"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."
-Thomas Jefferson
-Thomas Jefferson
"Someday I know we'll stand united. Alencia will become a great country. People won't fight anymore and the three factions will join back together! I can't wait for that day, dad. The day when we'll all be together, where people will no longer look down on us for not siding with anyone." A childish voice filled with hope said. A boy not older than eight stared up at his father with wide hopeful eyes and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Someday it'll happen!" He said in a voice filled with nothing but belief, and then his blue eyes sparked with excitement and he bounced up and down on the heels of his feet. "Right, dad?"
The lean man in his late thirties smiled at his son though his own eyes lacked excitement and his smile was anything but care-free. He forced back a sigh as stories about the past came to extinguish what little spark of hope he had. "Someday," he lied for the sake of his son. His son, with his head in the clouds and hope so deep he just couldn't fathom it. Alencia had a history of war, greed, power-lust and division. Did he believe in a bright future? Probably not. Did his son believe in a bright future? Yes, his son did with his entire child-like heart. So he forced himself to believe for his son's sake and smiled brighter. "Alencia will reunite itself someday and you'll grow up to be a great man. One who knows that peace is very important and the power-lust brings nothing but destruction."
The child nodded his head up and down, commitment etched onto his face. "Of course, peace is what I want!" He grinned broadly and clenched his tiny hands into fists. "I'll fight for peace, dad! I'll keep people safe." There was a slight pause as the child ran and tackled his father into a hug. He wrapped both his arms around his father's waist and inched closer. "I'll keep you safe too, dad." He said as his eyes shone with determination. The boy believed every word he was saying.
"Of course you will, kiddo. I trust you." As soon as he spoke the words he realized it was true and then smiled brightly. Perhaps it was okay to believe in a bright future no matter how dark the past was and how uncertain the present seemed to be.
The lean man in his late thirties smiled at his son though his own eyes lacked excitement and his smile was anything but care-free. He forced back a sigh as stories about the past came to extinguish what little spark of hope he had. "Someday," he lied for the sake of his son. His son, with his head in the clouds and hope so deep he just couldn't fathom it. Alencia had a history of war, greed, power-lust and division. Did he believe in a bright future? Probably not. Did his son believe in a bright future? Yes, his son did with his entire child-like heart. So he forced himself to believe for his son's sake and smiled brighter. "Alencia will reunite itself someday and you'll grow up to be a great man. One who knows that peace is very important and the power-lust brings nothing but destruction."
The child nodded his head up and down, commitment etched onto his face. "Of course, peace is what I want!" He grinned broadly and clenched his tiny hands into fists. "I'll fight for peace, dad! I'll keep people safe." There was a slight pause as the child ran and tackled his father into a hug. He wrapped both his arms around his father's waist and inched closer. "I'll keep you safe too, dad." He said as his eyes shone with determination. The boy believed every word he was saying.
"Of course you will, kiddo. I trust you." As soon as he spoke the words he realized it was true and then smiled brightly. Perhaps it was okay to believe in a bright future no matter how dark the past was and how uncertain the present seemed to be.