TemperatureDry2572

I always went hunting with my dad. He was the kind of man who believed in rules, especially when it came to killing. His rule was simple: aim for the head. Always the head. Quick, clean, merciful. That’s what he said. That’s what I did. Every time.

But one day, something slipped into me. A thought I couldn’t push away. What if I didn’t aim for the head? What if I tried somewhere else?

That day, my dad wasn’t with me. Just his friend, and he didn’t care where I aimed. He wasn’t paying attention. I had my chance. The deer was right there in my scope. Normally, I’d aim between the eyes like my father taught me. But I didn’t. I aimed at its leg.

I pulled the trigger.

The sound it made st

I always went hunting with my dad. He taught me to aim at the head, every single time. Quick, clean, merciful, he’d say. And I did it, always. But one day, something crawled into me. A thought.

What if I didn’t?

That day my father wasn’t there — only his friend. He didn’t watch me closely. The deer was right there in my scope, but I didn’t aim at its head. I aimed at its leg. Pulled the trigger.

It screamed. God, the sound. It stumbled, collapsed, thrashing against the earth, its eyes wild with panic. My father’s voice came back to me — end it quickly, don’t let it suffer. So I ran, knife in hand, ready to put it out of its misery.

But when I stopped ten meters away, I didn’t move fo

I always went hunting with my dad. He taught me to aim at the head, every single time. Quick, clean, merciful, he’d say. And I did it, always. But one day, something crawled into me. A thought.

What if I didn’t?

That day my father wasn’t there — only his friend. He didn’t watch me closely. The deer was right there in my scope, but I didn’t aim at its head. I aimed at its leg. Pulled the trigger.

It screamed. God, the sound. It stumbled, collapsed, thrashing against the earth, its eyes wild with panic. My father’s voice came back to me — end it quickly, don’t let it suffer. So I ran, knife in hand, ready to put it out of its misery.

But when I stopped ten meters away, I didn’t move fo