All I see is red.

A war torn soldier describes his way of viewing life.

You know, when you look at it the way I do, war transforms us all. Whether it’s for the better or for the worst… that’s to be decided. The experiences I’ve had have clouded judgement, to the point where every waking moment I’m living a nightmare. When I walk through the streets of the cities I’ve saved. When I walk by the citizens that stop and offer a salute, or a nod of the head. I can’t help but hold back my tears. Not for the reason you may come to think though.

When the children look to me with the stars in their eyes, and they talk about how cool we soldiers are, I can’t help but think how naive they really are. Everyone, they see these decorated medals on my jacket, and take me for some kind of hero. But if you look at it the way I do, that couldn’t be any farther from the truth.

Like I said, war transforms us. These people that have been so fortunate to be able to sit at home with family, and eat warm meals. These children that have been able to be read stories and get tucked in bed so they can have sweet dreams at night. These people that live happy lives, they all just take it for granted. They do it because… they haven’t been changed by war.

But me, I can’t have that anymore, because when I look around… it’s not to observe the scenery. It’s to look for possible predators. When I look out my window at the sun shining through the clouds, I’m not embracing the beauty of it all… I’m just checking to see if the planes are coming to drop the bombs.

I’m checking to see if the sky has been blackened with ash, or if the streets are filled with people fleeing in terror. And that’s because war didn’t transform me for the better. It’s put me on edge. It doesn’t make me think I’m the hero I’ve been made out to be. Because when I reminisce about it, and I see the men I’ve shot screaming in pain on the ground, begging for mercy. When I look at the mirror, I don’t see a hero, but I see a soulless monster.

And worst of all… when I look out at the world… All I see is red.

Author's Note

Tell me about anything I could have improved on, how accurate I am in what's talked about, and grammatical errors please. This is the first time I have posted on this site.

Reviews

[H L Rose]

This is an interesting perspective and I can't help but think it is accurate for some. The writing is also fluid and easy to follow. The theme of "red" is an interesting one. The reader is forced to analyze what "red" represents, anger, blood, both, or even a deeper meaning. It leaves the reader with something to think about.
I wish I could give some constructive criticism, but I can't come up with any.
I enjoyed reading it!

[KCthelastboyscout]

This is an effective moving story.soldiers are treated like machines but when their duty is done no one bothers to turn them off.written from this point of view made this story believable and worth reading more than once.well done

[Vladimir]

Thank you very much for the review. This story was written with the notion that this may be how soldiers feel. This was a writing I did in speculation, and I have no real military background to base it off of.