Lost at War

Anonymous

She woke up with a start. Then the cement block of grief hit her once again. The past week had been the worst week of her life. Her dreams had been good, though. He was still with her in those dreams, but in reality, it would never be so again. She got up, stretched, then put on his old coat she kept by her bed. Before she swept out the door, she spotted some old pictures on the wall. They were all taken with him when he was still here. The sight of them made the pain in her chest even worse. She shut the door, hoping that the loud noise would bring her back to her senses. She knew she had to stay strong, for his sake.

She walked down the narrow street, crisp autumn leaves crunching and crackling under her shoes. The leaves reminded her when she and him would make piles of them and jump into them like little kids, and then lie on their backs and watch the clouds, seeing what shapes they made. She walked faster, trying to shake the memories out of he head.

She soon reached the graveyard. She walked up to his grave, and gently touched the flag someone had placed there. She looked at his tombstone, then at the American flag planted nearby, and began to cry. Why had he been so stupid, leaving her like that? She missed him so much... She shook herself. She knew she had to pull herself together. He had always hated seeing her cry. But ever since she had gotten news of his death, she had been torn apart. She wished he could put his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be OK, but he couldn't. He was no longer there to comfort her, and to tell her he loved her. She felt so alone in this big world.

She soon pulled herself together. She got up, dusted the flecks of dirt on her knees, kissed her hand, and placed it on the gravestone. She had to leave, but she would be back. She walked away, flicking a stray tear from her lashes.

If you know a loved one has lost their lives serving our country, I will be praying for you and your families. If you serve in the military, I salute you and thank you for helping shape the country that we have today.