Chapter 2: Mother
I was raised to be nice and polite. I am always so with my mother and sister. My father has died, but my sister is here, so my mother does not worry about being alone. I remember when I was even younger and my mother and I would bake cookies. What a wonderful time it was, my mother looked so happy. The joys of being with one's comforting mother is a special and terrible thought all the same. Wouldn't we all like to be with our mothers in the war? Wouldn't we all like to be safe and sheltered and look after each other? It is great, love is great. But it is bad, for such thoughts weakens a soldier. I will never forget the time when we found out I was to be in the war. My mother cried, the tears flowing down her face. It was then that I noticed that her looks were aging faster, faster because of me being in the war. One night, she was in my room and she sat down on the bed with me.
"How much longer until you must leave?" she asked.
"In about 2 weeks." I answered, knowing the sadness that resonated in her question. She laid her head on my shoulder, and I felt as though she was crying again.
"Why must you go though? Why my child..." she was silent for a bit. And the silence was deafening, I did not know how to respond, how to console my mother.
"They need more troops, they are losing the battle against the Kartels." I said after a while.
My mother was quiet still. After a bit, she said, "Will you be able to come back?"
I thought about this myself. I would love to come back, I wish I could never leave. "I shall come back, Mother. I promise this." As these words came out, I could feel myself choking. The tears were slowly going to my eyes. Could I keep such a promise?
My mother thought the same, for she asked, "Can you really promise such a thing? I would love nothing more than to see you again."
"...Yes, I swear that I shall come back." My head became heavy. Uttering that phrase alone took too much of my energy. My mother stood up.
"Okay then, we have two weeks before you go. Let's try to make it enjoyable, for the both us." She said and then went out.
I could not sleep that night, the thoughts in my head were too troublesome. Would I really come back? Who knows what might happen. If I do die, what will become of my mother? My sister can take care of her. But if I die, that will be two people that my mother has lost. Argh, why must it be me? Why must a war like this cause such problems?
The two weeks went by fast. I hate it when it goes by fast. Two nights before I was destined to leave, I went to my mother. I laid on her shoulder, and I cried. My mother cried too, she knew what I was thinking. It was the final night for me to be such a boy. The night before, we slept soundly, for I needed to for the upcoming train ride. Finally, on the day of my new life, my mother and sister went with me to the train. We hugged and kissed.
"Good bye, my brother." My sister said, I think she was proud of me for helping the people of Ghent.
"Good bye, my son." My mother said, and I could see the traces of tears in the redness of her eyes.
"Good bye, my sister and mother." My throat felt terrible. I hugged them one last time and kissed them once more. Then I boarded the train and looked out the window. They were waving good bye, and I waved back.
That was my last thought. Good bye, sister. Good bye, Mother...
