Sleepless Soldier

By Anton Hildingsson

The sleepless soldier—back home—roamed the everyday. The world had changed since he first departed; something was sickly wrong.

Explosions in the stairwell made the soldier reach for a gun which wasn’t there. Firecrackers, amplified in his mind, he realized. Next day, when he visited a relative, he peered through a door ajar, and saw a gaming child, playing war.

At New Year’s Eve the soldier covered his ears. He couldn’t comprehend the enjoyment of witnessing unnecessary violence. Flashes of light induced flashes of memory. The world stank, the soldier realized. Each day slightly altered the reasons of his sleeplessness.