Taps

Taps

    The setting sun dyed the

fields with a wash of gold and red light. As the giant glowing sphere sank

out of sight,and the sky was painted with hues of blue and purple, a lone

bugler stood on the wall-walk. Slowly. ceremonially, he raised his trumpet,

and began to play. The slight wind that was blowing changed direction and

carrried the soft, sad strains towards a hill where five boys dressed in

black waited patiently for the night. As the music reached their ears,

one stood up and began to sing, in a soft, clear voice.


\"Day is done


 Gone the sun


 From the Lakes,


 From the Hills,


 From the Sky.


 All is well,


 Safely rest,


 God is nigh.

 Fading Light


 Dims the sight,


 And a star


 Gems the sky


 Gleaming bright.


 From afar,


 Drawing nigh


 Falls the night.

 Thanks and praise,


 For our days,


 Neath the sun,


 Neath the stars,


 Neath the sky.


 As we go,


 This we know,


 God is nigh.\"

\"Duo, I didn\'t know there were words to that

tune.\"


\"Yeah, Quatre, there are.\"


\" I wonder who wrote it.\"


\"Sister Helen was something of a History buff,

and she told me the story and taught me all the words.\"


\" So what\'s the story, Duo?\"


\" Well, it goes like this.


    In 1862, during the United

State\'s Civil War,  Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was staioned

with his men near Harrison\'s Landing in Virginia. On the other side of

this narrow strip of land was the Confederate Army. During the night, the

Captain heard the moans of a dying soldier.  Without knowing whose

side the soldier was on, he decided to risk his own life to save the wounded

man. Crawling through the gunfire, the Captain reached the soldier and

began pulling the wounded man back towards camp. When he reached his camp,

the Captain discovered that the man was a Confederate soldier, and he was

already dead. When the Captain lit a lantern, his breath caught in his

throat. Stunned and hearbroken, he gazed upon the still face of his own

son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out.

He enlisted with the Confederate army and  didn\'t tell his father.


    The following morning,

the Captain asked his superiors to give his son a full military burial,

despite enemy status. His request was partially granted. Instead of being

allowed a full Army Band to play at the funeral, he could only have one

musician. The Captain picked a bugler,and had him play some notes that

were written on a scrap of paper he found in his son\'s uniform. That tune

came to be known as \"Taps\".\"


\" Duo?\"


\" Yeah, Heero?\"


\"Do you think anyone will play taps for us

when we die?\"


\" I hope so, Heero.\"

owari.