Inside The Mind of War - Part 1 (My Original Short Stories)

The blue ’05 corvette rolled up beside the raised curb and came to an silent stop. The car appeared to have just finished a detailed polish job and the vibrant, bright colours of the paintwork reflected the sun’s rays in all directions. The passenger side door pushed open and a tall, athletic-looking gentleman approaching his mid-twenties stepped out onto the sidewalk. He sported a white, tight fitting tank top and faded Denim jeans. He turned back around to collect a dark green duffel bag from the front seat before mouthing something to the driver with a broad smile on his face.

Before the door slammed shut and the driver sped away, a little girl in a satin pink frock was already running down a short flight of steps from the house opposite and hurried towards him. “Daddy, daddy!” she shrilled over and over as the young man dropped his belongings, scooped her off the ground and clasped her close to his chest. Not a second sooner a pretty, fair-haired lady emerged from the front door and watched on from the porch area. She brought a hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face, overcome with floods of joyous emotion. The years seemed to have roll by much quicker than she had initially anticipated, but the moment being played out before her was even more glorious than she could have ever imagined to would be.

The man became aware of her now from the corner of his eye as he picked up the bag, still holding the small girl in one muscular arm. He sauntered up the narrow pathway, never once letting his line of sight leave hers. Upon reaching the top step, his lower lip began to quiver. “Megan.” He whispered, as the small girl continued clutching tiny arms around his vascular neck. The woman rushed over and the three of them wept in a unified embrace of pure love.

“It’s been so long, Danny.” She whimpered in a quiet, yet overwhelmed voice. ”It’s been so very long…”

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”I can’t believe I’m sitting here, looking at the both of you.” He said, relaxing back into his favourite armchair, still placed in the same position as the day he'd left. The walls of the living room had been skimmed and replastered producing a bright, glossy sheen. The previous wallpaper she'd replaced had soft, yellow lines and creases running either side of him from where he sat. That was now only a historical relic in the mind’s eye. Otherwise everything else was exactly as he’d imagined it while away on duty. Even down to the miniature ballerina ornament on the mantelpiece they had won at a fair on their first date together.

He studied the room with care, taking in all the fine details that were missing from the previous memories of his abode when alone at base camp. Megan and Karly both stared at him across the room from the living room sofa. The feelings of excitement and pure unbelieving bliss were palpable. “Daniel.” She called out. He jerked his head towards her in an instant. He appeared content, yet still a little jittery. She put it down to the shock of coming home from a place that must have been hell on earth. A living nightmare for them all out there. ”Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, darling.”

”No, honey. Not at all.” He comforted. ”It’s all… such a blur right now, you know? I’ve only been back less than an hour and already I feel like I never actually left at all. It's amazing how quickly people can acclimate.” He smiled at them and ran his fingers across his shaven, stubbly head. ”I can’t tell you how happy I am though.”

”Daddy.” Karly said in a high pitched squeak. ”Do you want some water? Can I get you anything?” Daniel leaned forwards in his chair and gave her a knowing nod. ”You’re all grown up now, my little pumpkin. When I left, you must have been half the size you are now.” They all laughed in unison as Karly rose from her seat.

”No, darling. You stay there, I’m fine. I just want to take in this feeling of being reunited with my family.” She was just about to sit back down when her mother chimed in. ”It’s OK, Karly. Your dad and I have to talk. Why don’t you go and play in your room. There’s a good little girl.”

In a heartbeat, Karly grabbed her favourite bear from the seat, scampering into the hallway and up the wide flight of stairs. It was clear to see that an important missing fragment in her life had now been replaced. Lost in a new world of contentment, she could be heard humming out a tune as her bedroom door closed shut, restoring silence.

Megan turned to Daniel. He was almost sprawled out in his recliner, two hands clasped behind his neck, staring at her. ”I’ve missed you so much, Megan.” he said, followed by a heavy sigh. ”I didn’t write or call for the last two months. Things got a little crazy towards the end of my service out there.”

”No, babe. You don’t have to explain yourself.” She replied. ”I heard about the skirmish that took place with your platoon. I was worried sick and tried to contact headquarters. They assured me everything was alright, but… I was concerned they were only telling me what I wanted to hear.” She held a hand up to her forehead, shaking her head. ”Thank the good lord you made it back in one piece. I couldn’t have gone on without you.”

He pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to Megan, snuggling up beside her whilst wrapping a huge forearm around her delicate shoulders. ”Baby, I’m so sorry.” He sympathised. ”I’m not gonna lie. It was touch-and-go for a few weeks. Me and the boys were pinned down at camp by insurgents for several days. You remember Rob Boyd, right?” She looked up at him red-eyed and gave a faint nod. ”He stepped out one Sunday morning to go use the facilities. I can still see him disappearing out of the tent and giving me that sly grin, so much as to say “Yes, I know I shouldn’t have ate up all those chicken wings last night.” Well, it was a brief twenty yard walk to the outhouse that he never made. A short, sharp sound like a whip being cracked and we all instantly knew he was gone.”

Megan shuddered at the thought it could just as easily have been Daniel, but swept it from her mind fast. She placed her arm across his chest with a gentle pat. ”My God, I'm so sorry. He was your training partner and friend. You guys were close. Dan, you don’t have to talk about it if it upsets you. Get settled in here for a bit first why don't you? We got all the time in the world now.”

”I won’t go into the fine details, but don't want you thinking I simply cut communications with you over some triviality. This was the real deal, darling. You know Tom, right?” Again, she nodded. ”Benny, Milton, Jones…” he paused for a brief second. ”Oh yeah, Alex too.” She acknowledged him for a third time.

All dead. All in horrific ways, Meg.” He clenched his teeth in anger and looked away as if into a faraway nothingness. ”They didn’t relent. They just kept on push forward until…. Until…” His heartbeat grew faster underneath her hand and she noticed sweat had begun to collect at each temple.

”OK, that’s enough, Dan.” She said, straightening herself and sitting upright to face him. ”That was the past. This is the here and now. A new chapter has started in all of our lives and we must only move forwards. Not backwards. The horror you must have gone through… I can barely contemplate it. But it’s history now. Please, my baby. Just relax and let me cook you up our first family meal in over three years.” She leaned into him and held him tight.

”I know, Meg.” He whispered. ”I love you so much.”

”And you, my heart.” She responded. As Megan drew away, she felt a cold, metallic object tucked into the back of his jeans. On a second touch, it was unmistakeable. The muzzle of a gun.

She leaned around and peered behind his torso, attempting to pry him off the seat at the same time. ”What the hell is this, Dan?” She asked, but in a calm and controlled manner. ”You bought a weapon into his house?”

”It’s not a weapon!” he snapped back and pushed his body back into his seat, concealing the gun once more. ”A weapon kills. This here saved my life. The reason I’m sitting with you here and now.” His eyes clouded over in a protective rage. ”Don’t refer to her as a weapon… please.”

Several second passed by, both pairs of eyes locked on each other in a sort of momentary confusion. Megan was the first to come to her senses but was visibly shaken. She could not deal with this matter at this moment in time so chose to take a timeout. ”OK, Dan. We’ll discuss this later. I’ll go and prepare some food for us. OK?”

In an instant, he transformed back into the same, loving man who had walked through the front door one mere hour ago. ”Yes, babes. That’d be great.”

As she got up and made her way into the kitchen, he called back. ”Hey, Megan.” She turned around to a picture of him wearing a large grin, fingers curled around the coarse stubble of his chin.

”It’s so good to be home again.”

(To Be Continued...)

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Hope you enjoyed this short story, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)