The Bond

The bond between them remains forever, even at the end of the world. The story of the father and adopted daughter traverses the past. Soldiers from one nation won over the other nation in the war zone and invaded the place where civilians resided. "Move, Move. It's a warzone. Save yourselves from our soldiers. We are not expected to give mercy to you," a soldier shouts and shoots the civilians of the captured territory. Most of them were killed on the roadway. The soldiers of the winning territory dominated the zone and prepared to kill even the children of the opposite territory. A baby was seen abandoned in the garbage can without being noticed by anyone. A soldier named Matthew was on his way to save the baby from his soldiers, who were on the verge of killing everyone. Matthew was a kind-hearted and brave soldier who killed only the soldiers of the captured territory but not civilians or children. 

He was not happy about his soldiers killing innocent people. He couldn't control them, as his words would not be listened to by his fellow soldiers. He carried the baby from the can and saw its beautiful eyes, and he recognized it as a baby girl. "How can a person throw a beautiful baby girl like you in the trash can?" The baby girl winked her eyes in mercy. "Ok! I can understand that you have been hidden in this can by your parents, as they believed that someone would save you. I will make an arrangement for you!" he smiled at the baby. She winks without understanding anything and makes a giggle.

 

Matthew decided to leave the baby girl for a while as his fellow soldiers were being surrounded, but he was frightened because he thought that the baby girl would be injured by the fighting. So, unnoticed by anyone, he took her to his country's military hospital running in the warzone after walking several kilometres and asked a nurse to keep her safe. He instructed that he had brought her unnoticed by his fellow soldiers, as they would kill her because of her enemy nationality. The nurse understands the situation and decides to take custody of the baby girl without being noticed by anyone. Matthew returns to his soldiers and conquers the victory of their nation. The fellow soldiers were happy about the victory and decided to celebrate it by drinking vodka and rum. Matthew was not completely happy about the victory, as it killed a lot of innocent people.

 

After the war, the soldiers were given a period of several months as a leave for the victory. The country of Matthew was so happy about their soldiers victory. The whole nation celebrated with joy and enthusiasm. The soldiers returned to their families for their leave. Matthew, on the other hand, went to his house, where he lives alone. The past life of Matthew was so distressful. He had a beautiful family of two children and a beautiful wife. After the Serbian War, he lost his family to a bomb blast by the enemy nation. The country of Matthew fought hard and won the war, but many people had died, including his wife and his children. The story traverses to the present of Matthew, where he imagines how it would be if his family members were alive.

 

Matthew enters the hallway of his house, and his wife Elizabeth greets him with a kiss. "Glad you are okay, darling," says Elizabeth. "No, I am not Eliza," says Matthew with sadness. "I have found a baby girl in a trash can. Without being noticed by anyone, I took her to a military hospital and handed her custody to a nurse. I hope she will take care of her, but I am afraid of what will happen if the baby's nationality is found by our soldiers. I am so confused and I am totally devastated about being a soldier for my country," cries Matthew. "Honey, I totally understand your point. Look at your children. They are happily playing in the garden. You have found a baby in a trash can and safeguarded her. It's great news, but I wish that you would check if she is really safe in the hospital, and in the future she will be raised by a caretaker. You must check it out. You are already broken. You have already lost us. After a long time, you cared for a baby, and your eyes said that you were a great father. I don't wish you to lose the baby girl. Go, check her," says Elizabeth, and she disappears. His two children said goodbye to Daddy and disappeared. He cried for a while. He decided to go to the hospital to check whether the baby was okay.

 

He went to the hospital and found out that the baby was with the nurse. But a problem arises because the nurse who took care of the baby said that she couldn't take care of the child any more as her hospital administration questioned the baby's parents, and she handled it by saying that it was one of the emergency deliveries that happened during the war and the parents were missing after that. The administration was about to check the details about the baby soon, so she instructed Matthew to take the baby to some other safe place. Matthew initially hesitated but took the baby to his house without being noticed by anyone. He decided to raise the baby as a father, as she reminded him of his children. Also, he noticed a spark in his imagination of his wife smiling at the baby. He named her Martha, as his two children's names were Marshal and Agatha, and he combined them together to name her Martha.

 

Martha giggled and winked her eyes at Matthew, and he started to sing a lullaby from the album Jubilee for her.

 

"Oh city, sleep

In the drowsy arms

Of your sweet memories

From the time before the bombs

 

Make melodies

Pray for peace.

Hold tightly

On to me.

 

Young mothers find

Some seeds to plant

Springtime will come.

And flowers bloom for you at last.

 

Make melodies

Pray for peace.

Hold tightly

On to me.

 

Oh, dear ones, keep

Your playfulness

Tell your droll stories.

The ones that still make us laugh

 

Make melodies

Pray for peace.

Hold tightly

On to me.

 

Make melodies

Pray for peace.

Carefully hope with me.

 

Hold on, hold on."

 

Days passed, and Matthew managed to hide the baby from the countrymen, but his surroundings got to know that he was raising a baby, and with the help of certain evidences like the hospital's footages and nurse's involvement, they came to know that the baby was from their opponent nation. Soon they protested against Matthew in front of his house for being a traitor to his nation and started to break into his house. Matthew managed to escape from the incident with the help of his new neighbor, Angel, who is a widow with two children. Angel is a teacher who lost her husband in an accident. She requested Matthew to stay calm, as people would forget as time flies away. Matthew managed to be calm for a few days, even though he had some problems with some random people arguing with him about raising the baby.

 

Soon his leave period got over, and he needed to continue his service in the military. Matthew maintained a good friendship with Angel, as she is a widow who understands his situation, and he requested her to take care of the baby during his service period, as he would request the military to make him retire after this service period. He left Martha with sadness, as he loved her as much as his real daughter. He continued his service, but things got worse as he was ill treated by his fellow soldiers for raising the baby. At the same time, random strangers tried to invade Angel's house to kill the baby. Matthew got to know about the incident, and he left the camp and moved to his house. He got angry and shouted at Angel for not informing him in advance. Angel kissed him and said that she liked him because he was a true man raising an adopted daughter. She comforted him and instructed him to raise an appeal in court for raising the baby.

 

Matthew stood before the court, earnestly appealing for the right to continue raising the baby he rescued from a trash can during the war. The court, recognizing his compassion, granted permission to care for the child until her fifth birthday, urging him to seek out her biological parents during that time. Also, he couldn't retire from his service. So he managed to take care of the child during his free time, while during his service period, Angel took care of the child. Despite his tireless efforts, Matthew couldn't locate the parents. 

As the five-year mark approached, he faced a tough decision. Fearing separation from the child he had come to love as his own, he decided to immigrate to a country illegally so that he could raise her peacefully without any trouble from his country. Facing opposition from many comrades, Matthew, with the support of a few loyal friends, made the daring decision. In an attempt to secure a future for the child, he embarked on an illegal immigration journey to a new country, navigating challenges and evading those who opposed his unconventional path.

 

After immigrating to another country, Matthew decided to raise Martha on his own by taking any job available to him. As Martha is sleeping, he decides to take a coffee. In the quaint coffee shop, Matthew overheard an elderly couple sharing their heartbreaking story of losing their child in the war. As they described their relentless search, Matthew's heart sank, realising the child he rescued might be their long-lost daughter. When they shared photographs, he was shocked to see the unmistakable resemblance in the eyes—the same eyes he gazed into when he found her in the trash can. 

A sense of duty and empathy guided Matthew's decision. Silently and with a heavy heart, he handed the peacefully sleeping child to the couple. Just as he felt bittersweet satisfaction in reuniting the family, a sudden gunshot shattered the fragile peace. Matthew crumpled to the ground, realising that the bullet was a consequence of his undocumented status, flagged by the immigrant country's government as a potential threat. In his final moments, Matthew's gaze met the child's one last time, her innocent smile etched in his memory. The bond they shared, however brief, would forever live on in his heart. As darkness overtook him, Matthew found solace in knowing he had reunited a family, even at the cost of his own life.