noticed all the other archers had been paralyzed with fear. How ironic it was that the only archer who was actually prepared to release his arrow was the one who was most against the violence. What are you waiting for, you twit?! the Officer asked. Fire! I found myself obeying him, raising my bow above the ledge of the fort and finally letting my arrow fly. I watched as it gauged a Doku in the eye, causing him to stumble and be trampled by the soldiers running behind him. Ive killed two now. Curse this habit! I am an individual! I will no longer obey anyone other than myself! Fire another! Quick! Instinctively, I drew my bow. Now! I fired. Another! Again! Again! Faster! I was swept away by the officers voice. I did the opposite of what I had planned, of what I wanted. I fought against my will, yet I killed willingly. By the end of that day I had lost count of how many men I had slain. Why am I doing this? I asked myself. Why? I tossed and turned in my sleep. Because it is your duty. King Volsey says it is the right thing to do. Listen to him, he is your superior. Listen to your superiors; you cant possibly make such a decision for yourself. Listen and follow, that is what you must do. I was awoken by a rough shake. I gazed up to see Jip; I must have been talking in my sleep. He nodded his head and laid down on his cot beside mine. What are we fighting for, Jip? What does King Volsey need that is worth such violence? King Volsey wanted to protect us. The Doku were planning an attack . Jip seemed unsure of himself. You know just as well as I that this is not what the war is all about! I struggled to contain my voice. He wants more land! Hes unsatisfied theres another king besides him. He wants control of all the planets rice and water. What good is rice and water when they are caked in blood? Let us flee from here! How much blood do you want on your hands? How much longer can we live off of our reserves of rice before we run out? We must flee! No, mumbled Jip. Go to sleep, dont ask such things of me. Go talk to the Officer, hell know what to do. No. No he wont . everyone here is mindless and idiotic. Including me I broke into sobs; Jip was already snoring. I never heard of someone crying themselves to sleep. EARTHQUAKE! Earthquake! I was awoken to the sound of sirens and shouts. What loud noise they made! The fort was trembling. I wanted to bury myself under my cot. I had to escape the noise! And then suddenly, it grew quiet. Everyone was summoned outside. What I saw shocked me. A mountain. A mountain as tall as the eye could see had formed off in the distance. Our fort and the Dokus land had come closer together and a single mountain had been formed. It was unreal. And on top of that, vegetation seemed to be growing all over it. It was rice. Underwater rice had been growing in between our water and the Dokus land. And now there was a mountain. We marveled at it for hours. Listen up! the Officer shouted. Word of this was sent to King Volsey. He has ordered us to claim that mountain. Whichever side has control of it gets all that rice! We must claim that mountain at all costs. In a few moments, we shall march to the mountain and establish a new base. Is ownership of a silly mountain all King Volsey thinks about? I heard myself say. I am tired of this war. Im going home. We march soon, soldier. Get your weapons. And your disrespectful behavior will no longer be tolerated! Do I make myself clear? Listen to him, Cinsy. Do as he says. This is our way of life. I refuse to obey you. I am not your slave! I am whatever I choose to be! The Officer stood flabbergasted. Never before had any Abku uttered such words. I was frightened. The King will know what to do with you, muttered the Officer, turning to face one of his men. Send word of this to him now! But sir, interjected Jip. We have no time. Let Cinsy stay here, his fate is in his own hands. Before I realized what was happening the fort was deserted and I was alone. I fell asleep. I was awoken by the war cries of Doku. It must have been the entire Doku army. Having killed off the Abku, they must have bolstered their forces and set out to ransack the fort of the enemy. There was no way I could outrun them. Cinsy! Cinsy! it was Jip. Cinsy come with me, we have a transport! King Volsey came in it himself and he is willing to forgive you if you behave yourself from now on. Come! Dont you want to live? I held out my hand to Jip. Thats right. Be a good soldier and do as youre told. King Volsey is your superior. He will know what to do with you. Trust him. I withdrew my hand. Listen, Jip. I cant live in a society where none of my actions are of my own choice. I do not choose that society. I choose to choose for myself. Now go! Wordlessly, Jip turned and ran. The army was getting close. What do you choose, Cinsy? I choose to be an individual. I choose to be free. The fort was shaking now, the stampede was here. I spread out on the floor, and shut my eyes. And I was happy.