She was breaking, she could feel it. Her once peaceful lands were now ripped apart by the destructions of war. She sat there, in the middle of it all, clutching a gun close to her heart. Tears freely flowed down her face. Battle cries could be heard off in the distance, along with bombs going off. This wasn't her land anymore, it was hell.
"Why? Why does this happen to me?" She sobs quietly as screams are heard. She tightens herself around the gun.
"Vietnam, it's ok, we can still win this." She hears a voice say next to her as a hand rubs her back gently. This causes her to grind her teeth. Salty tears stain her Ao Dai* as she sharply turns her head towards the fellow country.
"WE? America, it's never been "We"! I was just a tool you used so you could get back at Russia in that cold war of yours. It's been him this whole time, as my people suffered for it! For what? For you to get your one up on him? I can't watch this anymore, I can't take any more bloodshed. It's going to be the death of me." She hoarsely shouts at him, tears choking her on her sentences.
The freedom-loving country sits there, on the broken down sidewalk in shock. His sky blue eyes are voided of emotion. Sounds of death surrounding the both of them as his men die for a war they we're losing from the beginning.
Vietnam just shakes her head and cries out in agony for her people. It's always been this way for her. France, Japan, China, they've all wanted to capture her. Maybe it was her destiny to be stuck in this cycle.
"How could you say that..?" The American says to the Asian country.
"Because I'm not dumb, America. My people don't deserve this, and I don't believe your soldiers do either. Fighting a war they know they're losing, dying for a lost cause." She says, eyes intently on the gun still she holds.
"But I was supposed to save you…to make it all better. I'm the hero…" He says, choking back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall.
"Maybe I was supposed to save myself…" She replies, seeing his distress. He gives up and lets the tears slide down his face. They sat there in silence, as the noises of gunfire and yells continue in this war zone. Finally, he broke the silence.
"I'll pull out…"
Vietnam's eyes widened at the statement. She never thought he would give up like that. He was America after-all. He was known for fighting till the end. He never backed down, he was more stubborn than anyone.
With nothing left to say, the blue-eyed nation stood to his full height, still in his soldier uniform and walked away. For awhile, she just sat there, letting the words soak in, as she releases a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Maybe one day, we can see each other…without the dark circumstances." Vietnam says, only loud enough for her to hear. Looking down, she noticed America had left his helmet next to her when he walked away. Picking it up, Vietnam stared at it for a good while.
"Maybe…just maybe."