“It’s for the good of us all…the ceremony…I mean.” Her son said. “A hero is created by others, as a way to reassure themselves. We all need heroes to remind us we have hope. Real heroes never claim the honor for themselves. You know this to be true. The ceremony is important to remind us we have survived.”

Nina smiled, but briefly. “I’m just tired. I’m worn out. I’m used up and I don’t know if I can do much more.” She glanced up at her son knowing he would never understand. “When your father died I wanted to die, too. But I had a reason to fight. I wanted to live long enough to see Arina and others like her survive. I promised your father I would not rest until we won. Now, it’s over and I just want some rest. Can you understand I just want to be left alone?”

Her son walked closer to her. He wanted to embrace her, but held back. “Look, after the ceremony you will have plenty of time to rest. The war is over. Do this one last thing for us, for all of us.”

Nina psyked Arina, I’ll be back soon.