Lies My Mother Told Me
"You'll do great things, son." Those were her parting words. She breathed deep and then never did again.
I believed her, and I became a soldier. Underage and inexperienced, I survived through ambition alone. I was blinded by it. The kill came easily, I never hesitated, I never cared, as I tore through our enemies.
Then I met a boy, his youthful eyes widened in fear as he faced me. I was reminded of the son who kissed his mother's dead lips and then grew up. The kill came easily, but sleep never would again.
My mother lied to me.