Our Hideous Progeny

by C.E. McGill

Do little boys ever grow out of being fools, I wonder? Or do they simply grow into something worse?

It is a ravenous thing, ambition; even more so than curiosity. For some, I have heard, it is a fair-weather companion, evaporating at the first sign of hardship and leaving its bearer behind with only modest dreams. For others, however, it is merciless – a burning, aching, gnawing thing that refuses to abandon its host no matter how long or hard they work, until either they succeed or are left hollowed out, prideful to the last.