The War Is Over

This is an alternater ending, or rather alternate last page I wrote for the classic WW1 novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque.

The sound of the gunfire’s laughter, unusually quiet on this October day,  played out at Paul as if he was trapped in a room, with all four walls quickly occupying the space, but slowly moving in on him. However, when the bullet entered his chest, gunfire and the whizzing of bullets he heard no more.

His mother had passed six months prior, but her voice was as clear as if she was standing right next to him, guiding him through battle.

“Paul. My baby boy. My soldier. You can come home.” His life was quickly fading away, but he was perfectly fine with it. And, as he took his last breath, he smiled one last time because finally the war was over.

Author's Note

The actual book's last page is really this long. This alternate ending if for a project in history class.

Reviews

[FictionQueen]

Nicely done.
The discriptions were short yet powerfull.
Overall good poem.

[James Yelton]

I really liked this story and perspective. It was short, concise and made a great statement. However, I suggest you might consider adding to a couple of areas. '...he heard no more from this world.' This I think brings more into perspective his hearing his mother. Also, he '...he smiled one last time because he knew for him the war was over.' This to me this makes his feelings even more personal as with his smile.