[Remember that the little boy's name is Con Trai, which means Boy, and the sister is no longer 15, but 17.]

Mike was right that Peter would not be okay. From that moment on he wasn't the same. Each morning he woke up, got dressed, went to breakfast, and then followed each order given to him without complaint. At night he undressed and went straight to sleep.

Every move he made was mechanical and he didn't say a word. Mike tried talking to him, I tried talking to him, everyone tried talking to him, but he never said a word. He wouldn't even look at us. Peter seemed to be thinking all the time. He seemed to be in another world. And in theory he was.

Even the way he approached fighting was different. He even fought mechanically. He didn't stand behind Mike anymore, he shot into the enemy himself, and occasionally aimed. I didn't like this change in him. It scared me. I could tell it scared Mike as well.

At night I would stay up and think about the children and what we'd done that day. I would actually get lost in thought and forget to fall asleep. When Mike thought he was the only one awake he would begin to cry. I always wanted to comfort him but I thought it best to leave him.

One night Mike was crying and he must have noticed that my eyes were open.

"Micky?" He said into the darkness.

"Yes?" I said and sat up in my bunk.

"Come down here." He said. "I need to talk to you."

I climbed down and sat on Mikes bunk.

"I'm a failure!" Mike sobbed.

"A failure?" I asked.

"I made a promise that I'd get Davy home, protect your innocence, and keep Peter safe and fine and violence free, but look at him!" Mike wailed.

I put a hand on his shoulder and said nothing.

"Micky, how could I have sat by and let him shoot that man?"

"You couldn't have done anything. It wasn't your fault." I yawned.

Mike only laid down on his bunk again and sighed. He didn't answer me because he knew I was right. I stood up and said goodnight to my friend.

"'Night." Mike whispered.

Poor Mike...

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I pulled Peter with me to Chi the next day. I talked at him just as if he were talking back to me. But he still was ignoring me. I was starting to become annoyed by his silence.

"Peter I know how much it hurt you to...do what you did. However you can't do this!" I said.

Peter actually stopped and looked at me.

"Do you know how much this is hurting Mike?" I asked.

Peter shook his head.

"He's devastated. Mike wanted to keep you sheltered from the violence and he did everything he could! He thinks he failed! It's not his fault so stop punishing him. I don't care if you ignore me or anyone else, just talk to him." I yelled.

Peter was silent for a long time before he said, "Okay." And resumed walking. I took him to the orphanage and forced him to spend time playing with a group of kids. I watched him out of the corner of my eye while I helped a house mother fold clothes.

He played soldiers with a young boy. But they played it Peter's way. The little boy pretended to shoot at Peter's figurine, but Peter shook his head with a frown.

"No." He mouthed to the boy. Peter took the kid's toy and extended the hands, he made them shake hands and turn away. A symbol of peace.

"Not a very good soldier?" The house mother asked me as she pointed to Peter.

I smiled at her and shook my head. "No. Not a very good soldier. But he is a VERY good man."

The house mother smiled and nodded. Peter and the boy had abandoned their game of war and were making their figurines dance. Peter was using them to telling a story to the child in a whisper. It made me smile to see Peter being healed. He still had a long way to go, but he was on his way.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

After several hours Peter and I decided to go back to camp. We walked through the town under the watchful eyes of the locals.

"Did you have fun?" I asked.

Peter smiled as he watched the ground. He nodded.

"That's good bud." I put my arm around his shoulder. Peter put his hand on my shoulder as a thank you.

"You go on to camp. I have something I need to check on and I'll catch up with you." I said to him.

Peter nodded and walked on down the street. I turned to the rows of trash houses. The boy—Con Trai-- ran out into the street and hung onto my leg. I pried him off of me and held him in my arms. Con Trai giggled and hugged me.

"Food?" Con Trai asked patting his tummy.

I laughed. "Yes, I have food for you." I set him down and told him to tell his sister I was coming. He ran and did as I said. His sister was standing at the door when I walked up.

"Micky!" She smiled and ran out to hug me. I embraced her and kissed the top of her head.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I am good, because of you." She smiled and led me into the house. I emptied the food I'd stuffed in my pockets and other places in my clothing. Con Trai and his sister dove into the food and thanked me every other bite. I had made it a habit to bring them food every day. We weren't allowed to take food out of the dining area at camp, but I had made a deal with the cook. If I cleaned for him after every meal, I could take enough food to feed the two for a day.

Con Trai's sister, Keanu and I had become good friends. Each night after they had finished eating I would sit and talk with Keanu while she caressed her brother's hair till he fell asleep. It had been years since Keanu had had a friend. Her closest friend had died in one of the first raids on Chi, and her other friends had become orphaned or moved away with their families.

She'd only had her brother to talk to, and even he could not fulfil her desire to talk with a friend. Keanu had told me about her fear of the Viet-Cong and the war in general. In exchange I shared my fears with her.

"How is your sick friend?" Keanu asked.

"Peter?" I asked.

"Yes. Peter."

"He is doing well. I took him to the orphanage today and he actually spoke to me." I updated her.

"That is nice!" Keanu said with excitement.

"Yes it is very nice!" I smiled. "Well, I best be going back to camp." I said and stood up. Keanu laid her brother to the side and jumped up beside me. She gave me a tight hug good bye and I kissed her brow. Leaving them with a smile painted on both of our faces.

QLNc8zGD{i>