The sand continued to sparkle a beautiful shade of ruby as the syrupy liquid continued to blend in. The waves collected the tiny rocks, sending the blood into the ocean. It was a lead to a greater tragedy resting near by. A young soldier of 21 laying on the beach, bleeding, shallow breathing... dying.
His blood shot eyes looked above at the pearl sky and drowned in beauty. He felt nothing but peace and harmony. The corners of his mouth rose up at the thought of dying here. One could not imagine him self a better scenario. The sea birds saluted the perishing man while disappearing into the horizon. At that moment he didn’t pray, the visions of war slaughter seemed to scare God out of his mind forever. All he could think about was the feeling of ocean licking his toes and the cool breeze on his shaggy hair. It felt right to die here… A perfection of peace.

- “My poor warrior.” – A feminine voice called from the ocean. - “You can’t die yet.”
“Who are you?” – The soldier asked silently, unable to move due to the heavy sand resting upon his body.
- “I have come to reward your bravery by granting you one wish.”
“My life has come to an end. What could I possibly ask for?”
“Anything you want. However I must warn you, I cannot bring you back to life.”
- “Was it worth to die for my country?” – The tormenting question slipped out.
- “No conflict is worth the loss of life. War is a disease that tends to consume its victims in great masses. It doesn’t care whether you’re rich, poor, sick, healthy, happy or miserable. It doesn’t look at your gender or innocence. You’ve powered the monster with your gun believing that you’re protecting your country. If people truly desired peace they would load their guns with flowers, not bullets. War breeds more war and destruction. In an ideal world you wouldn’t die for land, money, drugs or words but for another man. It would be an honorable worth the sacrifice of love.”
The words settled into his mind.
-
“I am war.”
-
“Yes but you’re also it’s prey. A victim of the never-ending spiral of pain and destruction that will not stop until all humans disappear. That is the truth of war. It will never end for the living but will continue to haunt the dead.”
- “I have a wish.” - He murmured while a tear slipped down his cheek. - “I wish for my son to never die a soldier’s death.”
- “Close your eyes.” - Her voice slipped into the man’s ears, hypnotizing him into velvet bliss. – “It’s time for peace.”

I remember the exact moment I slipped away into nothingness, when the wind stopped and water froze. The deeper I dove into darkness the louder became the ocean song. I realized that it was the soundtrack of my life playing, over and over again. Soon enough the blackness turned into images and images into short films. Caroline, Jake, Tom, Mom... Their faces and laughs flashed in my mind scaring the sorrow away. I could feel my soul split into many pieces and drift into different directions. It felt like a big part of me detached and merged with the people I wanted to protect. Mostly my son. The peace overwhelmed me once I knew that I would always be there with him, watching...