The war ended long ago, but nobody told us. Why would they? They wouldn’t stand to gain anything from it. No they wanted us living in constant fear of an “enemy” that did not exist. Every few days they would sound the siren that signaled an incoming bombing. No bombs were ever dropped though. Nobody’s homes were diminished to a pile of rubble. They still stood upright, just as they had been for the last fifty years or so. They didn’t look new anymore, vines had overtaken the outside walls of most of them. Their owners too busy worrying about a war that was not real to even take care of their homes.
Some of the people in the town called me a “nut” or a “conspiracy theorist” but I don’t listen to them. They are the ones who looked crazy. Every time the siren sounded they would go running for the shelters just to return a few hours later to everything the way they had left it. I had decided to stop going to the bunkers. No bombs were ever dropped though so why should I? Instead I took the time to go on a quiet walk through the town. Everybody else would be hiding away so the town was peaceful at those times. Occasionally I would even pack a basket and go to the fields for a picnic. All the field workers would be scared off, hidden away in the bunkers. The siren was just another way to keep us afraid. The siren and the radio broadcasts. The radio would give us daily news about the details of the war. It only served to frustrate me though, interrupting my music to feed me new lies every day.
People ask me how I know the war had ended and I always give them the same answer, “It never began.” I would say. They would always reply with, “What about the recruits then? Surely they would not have recruited so many new troops if there was no enemy to fight.” I would just scoff and tell them, “They did not recruit the new troops for a war. My brother was recruited. He promised he would write me every day, it has been over a year since he left and I have not gotten a letter from him. They must be holding him for experiments. He was always so strong.” They would just look at me, saddened and puzzled, then shake their heads and walk away.
Today after one such conversation, the siren had sounded. Everybody started to run to the bomb shelters. “What a shame” I said to myself, “they will not be able to enjoy this sunny day all huddled up underground.” I turned and walked the opposite direction of the mob of people running to take refuge. “At least I can enjoy a quiet lunch in the field” I thought. I already had my lunch pail with me so I headed to the fields and started to eat. I thought of how silly all the people in the bunker are while I ate my lunch. I heard a faint rumble in the distance just as I finished eating. “It must be a thunderstorm” I thought. There was not a cloud in the sky though. Just then a plane flew overhead. I was shocked. Right before the bright flash one last thought ran through my head, “No bombs were ever dropped though…”