With mud as witness and fire as offering,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0xIFvLlVP
the pigs protected one another——17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fUgC3Dq06
and learned to say goodbye, and to remember.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6Uk6RQbHF
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Generations passed, yet the struggles never ceased——17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkphl7lls3
but some things had quietly begun to change.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfZfJLSV6g
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1iBlVSg6s
The clash had died down,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuk5EtxZI7
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 dust17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgmT3sl38a
that drifted gently in the silence.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstrwQOXvq9
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIODQGehHL
The night wind howled low,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDTHbaPnY7
and firelight flickered between the ruins of the village.
The elder slowly stepped into the center of the clearing,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRADr2dcVC
his body stained with soot and mud.
He bent down, picked up a charred branch,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnW7V9szQUj
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,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrHgV6EfgZ
leaving behind a mark that was theirs alone.
As the ritual progressed, one body after another17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSJi4Wfydp
was carefully placed in the clearing beside the bonfire.
A broad-shouldered boar stepped forward,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQbZcudhJH
a heavy blade strapped to his side.
He stopped, faced his kin,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkPWuDahTB
then lowered his head and bowed deeply.
“I, first warrior of the boar tribe,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH92HYLMzuR
will carry our kin through their final journey.”
As his words faded, the firelight flickered across his face——17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jCZDUo7FM
a face both solemn and resolute.
The tribe silently nodded and stepped aside.
The warrior entered the fire circle,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAjw7rdRd5
and with a swift motion, brought the blade down.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIS3a56kbQ
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dh1GN4eIs
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKVycpVLk1
They ate and talked——some with laughter, some with tears—— as if recounting a reunion long overdue.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFHz05wDAt
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That night, the sky was unusually bright.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IgY6dZS9l
Smoke curled upward, rising like starlight, and faded into the sky.
