Coming Home
By Lady Une-chan (a.k.a. Mirai in some circles)
Author's Note: This is a short story that I wrote for English class. I think that it's kind of weird, but my friend said that it was good, so I'm posting it. I think that I'm better at writing fanfiction, but I'm trying to write more original fiction.
~Mirai
He stared out the train window. All there was to see were dreary buildings being pounded by the rain. The rain pounded against the top of the train too, making an annoying sound. However, he wasn't really paying attention.
Instead, he was thinking of her. He hadn't seen her in three years. He hadn't seen her beautiful face or her long shiny black hair. He hadn't heard her charming voice or melodic laugh. He missed her sparking personality and clever humor.
It had all started back when he was in military school. She was the daughter of a man that his father worked with. He met her at a formal dinner party and was immediately enchanted by her. When he wasn't training, he visited her house to court her.
Then the war broke out. He was sent out to fight against the Nazis. He saw comrades die and lives destroyed. These images would stay with him forever, but they wouldn't keep him from wanting to see her again. He would read and re-read the letters she sent him over and over again.
He eventually got leave and returned to England. It was disheartening to see the damage done by the Blitz, but she had stayed the same, which raised his spirits. However, the second time he got leave, he found out that she and her family had gone to America, where it was safer. Her letters had suddenly stopped and he worried more about her life than his own.
The end of the war finally came and he went back home. As much as he enjoyed visiting his family, he received word that she was back in England, so he immediately boarded the first train heading in the direction of her house.
The train rattled on. Bored with the window view, he turned to look at the others in the train compartment. A old lady was asleep in the corner seat, snoring fairly loud. A younger couple sat closer to the front of the compartment, whispering to each other. Behind them sat an older business man, reading the newspaper. Across the way from him was a little girl, about the age of nine or ten. She seemed to be traveling by herself.
"Hello, Mr. Soldier," she said to him, now having his attention. Perhaps it was a bad idea to wear his uniform.
"Why, hello, little girl. How are you doing today?" he asked.
"Just dandy. And you?" the little girl replied.
"Fine, I guess."
The little girl looked a tad confused. "You guess?"
He sighed. "I'm going to visit someone I haven't seen in a while"
The little girl nodded. "I just finished visiting my daddy in the hospital."
"In the hospital? Why didn't your mum go with you?"
"Mum had to stay home and take care of my grandparents. But that's okay because she visited Daddy yesterday. We've been taking turns," explained the little girl.
"Oh, I understand now," he said, " I hope that your father gets better soon."
"You know, Daddy was a soldier, just like you," replied the little girl. Suddenly the train screeched to a halt and the conductor called out the name of the station.
"I'm sorry, but this my stop," the soldier said to the little girl.
The little girl nodded and said good-bye. He left the station, walking with his umbrella hoisted over his head. While dodging puddles, he thought about what the girl had said. You know, Daddy was a soldier, just like you. No, he thought, I was luckier then he was. I'm not just like him. He finally reached his destination, his sweetheart's house. He when up to the door and lifted the brass knocker. That phrase was going over and over in his mind, Daddy was a soldier, just like you. The door finally opened and a head popped out.
It was she. She still had her beautiful face and her long shiny black hair. When she saw who it was, her hand flew up to her mouth and her eyes glistened with tears. "It's you," she whispered. "It's really you. You're home." She ran out and embraced him, causing him to drop his umbrella. She buried herself in his arms.
"I'm glad you're happy to see me," he said with a chuckle.
She looked up at him. "That is an under statement."
"Well, I am more than happy to see you," he replied.
"I know that this might seem like an awkward question, but..." she trailed off.
"But what, dear?"
"Are things going to be different between us? I mean, has the war changed you into a totally different person?" she asked, wiping away some of the rain that at landed on her face.
He paused a second. "Yes, the war has changed me," he finally answered, "but I believe that I have changed for the better. The things I saw on the battlefield reminded me of how important life is. I am very lucky to be alive. Things are going to be different for us, but instead of us being farther apart, I want us to be closer together."
She blushed and thought of what he just said. "Good then, I was hoping you would say something along those lines."
"Well,
I hope you don't mind me changing occupations.
Being a soldier just isn't cut out for me," he replied.
As he held her close, he decided that the little girl's father was lucky
in some ways, for he had people that cared about him. It didn't really matter what happened to him, just as long as
there were people that truly cared for him.
The rain seemed to light up as he lead her back inside. Yes,
he thought, if people cared for one another, then maybe wars like this
wouldn't happen.