Volterra, Italy, 19th August, 1914
Dear Bella,
It's been three days and I already miss you. I've finally arrived in Volterra, and it isn't as glorious and beautiful as depicted in advertisements and novels. Perhaps it was because you weren't with me. It had been our lifelong dream to go to Volterra together, you me, my sisters, nieces and nephews…maybe with our own children? We dreamed to see the famous Volterran Sunsets together, and clearly it isn't possible, with me in Volterra and you still in Forks. The sunset is lovely, but it wasn't what I expected. I felt nothing but guilt and worry, for you, for our future.
We were all treated to a scrumptious feast-even for us common soldiers. The barracks have been furnished wonderfully and it's so clean and spacious! The beds were bunk beds and the pillows and quilts are made of the finest material. In a way, it's fit for a king! However, even if the rooms seem so cosy and comfortable, I feel trapped in a jar without you. The stars shine so brightly in the night sky, but they don't shine as brightly as they were in Forks, when the two of us would sit in the open balcony and stare at the sky, identifying constellations since our time in high school. Remember our first date? Remember when we had dinner together in the balcony when my parents were out? After our rather cliché meal of spaghetti Bolognese and dessert of Tiramisu cake, we looked at the stars, and you wished for us to stay together forever until death takes us apart. You were seventeen, I was eighteen. I would've loved to go back in time and relive that memory.
Alas, we are no longer seventeen and eighteen! We are a man and woman, husband and wife. Your wish would've came true if it wasn't for the dreaded conscription. Staying in these luxurious rooms is only temporary. One battalion had already left Volterra for Tuscany in the war against the Romanians and their allies, the Nordic clans. They've left when my division, the Ninth Battalion arrived. There's been word that half of the First Battalion have already nobly perished against the strong forces of the Romanians in a single day! I'm afraid, Bella. Very afraid. It won't be long before the Second Battalion is called to the battlefield once the other half of the First Battalion are all slain by the vengeful sword, or gun, I should say. One of the surviving soldiers wrote back, saying that the living conditions in Tuscany is the exact opposite of the living standards here. He said that when they arrived, hungry and tired, they were forced to dig large, deep trenches and are expected to sleep, eat and rest there if they aren't summoned to fight. Another man swore on his mother's life that a rat scurried through his personal belongings.
Please write back to me. Without you, I'll have no hope to live. I'd rather shoot myself than be forced to shoot innocent people! Bella, you're the sun of my life. You're the one that kept me alive. You are the hope I need to keep alive and survive this deadly game orchestrated by two greedy, ambitious, power-craving, selfish, thoughtless men, who think soldiers are nothing but replaceable toilet paper. Even if nothing's happening in Forks (or if it remains rainy and cloudy), WRITE BACK TO ME. I will wait all night and day until I receive a message from you. If possible, I will send you warm blankets or pillows. How's Rosalie and Alice coping? Are they alright? Is my mother well? At least here, I have my brothers-in-law Emmett and Jasper, to keep me company. Jasper and Emmett have more of a chance to return home in one piece than me! The both of them are more knowledgeable about warfare. Emmett is a keen hunter and shot many animals dead. In his eyes, shooting humans may be no different to shooting animals. Jasper fought in a war before, and knows what will happen. He has battle scars and experience. Tell Alice that she has no reason to worry about him. He will survive.
Your loving husband,
Edward Cullen.
P.S The mushroom ravioli is delicious here.
I'm trying a new type of story structure, so I don't know how this'll turn out! Please review! :)
