Here I am once again, standing in front of the gates of my hometown… Several years have passed; people have changed, and so has the constitution of morality governing them. This has given rise to conflicts, revolutions, and ultimately led to the current situation of unending misery…

Well, it's not too far off the mark to say that the people of this state have brought this upon themselves…

These fools have always been so engrossed in their petty problems that they never realized their actions could harm the lives of those around them…

Had I realized this a few years ago, I might have been able to save her…

Huh…

I keep getting sentimental whenever her smiling face grazes the remaining humanity in my conscience, but this is not as bad as I thought it would be…

Ending my life here is at least better than being tormented for eternity, unable to do anything… Props to the Captain for sending me on this mission… I’ll have to thank him someday, perhaps in heaven, if such a place even exists…

A few days ago…

“Shomor, I have a mission for you..”

“…”

“You don’t look too happy… well, depending on your performance in this mission, this may as well be your…. final mission!”

“Huh…? Really!?”

I looked up at the captain with an enthusiasm I had long forgotten…

“That’s new…” he commented, staring at my pitiful self...

“Can I really be free?”

“Well, you can be free or you cannot be- that depends on you entirely…”

As he said those words, I kept staring at his face with hidden disbelief…

“W-What is this mission about?”

At this question, he walked up to me and then crouched beside me. “Just confirm something before I go into the details of the mission - do you really seek freedom from this world? I know I have already said this, but let me remind you once again that you -”

“That I can live freely if I want to, here in this world, right?”

“Hmm …Yes, so what’s your current opinion like?” he asked, his eyes filled with a faint glimmer of hope…

“Trust me Captain, I cannot do this anymore; I have put a lot of thought into this…”

His expression turned solemn.

“Okay then…” he said, gently placing his palm on my shoulder. “Go on, to your hometown… Secure the city and then… well, the rest is in your hands!”

There was a sudden impulse of immense pain in my heart, flowing all the way upto my eyes… Within a chain of moments, her angelic smile flashed before my eyes like a broken photoframe.

“Shomor Da, I look forward to you protecting me… please remain my guardian angel forever…!”

“Yes, of course!”

Drops of water began streaming from my eyes. 'Uh, so this is what crying felt like…' I realized, momentarily giving in to my pent-up emotions.

The captain stood up from my side and moved forward towards the door,

“Goodbye Shomor. You have truly been very useful for the past 2 years… If you do return someday, make sure to leave all those emotions behind and return as a victor!” he stated, as he made his way out of the room.

“T-Thank You s… so much, Captain!” I yelled, pitifully submerged in my own mess of overflowing emotions…

Present Time

Emotions I had long forgotten, the pain I had welled up inside me for so long, her frail existance… everything was now right before my eyes.

His kind words that day were successful in taming the wild inner beast that had taken over my weak subconscious in the past 2 years…

As I stepped forward towards the entrance gate, a fleeting thought crossed my mind, ‘I should probably visit my apartment and see her off…’

The tainted yellow gate leading into the city was situated just beyond a culvert.

As I walked closer to the gate, the mighty French words engraved on it - “LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE,” meaning “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” - boldly attracted my attention, reflecting the weak sunlight on the street.

‘Liberty is what this world needs at this moment’ I thought, as I passed through the gate and stepped into the city, once known as the City of Lights… my hometown - Chandannagar.

Sssh…!

It was just then that I felt a human presence from the left blind spot of the main road, likely from the ditch road that runs perpendicular to where I was standing.