The Cathedral

His voice still echoes in my mind, "You WILL NOT defy me again, soldier! Do you have what it takes to act?"

Guarding the Cathedral, I'm haunted by those words. I light a cigarette, my hands trembling.

"Here they come!" The shout descends from the tower above.

Instinctively, I grip my weapon, feeling a visceral rebellion churning in my gut.

Amidst the chaos, a figure appears. Small, fragile. A child, their eyes ringed with the same black stain. My heart drops..

"Fuck it."