Short story #3

Three Years
Locked away in the confines of some unknown force he silently read the letter. He read the letter and his heart slowly tore apart into a thousand pieces. His heart was completely shattered, damaged beyond repair. Hot tears streamed down his face, burning rivers of fire. The tears slipped down his chin and trickled onto the letter. The words began to swim on the paper; more and more tears flowed down his cheeks. His breath began to quicken, ragged and strained, until it choked out in overwhelmed sobs. His chest felt heavy, like someone was standing on top of him. His head began to pound, a banging drum resonating in the depths of his skull.
This is what happens when a heart breaks…
What I was about to do would change his life forever. I know it is not the best way to go about doing something like this, but it needed to be done. I haven’t seen Toby in three years. Three years. That is such a long time. I miss him, I miss him so much, but I cannot keep doing this. So much has changed in the past three years that there is no way we can stay together. It just isn’t healthy to keep the relationship alive. I’m different, and he is too. How can it work?
Do I still love him? I love him, more than anything in the world, but I’m not in love anymore. Three years is such a long time. Does he still love me? I’m not sure. He writes to me, but not like he had when he first was drafted. I want to save him the trouble; he does not need to stay with me if he doesn’t want to. It’s the responsible thing to do, to break things off, and to say it’s over. It hurts, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do.
Sitting down at my desk I pull out my pen and paper from a drawer.
Dear Toby,
And so it begins…

Crunchcrunchcrunch That’s all I’ve heard for the past four hours. That’s not true, I’ve heard much more than that. I can hear the crunching of our boots grinding against the gravel, the continuous stomping of feet, the urge to collapse in an exhausted heap, the feeling of giving up, the heartbreak of the memory of our fallen comrades. I can hear it all. Even though it feels like hell, we keep walking. We take these endless walks, walks with seemingly no destination, for days on end. I’m tired. I’m hungry. My feet hurt. We’re not even close to done walking.
I refuse to give up. I have too much to live for. I’ve got a girl. This girl keeps me alive through the walking, the shooting, the death and destruction. She is my lifeline to reality and normalcy. I go through hell to get back to her. She is my inspiration and one day she will be my wife.
I’ve been through way too much to stop now. I’ve been ambushed countless times from the enemy. I’ve had friends die in my arms. I’ve seen guys so mutilated it make me shudder. I’ve been shot at, pushed to the edge and back. I’ve had man and nature against me and at times, even God. But I kept going, I continue because of her.
I’m going to get back to her. She promised that she would wait for me, no matter how long it took for me to get back. She promised. I remember when I told her I was being drafted. I could see she was heartbroken, but we promised that we would wait for each other. She had said that she would love me until death and even after. And I know that she will remain true.
We finally stop walking. We’ve come one of our many bases, and I’m anxious to learn if I have received another letter from Willa. It’s been a while since I have heard from her. I can feel the atmosphere change in my platoon. Since we’ve met up with some of our buddies, the mood has certainly lifted. There are no longer clouds of doom looming above our helmets.
“Yo, Toby. I got some great news for ya!”
“What’s that, sir”
“Just got the word, you’re bein’ set home. Gather your stuff, a plane should be landing soon.”
“Really, sir?” It happened just like that. No lie. I could not believe my luck! Now I could go home and be with my Willa! Oh! This was way too good to be true.
“Yeah, Toby. You lucky dog!”
“Thank you, sir!”
Now I had one more mission, one last task to complete before I left this all behind. I had to get to where the mail tent! I made my way through camp until I found it.
“Hey, Elroy! You got anything for me?”
“Toby! I hear you’re a free man now!”
“Yup, well…just about.”
“Well I got a letter here for ya from a Miss Willa Cuerest.” He smiled a big goofy smile.
“Thanks, Elroy. I’ll be seein’ ya. You take care and stay alive so we can go out and get a couple beers, alright?”
“No problem, Toby. You take care.”
“I will.”
I pocketed the letter, thinking about how romantic it would be if I could read it with her. I cannot wait to see her face when I get back! She is going to be so excited.

Three days after the letter was sent I realized my mistake. I still was in love with Toby. I don’t know why the change but I was still in love. Even though I sent the letter and I felt it was responsible, I realize now that nothing can take away the love I have for him. I need him. Three years can’t stop that. I had made a promise. I don’t know where this change of heart came from but what I do know is that I need to do something about that letter. No, I can’t get it back but I shall write another one. I’m sure He’ll understand.
Joy fills my soul as I make my way up the path to Will’s house. It’s been so long; I cannot not wait until we reunite! My legs pump me, faster and faster. The space between my destination and me is so close it’s unbearable. The letter is heavy in my pocket and I’m filled with immense curiosity as to what treasures it contains.
Curiosity killed the cat but I’m a soldier. I grabbed the letter from my pocket as I arrived in front of Willa’s house and tear away the envelope. I began reading its contents. Blinking back tears, I let the letter that horrible piece of paper, fall to the ground. I looked up at Willa’s house, thinking that there must have been a mistake but I knew she was right. Three years was a long time. I saw her staring at me through the window; she looked into my eyes with shock. I held her gaze for a moment, my eyes pounding hers. She didn’t flinch. I nodded my head slightly. Then I walked away.