ྭྭྭྭྭྭ This barren shell is all that's left of a once cherished home.ྭ Smoke clings to the shattered ruins, and will not be dispersed even by the gently falling snow that covers the still burning embers with a blanket of silence. Only ghostly memories of what might have been remain.
ྭྭྭྭྭྭ A teddy bear sits propped up against the charred remains of a wall; the lonely survivor in this massacre of innocence.ྭ This treasured companion will never again share childish dreams, secrets, hopes, and adventures...never again ease fears and offer comfort.ྭ He sits and waits patiently for the child who can never return, an abandoned memorial of a happier time.ྭ Teddy bears do not belong on battlefields.ྭ They know nothing of war, and are loyal only to the children who love them.
ྭྭྭྭྭྭ I drop to my knees and brush the snow off the teddy bear's head.ྭ He seems to watch me with a sad expression, asking me silently why this had to happen.ྭ I have no answers.ྭ Tears fill my eyes as I think about the priceless treasure that has been lost forever.ྭ Life, once lost, can never be replaced.ྭ These are the fruits of war.ྭ I can only pray that peace comes soon.