Dream ♠ oo6

[defector]

Anywhere else, it might be odd for a child to be wandering around the base as if it were his home, but most of the soldiers there are used to Dominic's presence. The majority of them don't even know his name, but they can all figure why he's there--no normal soldier would bring his or her child to work, so he has to be a war orphan.

Of course, they're not wrong. Dominic's there because he has nowhere else to go, because that man asked him to come. He hopes that, by being here, he'll somehow help the world become a better place. However, that'll probably have to wait until he's old enough to join the military.

For now, his job is looking after that girl on the table, hooked up to an IV. He's not entirely sure where she's from, or where her parents are, but he can take a guess at the latter. She's like him: someone who's all alone now. She can't be happy, he thinks, staying there all day, never talking, never doing anything. Even he, who feels like the loneliest person in the world, has freedom. Her, on the other hand--what does she have?

He pities her, because she's even lonelier than he is.

The pity aches in his chest, as he brings her her food. He says nothing, she says nothing, and so he leaves once he's done. That's how it is each time--or was, in any case. Today, he's not content with settling for the same thing. Once he's been given permission to exit the base, he rushes out to the town. It doesn't take him long to find what he's looking for. Crouching down, he plucks a flower--an anemone, to be exact--out of the ground, before heading back, smiling.

Tomorrow's not going to be so ordinary.

---

[Dominic wakes up, smiling softly]