PART 2 — THE WINTER I NEVER FORGOT

The old soldier became quiet.

Then he looked at the little boy.

“Have you ever been so cold that you couldn’t feel your fingers?”

The boy shook his head.

“Well, lad… I have.”

He leaned closer to the fire.

“One winter changed the way I looked at war forever.”

We were exhausted.

We were cold.

We were hungry.

Some soldiers didn’t have proper shoes.

Some had coats so thin that the winter wind seemed to pass straight through them.

I remember looking down at my feet one morning.

The snow was beneath me.

My shoes were worn.

And there were bloody footprints behind me.

I tried not to look at them.

I didn’t want to think about where they came from.

I just kept walking.

That winter taught me something I never forgot.

An army isn’t only made of guns and uniforms.

It’s made of people.

I remember one soldier named Samuel.

He was about my age.

We shared almost everything.

One night, I had a little piece of bread.

He had none.

I broke it in half.

He looked at me and said:

“You need that.”

“So do you,” I answered.

We ate it together.

Another night, we had one blanket between us.

We pulled it over both our shoulders and slept as close to the fire as we could.

I can still remember Samuel laughing.

He said:

“If we survive this, I’m going home and never sleeping outside again.”

I laughed.

“Neither am I.”

Then he looked at me.

“You think we’ll make it?”

I wanted to say yes.

But I didn’t know.

So I said:

“We have to.”

That was enough for him.

We believed in each other when we couldn’t always believe in tomorrow.

And then there was General George Washington.

We didn’t know what the future would bring.

But we saw him trying to keep the army together.

He didn’t make the cold disappear.

He couldn’t make food appear.

But he kept reminding us why we were still standing.

Sometimes, that’s all a person needs.

Someone to remind them that tomorrow is worth fighting for.