I could understand her pain, her sense of betrayal and anger. My own daughter had been taken by the KGB all those years back, but at least my position as informant protected the rest of the family. Trivial emotions do nothing but fester in the heart, make one irrational, and prone to wallowing in sorrow.

Some say it’s cathartic to wallow.

But you can never have enough time to wallow in the things of past.

“You conscienceless freak!”

The conscience. The voice which infiltrates your every thought and action, chiding you for things that are against your idea of right and wrong. But when the notion of right is born blind into a cradle of lies, the line between right and wrong becomes blurred. I turn back to face the judge, the useless conscience of society. The ruckus and chaos behind me grows to a consuming roar as Alisa’s mom climbs over the wooden barricade to get to me, shoving everyone else aside. Our eyes lock, before two security officers come running over to restrain her. Shes never reached me.