Falcon was a strong man in spirit and in strength. The entire town knew him as a tower of strength. He kept the farm together, his family and strangers. He never wavered.
But right there on the ground, Falcon didn’t just cry, he sobbed. He sobbed from the depth of his soul from the broken heart he felt over that little girl.
Anguish consumed him.
A mere child, not even three, she didn’t have a chance. She was born into a damned world and her short life was just as damned.
An innocent child didn’t deserve the tortured life she had. Not enough food or water. No home, living outside. Crying and reaching for a mother who had died right next to her, a mother who wouldn’t answer.
Falcon couldn’t even make her life better; he didn’t have the chance. All he could give her were some measly scraps of food and water and that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to save her life or make up for what she never had.
It was then Falcon grew angry at himself. Angry for all the times he felt bad for his children, felt sorry that they never saw green or had a tree, or when they wanted more water and couldn’t have it. He was angry for all the times he cursed God for the life his children had to lead and what they didn’t have.
He was enraged with himself because all along he shouldn’t have been cursing, should not have been feeling sorry for his children. He should have been grateful.
His children weren’t like other children.
Belle was. She was just one of millions of children who would never know a full belly or have their thirst quenched.
His children were the exception to the rule and were fortunate.
He’d remember that. He’d always remember that, and should he forget, he need only to think about the day that Belle passed away.
Outside on the ground, hidden behind the Vike, Falcon held on to Belle. He’d do so before he found his children and buried the baby.
Belle had given him a gift. She showed him more in the day he knew her than he had learned in years of war. She had given him a life lesson, a true realistic view of things. Such an enormous unselfish gift had come in such a small package.
Falcon wanted to hold Belle a little bit longer. It was the least and the last thing he could do for her.
America's Demise 01 - Wasteland Page 6
