SHORT STORY

Wars of Silence

Nobody wants to hear them.

This image was generated by the author using an AI-based image creation program.

A thought.

Invisible. These are the wars that nobody wants to see, but they exist. Nobody wants to hear them, but they are felt. Wars of Silence, yet fought with noisy weapons, noises between discreetly prepared open battles. Shadows where tactics demonstrate strength subtly, merely to avoid true combat.

The classic North and South. They never face each other directly. They display power through tricks, some clever, some not, along with secret and sometimes not-so-secret maneuvers. They build hidden bases and spread false stories, some even true. Each strategy aims to outdo the other in a game that toys with everyone’s lives.

The North excels in deception. It makes its small groups of soldiers appear larger and more frightening by spreading stories of fear, of myths about enemy lands. Drones are sent silently, leaving unrest in their wake.

The South excels in rumor. They spread word of a superweapon, powerful enough to end all wars, a deterrent, for now. These rumors slowly erode fear and trust — gradually, but persistently.

Both demonstrate their strength to prevent actual combat. No one wants to fight face-to-face as men and women. They prefer to fight in a game of deceits and rumors. Nobody wants…