12/7/08
As Long As Our Shadows Remain Hidden
By Hoshi Nagaiki
Prologue
Only Sometimes
Our minds were ready but our hearts were not.
Hidden in the dark, neglected corners lay our ignorant, childish insecurities.
We had thought them to be completely destroyed.
But even the most intelligent are wrong sometimes.
And, sometimes, those mistakes cost you everything you knew and everything you had, even yourself.
Occasionally, my mind still wanders back to the night we lost everything. My memories aren't as clear as they used to be, but there is one thing I remember clearly. Our enemies had known more than expected, and I still remember muttering the words, "If only. . ." If only they had not known. If only, we had not been betrayed.
Without fears, we would have been invincible.
They were our only obstacles.
And, our biggest weaknesses.
For such a long time, I searched for ways to obliterate them but found none. Those years were wasted in foolish research. I tried everything I could think of, but none of it was good enough. My failure sank me into a deep depression. It wasn't until years later, when I was on the brink of insanity, the realization dawned on me: those fears, those insecurities made us who we were and they would never leave us. Not until the sun failed to expose the shadows.