He remembered the persimmons hanging low from the trees in the autumn light. They dangled from the branches above his head, plump and smooth and the color of burnt copper. He sat in the open back of the truck alongside the other soldiers. Trees lined the road, and the air was crisp and dry. They pointed at the persimmons, marveled at them. How sweet it would be to bite into one. Dust trailed the truck as it continued down the dirt road. They were heading into a vast and sere land, a place of anc
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