Day Eight

I truly have become a soldier. My heart is the one of a soldier and so are my actions. I’m a soldier and being a soldier means that I will never be able to go back to my old life. I could never walk around without being aware of every sound and every movement around me. I am brave now and I understand why people fight wars. I have taken lives and saved them, and I don’t have any problems shooting loyalists anymore. I only do that helps the revolutionary army and I saved Juan, not because I liked him, but because he was one of the revolutionaries, one of us. I have developed a kind of brotherly feeling for all of the revolutionaries. I wouldn’t let any of them die, not even Juan, Esteban, or even the Whistler. War is something that is horrible, yes, but if it will make your country a better place, and if it will bring freedom, it is worth it to fight a war and waste people lives. This was the Forty-Third War, and we lost it, we lost the battle over San Ildefonso. There will be a Forty-Forth War and we will win it, if not win it, we will in any case give our best. I am mature enough now, to understand that there is a point in life and that everyone plays a part in it. Nacio for example, will be a doctor, no sorry, a doctor soldier, and I will be a teacher soldier. Nacio and I will help improve this country, our country, and we will serve it. That is what it is all about, serving.