I stopped at the front door, with Li Wai close behind. Despite the sense of urgency, I couldn’t just leave without showing my gratitude to my rescuers. The elderly villager greeted us with a toothy smile, his eyes almost sealed shut with age.

     “Leaving already?” His voice was soft and mellow.

     “Yes. We must go.” I smiled and took his wrinkly, large hands in mine. “Thank you for accommodating us.”

     A light shake of his head was given before he covered my hands with his. “It is of no trouble to us. My wife has packed some food for you. For the long journey ahead.”

     As if on cue, his spouse exited the kitchen with a small cloth satchel. She gently padded over and held it out to me. “It’s not much but hopefully this will ease your hunger for some time.”

     My mouth opened to protest this kind gesture but the man harrumphed, his brows knitting. I pressed my lips shut and complied with his wishes, accepting the food with two hands. It was a light bundle, probably a few steamed buns and dried meat in it. But it added up to a couple of meals for the old couple, a novelty when food was so scarce.

     Pressing the satchel close to my chest, I thanked them again, wishing that I could give more than grateful words to the couple instead. Yet in a cruel twist of irony, the war I was waging with their country was doing them more harm than good.

     Such was the harshness of life. I could not help or care for every single person, a balance had to be struck.

     “We must go now.” Li Wai’s voice broke into my thoughts.

     Nodding, I bid farewell to the elderly couple and moved towards the door, a step behind Li Wai. As he neared the entrance, the sound of footfalls from outside made him freeze. He held up a finger, his other hand dropping to his sword. With deliberate movement, he unsheathed it from the scabbard, barely making a sound.

     Behind him, I motioned to the couple to remain silent. The man pressed his wife close to him, his expression fraught with anxiety and fear. I held my breath as the footfalls stopped outside the door. Li Wai raised his sword, preparing to strike.

     Time seemed to slow down as the loud creaking of the wooden door amplified the tension. Rays of light streamed into the hut, contrasting against the murderous atmosphere. My heart beat frantically in my chest, all attention focused on the growing shadow of the approaching person.

     A foot stepped over the threshold of the hut…

     A small foot.

     Almost swinging his sword down, Li Wai stopped his motion barely inches away from the small girl’s head that popped out into the corridor. Seeing the glint of the sword and the deadly glare of an unknown man in front of her, the girl’s eyes widened. Her lips trembled before she broke into a wail, tears falling down her cheeks.

     The elderly couple rushed out from the shadows, scooping the girl up into their arms as they tried unsuccessfully to hush her. Li Wai peeked out and ascertained there were no other people around before returning his sword to its position on his hips. The girl’s cries ringing out in the still silence of the breaking dawn, Li Wai shot her a glare.

     “She’s going to wake the whole village,” he hissed behind clenched teeth. “We should hurry.”

     My eyes darted outside and then back to the small child. I nodded. “One moment.”

     Bending down, I hitched my coat up to my ankle, exposing the little peach bracelet. With a small snap, it was unfastened, dangling loosely in my hand. In front of me, the villager was making funny faces in an attempt to make the girl stop crying, his wife rubbing the child’s back rhythmically. But the shock must have been too much for the little one, her tears still making its way down her pink cheeks.

     I stepped forward and whispered a soft apology to the old man for scaring the girl, whom I believed was his granddaughter. Acknowledging with a weary smile, he continued his antics, though the girl’s cries failed to subside. Now at eye-level with the child, I held out the bracelet, making sure the light caught the small peach that dangled from it.

     Her gaze pulled towards the item, she stared at it, her mouth opening in awe at the pretty ornament. The tears halted and her voice caught in her throat as she hiccupped. She reached a hand towards the bracelet, wanting to touch it, the frightening experience now pushed to the back of her mind and forgotten.

     Smiling, I patted her head and placed the bracelet into her small outstretched hand. “This is for you. Take good care of it, alright?”

     The girl nodded enthusiastically, a soft, wobbly ‘thank you’ spilling from her lips. Holding it carefully, she toyed with the little peach, her expression brightening into childish joy.

     Pleased with how she was receiving my little gift, I nodded to the villager and his wife, indicating that I would now take my leave. Their smiles broad, they waved a silent farewell. Following Li Wai out of the hut, I took one last look back at the hut.

     It might not have been much but I found comfort thinking that perhaps the trinket I possessed from my past would help them in whatever small way it could. In a way, I was passing down my father’s gift to the little girl, a part of the old me.

     Each step down this path, I lost bits of myself. Would anything be left once I attained my goal, I wondered.