Pre-War Dialogue

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Kayim: (smiling) Well, it looks like this is our last night of freedom. (grins)

Talor: (distracted) Uh, yeah, I suppose.

Kayim: (frowning) Talor? What's wrong?

Talor: I don't know, it's just . . . (trails off)

Kayim: Just what?

Talor: I don't know what to think.

Kayim: About the war?

Talor: (nods) It just doesn't seem to have any point.

Kayim: No point? Why, the whole war is, is our privilege. More, our duty . . . to our city, our nation, our ancestors, our G-d, even to our world.

Talor: But, think about all that we have. I mean, for all your optimism, have you ever considered that we might die?

Kayim: Talor, I'm no fool. I know the risks. But the gains outweigh the risks by far. The honor, the glory, the privilege of serving our country.

Talor: But what about what we're leaving behind? What about our parents? I mean, I've never lived without them, on my own. (looks at Kayim) And what about you, what about Rakira?

Kayim: Talor, we both have ties to our small sheltered community. And I'd be lying if I said I had no feelings for her, for my family. But a life without change is stagnant. We've lived here most of our lives. (glances around, focuses on the nearby oak tree) Just think of that old oak tree. It's held in place by its roots, it can never reach the nearby river. If we let our roots hold us back, we'll never experience anything new, we'll lose out on lost opportunities.

Talor: But what if you fall?

Kayim: We'll get up back up again.

Talor: And what if we break?

Kayim: Then we will heal, we will eventually grow new branches, stronger than before. Why, even the minuscule bugs can hide from the winds of the fierce storm, but the tree cannot hide, cannot defend against those prevailing winds.

Talor: (stays silent)

Kayim: Talor, I've known you for a long time. I know you like I know myself. It's something else, isn't it? What is it?

Talor: I can't hide it from you. (pauses) It's, it's my father.

Kayim: Your father?

Talor: We were talking last night and, well, he worries for me. (looks up) He worries for me a great deal. He was a soldier . . . he served in the Legions. And he knows the horrors of war. You see, when he served in the Bloody War, he was an interrogator.

Kayim: (interrupts) I know all about your parent's stories. I know your father is a veteran of the Bloody War, but all parents worry for their children.

Talor: But don't you see, he spent many years, I mean my whole life watching over me, raising me, sacrificing things for me and now right when I am old enough to be of any help to him, I am just going to leave . . . fly off like a bird into the skies . . . never to return.

Kayim: Talor, all parents know that their children are eventually going to fly away like the birds if you will. They may not want to, and they may even try to hold you back but they can never forget the sweet innocent boy they raised, but they know you need to find your own way. Our duty now is to our country, by serving your country, our ancestors, and protecting our future and our past. (National anthem plays) Listen to them. They're all united, they sing in harmony in one voice. It doesn't matter that they are not all singing in the right key, what matters is that they sing together harmoniously for our country for our nation or for a world.

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