Author's note: It's Remembrance Day here in Canada, and I wanted to write something for it.
Matilda Williams, the personification of Canada, stood in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario.
Matilda had fair skin, straight blonde hair that reached her mid-back and was parted in the middle, violet eyes, thin eyebrows, thin lips, and a slender figure. A single wayward curl stuck out of her hair. She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, a red peacoat with white buttons, and dark blue denim jeans tucked into red ankle-length boots with flat heels. A poppy was pinned to the right breast pocket of her coat.
Matilda put her head down, closed her eyes, and began to sing Highway of Heroes by The Trews, a Canadian rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She had a beautiful singing voice, but no one was around to hear it, because the people who attended the Remembrance Day ceremony earlier that day had left.
"The day I shipped out
They numbered a dozen
Upon my return
Were a hundred or so
From the coast and from the prairies
I bet they keep coming
Add one more name from Ontario
And carry me home down the Highway of Heroes
People above with their flags flying low
Carry me softly down the Highway of Heroes
True Patriot Love
There was never more
I served with distinction
No visions of glory
I served without question
Or personal gain
Seek no justification
It's not part of my story
And it offers no comfort to the ones who remain
Just carry me home down the Highway of Heroes
People above with their flags flying low
Carry me softly down the Highway of Heroes
True Patriot Love
There was never more."
A tear streamed down Matilda's face. All these people made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. For her.
"I took up my vocation
I was called by my nation
Without hesitation
My answer I gave
Now I am not wondering
The things that I might have been
I'm no consolation
To the forgotten brave."
The tears kept coming. These soldiers died so her nation could live. So she could live. They would forever be in her heart. She would never forget them.
"So carry me home down the Highway of Heroes
People above with their flags flying low
Carry me softly down the Highway of Heroes
True Patriot Love
There was never more
Carry me home down the Highway of Heroes
People I love with their heads held low
Carry me softly down the Highway of Heroes
True Patriot Love
There was never more
There was never more
There was never more
There was never more
There was never more
There was never more."
Matilda finished singing, put her head up, and opened her eyes. She knelt down, unpinned her poppy, and placed it on one of the bronze sculptures.
"Rest in peace, and thank you. Canada will never forget you. I will never forget you."
Matilda stood up and walked away from the tall granite arch.
THE END