LIVINGUNTILTHEFUTURE

By Theo DiFlorio '29

I suddenly feel a piercing pain in my gut It feels like falling a thousand feet and then hitting the ground I look down Half a sword is sticking out of my stomach I feel the other end wobble in the wind through my back My vision blurs and I'm sweating. My feet shift as I slowly fall backwards. The sword on the other end of my body touches the ground first, thrusting itself out of my gut. I roar in pain, trying not to give up. My head lashes back when it hits the ground, obscuring my vision, and further making the world disappear.

Here I am, perched on a tree My talons are pierced into its thick bark, keeping me steady I look out to the world, remembering my memories as a human. My mother singing lullabies as I fell asleep, my father playing catch with me on our front lawn. The old ladies walking by my street. Gulderberry Street. I think of my older years in college Majoring in philosophy at Brown University, my graduation party, living in England until the war started

Any man aged 18 and older had to fight in the war. The agony of the young soldiers scarred me through my warpath until my pain scarred another. Though I went through so much I was burdened to have my life lost like many others in this war

Once I awakened in my nest I realized it wasn't 1863; it was the future. I had been reincarnated.