The ringing in the ears.
It seems that it will never stop...
The rumble of explosions, and the sounds of gunfire come into my head... Human screams get there with them... Some stay there for a long time, some stay there forever.
Another explosion. Frank rolls into a trench and crawls over it until he finds an object. Having picked it up, he spins it in his hands, trying to understand what he found. Something very familiar... Almost round, burnt, still warm...
The next second, everything inside Frank will shake. Shrouding his face, he throws the find away and continues to crawl.
After a few meters, Frank hangs on to something. With his head up, he sees a soldier in front of him - his burned face... The fact that the soldier has no ear sink is immediately evident. A slight shiver runs through the body when Frank realizes he just held it in his hands...
Suddenly a soldier opens his mouth. Frank flinches. He thinks he's shouting, but he doesn't really make a sound... Then he turns his head on his side and Frank sees the fluid flowing out of his head mixed with blood.
Frank pulls out the fluid directly on the soldier.
When he wakes up, he looks at the corpse. His eyes are frozen. Frank spits up the remains of his vomit and, having lowered his eyelid, crawls on.
Familiar shapes appear in front of him. A bunker - maybe he'll save his life... Frank makes a jerk, then another, then the third... Frank's smile is born on his face. He stays a little bit, but suddenly... A grenade falls next to him. There is no trace of a smile.
An explosion...
***
A man jumps out of bed.
Exhale... Then a deep breath is just another nightmare.
Frank gets out of bed, trying not to wake his wife, and then slips into the corridor. When she approaches the window, she stares into the night sky.
Frank began to suspect them long ago... The dots glowing in the sky are dreams, and in his case, nightmares.
While they fall from the sky, Frank makes only one wish. If it doesn't come true, he'll still feel a little better. Less stars - less nightmares.
After night contemplation Frank sneaks into the nursery, where his beautiful daughters sleep. Lucy recently turned two years old, elder Angela around four.
After making sure they are all right, he closes the door behind him and goes to the kitchen. There he sits at the table and turns on the TV after making coffee.
"Next year, the government will be introducing a new approach to education. Now our children will know only positive moments in history. The Minister of Education comments on the situation in such a way: "Children do not need to know any negative events or phenomena, especially when it comes to history. Children should be filled only with positive emotions".
- Can't sleep? - Katy asked, hugging her husband.
Frank did not react in any way, but continued to watch the report.
The TV shows protests against the reform. There are different groups of people in the ranks of the protesters: teachers, bikers, and combatants. People are walking with posters: "Children should know the truth, remember not to repeat the mistakes of history," "Down with the government and the president!
Among the countless crowds of people, the correspondent notices a man in a wheelchair, looking like he is about fifty years old, without both legs. The correspondent asks him:
- Why are you here?
- I do not agree with this reform. I was crippled for life by that damn war. And now what? Just throw it away? Forget it?
- But what do you hope for? The law will be passed anyway, now other times, democracy has long been a failure.
- I will say so," continues the man. - I understand that democracy is a thing of the past, the state does not take into account our opinion. - A man is interrupted by tears. - I'll tell you what, I did my duty then, and now I'm not left out... And what will they decide... It will be on their conscience!
A year later...
Having jumped out of bed, Frank grabbed his head. So hard to breathe...
Looks like he's absorbing all the oxygen in the room in seconds. The heart beats like a frenzy.
Having recovered from his nightmare, Frank turns on the lamp. The room is a mess: bare wires stick out of the floor; there are several ashtrays full of cigarette butts lying next to the bed.
Getting out of bed, Frank approaches the mirror hung with a rag and reaches for it, but at the last moment, he twitches his hand. A wave of fear travels all over the body... It's as if Frank is afraid to see something supernatural in the mirror, something from his nightmares.
Having gained courage, he still tears off the rag...
Because of the many cracks in the mirror, it becomes quite difficult to see your own reflection. But gradually the puzzle is going to be collected. Frank looks at a man with crumpled, dirty hair. A swollen face, bruises under his eyes... Frank touches his chin. His gaze is as if he doesn't know this man in the mirror...
Frank finds a pack of cigarettes in the hallway, but the joy of finding it quickly disappears - the pack is empty.
Once in the nursery, Frank finds himself in a room with bare walls. There's no trace of the fact that once there were cribs, toys and, of course, children themselves.
Only Frank's memory itself fills the room with the usual atmosphere, the children's laughter sounds in their heads again. It's as if Frank is frozen in the middle of the room for a few minutes, after which he lies on the floor. Having spent on it by hand, that casually finds among other things garbage of an un smoked cigarette.
Frank's face is blurred in an idiotic smile. He takes a lighter out of his shorts pocket and lights it. In these moments, he feels happier than ever.
A smile passes when the ashes from a cigarette fall on his face. He tries to take it away, but nothing comes out - the ashes just fall apart.
Stone-covered eyes are filled with tears...