Introduction
"Did it hit my spine? Did the bullet hit my spine?"
He was lying in the middle of a field somewhere outside Ramelle, his hand clutched tight to his stomach. The pain was so intense he could barely breath. They had been trying to advance across this field when he had been shot several times in the gut by enemy fire. With all his strength, he raised his fingers in front of his face; his whole hand was smeared with bright red blood.
"Just hang in there, you're going to be alright," Horvath was saying. His eyes moved from Horvath to Captain Miller. His face was grim; they both knew he wasn't going to be alright. He saw all of their faces surrounding him: Jackson, Mellish, Reiben, Upham, Horvath, and Miller. They were all trying desperately to stop the bleeding. He was the medic, he should be in their place. Even if they were sure of what they were doing he wouldn't have had a chance anyway, not without a hospital nearby. Anyhow, he wouldn't have wished this on one of his other squad members.
The pain intensified to the point that he could barely hear them anymore. They were all shouting intensely but he couldn't quite understand their words. Suddenly, all he could think of was his wife back home. Poor Renea, she would be so upset. He wasn't ready to die—they hadn't even been married for a full year yet. He'd promised her he'd be back soon, too. He began to weep. His squad members thought it was from the pain and it was from pain but from a different kind—that of heartache.
Then, his life seemed to flash before his eyes. He saw his childhood—not in whole but in fragments. Childhood shifted into adolescence and then into adulthood. He saw Renea's face when he had first met her; she was so beautiful. He was the times the'd spent together and he saw their wedding. Finally, he remembered that last time they'd seen each other before he'd been sent off to war. He remembered it perfectly.
*****************************
It was dusk and the sun gave off a lazy orange haze. The train station was crowded as usual. Today was different though; he and several other men were all dressed in uniform, ready to go off to war. Instances like this were becoming more and more these days. The train station welcomed each day more uniformed men and their crying wives and children. Irwin looked at Renea; she wasn't crying yet.
Renea had kept a straight face through most of this. She certainly didn't want him to go off—who knew how long it would be before he came back. Still, she knew it was his duty to go through this war and she understood that. Her dark brown eyes glanced around at the other soldiers there. They stopped on each family and gazed empathetically. He knew that she was doing her best to keep herself together. Once the train got there though, he knew all of her defenses were going to crumble apart. He saw the masked pain and sadness in those eyes. It was going to grieve him to death if she did breakdown when he left. He'd only seen her cry maybe once before, she was really tough, but it tore him apart to see the painful tears trickle down her cheeks. As if she could hear his thoughts, she looked at him and smiled reassuringly. He forced a smile in return and looked at the ground.
What worried him the most was the fact that she would be all alone. Her friends would most likely visit her and his and her parents both welcomed her to their homes but it still worried him. He knew he was going to be lonely without her so he couldn't imagine how lonely she would be in that empty house all by herself. He shrugged this off and tried to think positively. At least they were able to write each other letters. If not for that, he might go insane.
Off in the distance he heard the chugging sound of an approaching train. Finally, the moment they'd both been fearing had come. He glanced at Renea. A frightened look was in her eyes and her breath came out in a despairing sigh. The train came into view. It slowed to a halt and the brakes hissed. The doors opened and the passengers that had been on the train filed off. When they had all cleared away, the station master called, "All aboard!"
He turned to Renea. Just as he'd feared, she was crying. Tears rolled down her beautiful face and her shoulders heaved in silent sobs. Her eyes tried to meet his but she couldn't bare it; she put her hand over her mouth and continued to sob.
He looked at her despairing face and he felt that his soul was ripping apart. He embraced her tightly and said softly in her ear, "Come on, Renea, don't do that. This is hard enough for me as it is."
Her body continued to shake with those horrible sobs. "Oh, Irwin, I'm so sorry. I promised myself I wasn't going to do this."
He stroked her hair gently. He felt like crying too but he had to be strong for her. "Everything's going to be fine. I'll be back here in no time. You'll see!" Her head rested gently on his shoulder and her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist. God he wished she'd stop crying.
"I'll write to you every chance I get so that you'll know where I am and that I'm safe," he added.
"All aboard!" the station master cried again. He looked around and noticed that most of the other men had already gotten onto the train. Suddenly he wished he could just run away with her. He knew that it was too late for that though. If he ran away they'd probably just find him and toss him into jail. That was no good.
"Listen, I want you to promise me something. I want you to write me too, whatever the matter. I want to be sure that you're safe too."
She sniffed and her sad, distraught face turned to his. "I will. I promise."
"Be careful on the way home," he said.
"I'll be alright," she said, wiping at her eyes.
"Last call!" yelled the station master.
He glanced angrily at the elderly station master, wanting to punch his lights out. He took her in his arms again and kissed her passionately. He wished he could stay like that forever, just the two of them, holding each other in a warm embrace.
Their lips parted and Renea said, "You better get going. You'll miss your train." He looked back at the train and nodded curtly.
His hand gripped her arm tightly and he said, "I love you."
Another tear rolled down her cheek and she contorted her face into a painful smile. "I love you too," she replied, her voice cracking. She embraced him on last time and said, "Be safe."
The train whistle blew and he looked back at it fearfully. He looked back at her and said, "I will." He gazed into her eyes until he finally tore himself away and started for the train. At the doorway he yelled, "I'll be back for you soon!" At last, he climbed onto the train.
The train set in motion just as he'd climbed aboard. He hurriedly ran to find a seat so he might wave to her from the window. He found one at last and sank down into the seat. He searched the platform until he found her. She was watching the train leave with that look of despair still dominating her expression. He waved to her, almost frantically. She spotted him at once and waved back, just as eagerly. He waved until he could see her no more. Finally, he turned around in the seat and faced forward. From his coat pocket, he pulled out a photo they'd taken together. He stood behind her, his arms around her, and their face touched lovingly. They were both smiling happily. At last, he could take it no more. All the pent up tears that had accumulated came pouring out. He buried his head in his hands and cried.