The War That Cannot be Won

Chapter 2

 My mom walks in to say goodnight and it's nearly midnight. She sits down on my bed and says nothing. Finally, the silence gets too much for me to bare, which is probably what she intended.

"So how was work?" I try to keep the words from exploding out of me.

"Same old, same old," she says with a smile.

"Is the war getting worse?"

Her smile fades. I know I shouldn't have asked straight out like that, but I had to know. I read the paper, but those facts aren't very accurate. Enough for a big picture but nothing more.

"The bots are killing more and more people every day. Nothing we try has even the slightest impact."

She pauses, then takes a deep breath. It's obvious that she is choosing her words carefully. "Ava, they need more people, they are drafting thousands more. The officers are coming to our town tomorrow and--"

"How could they need more?" I'm nearly shouting, "How could they need more people when more than half of the population is fighting in the war!"

"Ava-"

"Just listen! No one is coming back from that war. We cannot win this! We need to stop pretending that we can! Everyone that goes dies, mom!" It feels so good just to shout. To get out the feelings that have been boiling for three years. I want to keep shouting but I catch the look on my mother's face and stop. All the anger drains out of me and I slowly wrap my arms around her.

"Everyone." My voice breaks. Everyone that goes into that war will die. No one comes back. He won't come back. I lay there sobbing in my mother's arms, I feel like I'm a six-year-old again. Alone in the world, only desiring love. All humans are thirsty for love, we want to be appreciated and accepted. We want to feel that the only thing that matters is us and the person holding us. Maybe that is the only thing that matters, or it is at this moment. The only thing that matters is me and my mother, crying in this dark room. Not the war, not rations, not bots, not fires, not death... love.

"Ava," her voice in the dark silence startles me. I look up and our red-rimmed eyes meet. "The only thing we can hold onto is hope and love. The bots can take everything from us, except the emotions that only we as humans can feel. Promise me that no matter what they do to you, no matter how much they take, they won't take away your humanity, your compassion, your love for others, and your hope that maybe someday things will get better. Because if they take away that, then they take you."

"I- I promise mom."