“Mom! Mommy!” The wind blows through my hair pushing it in my eyes, but not enough to blind me from the sight of abandonment. I run through the wind, my feet numb against the pine needles under my feet. I’m about to reach her when the soldiers pin my arms behind my back, “Mom! Please, don’t leave me here! Mom!” I stare into the eyes of the woman who once loved me, but now stands silently watching as I am stabbed over and over by soldiers. The wounds feel like nothing compared to the pain of betrayal I feel from my mother. The soldiers suddenly drop me, and walk over to my mother. As I curl up into a ball I hear the soldiers thank my mother. The last thing I see is my mother and the soldiers climbing into the hovercraft, leaving me here to die.

I sit up in the bed, skin sticky with sweat. My lips curl into a frown and turn into a stutter as I sob in memory of my mother’s abandonment, and the ache I feel for her once loving touch.