A Soldier's Jealousy
Reborn....1924
"AAAAAARRGGHHHHHHHHH!" the wounded soldier's cries of utter horror echoed eerily through the tent. Not one person winced anymore - the screams and cries blending into the fabric of the tent, drowned by so many others and the constant gunfire just metres away. The dead still lay on the floor where they had died, the living had beds if there were enough, and the medics, doctors and nurses rushed around, the entire tent in complete chaos. Soldiers sat untreated for hours as more pressing casualties arrived one after the other, each needing immediate attention.
"I promise, George...you're next!" the young blond doctor called out to a young man as he and several others lifted a screaming soldier with a large amount of shrapnel embedded in his stomach. He hollered in pain every time he was moved, and as the doctors and nurses rushed around him, dressing the wound and removing shrapnel, his cries did not cease. Finally after what seemed like hours, his frantic screams died down, becoming frightened
whimpers and whispers, his body no longer able to keep up such a level of adrenaline.
"Piper, keep an eye on him, okay?" the young doctor asked a nearby nurse, his eyes shining as they met hers.
Piper smiled slightly, memories flooding back, and replied. "Of course, Leo." His eyes remained fixed on her trim figure, long chestnut hair trailing down her back, far longer than they should have, and Leo only tore his eyes away at the frantic shouting from the tent entry
"I'll be right there George, " he answered, a last glance shared before he turned to the young man at the door, whose shoulder had been grazed with a bullet. Even so, he could feel her eyes on his back, following his kind words and gentle actions, mesmerised. Memories of so many nights engulfed them both, each other's sweet breath teasing along jaw lines, when lips
finally met, gentle kisses shared, each unique and special. Memories made, hands explored, every pore found and known. Her wedding band, discarded for their time together, glinting in the candle light. A husband forgotten, an enemy denied. A love that knew no boundaries, and one which was surrounded by them and could not be called love now, she knew. What she felt for Daniel was nothing to that she felt for Leo, his kisses were so restrained, his hand
more than once blunt across her cheek, followed by immediate apologies, none of which could rectify the damage. Not once had Leo touched with anything but the utmost respect and softness, his hands lightly in her own, his body pressed against hers. Love and hate are two very similar emotions, each based on passion, the line separating them thin and hidden.
But with Daniel so preoccupied in the war, constantly fighting, she thankfully rarely saw him. When he did return late at night, she pretended to be asleep, or if she was still out, "There was another casualty," she would whisper innocently on her return, the hours of happiness just exchanged with Leo still playing through her mind. His arms wrapped tightly around her
waist, gentle showers of kisses pressed gently into her skin, her heart racing with every breath, his evident too through the mere layers of skin that separated their very hearts. On the rare occasions that it was certain Daniel would not return, they would lie together all night, his hands on her abdomen, warming her very soul, his head pressed into her hair, breathing in it's addictive scent with every breath.
~~~
Would you lay with me
Would you lay with me
Til the sun peaks through the blinds
~~~
***
Piper's eyes drifted slowly open, the frantic sound of a buzzer of some kind forcing her awake. Beside her Leo stirred unwillingly, before each eye peaked open slowly, the grin across his face that formed whenever he saw her, fading rapidly as the major casualty buzzer droned menacingly in his ears.
"Oh god!" he cried, leaping out of the warmth of the bed and her arms as he raced to find the discarded clothes from last night and pulled them on quickly. She watched his muscular back disappear under the blood stained shirt, and he ran his fingers through his hair, a plan forming.
"Okay, you stay here for a couple of minutes after I've gone. Then, follow up; come to the tent. This is big." Leo checked his pockets, feeling for emergency gauze and bandages that he knew would be virtually impossible to find once he reached the medic tent. Satisfied he was as prepared as the chaos of the war allowed him to be, he took one last look as his love, her hair tousled with sleep, eyes darting around the room before finding his. In the early morning light, as the sun rose slowly over the horizon, he found himself unable to shake off the feeling of dread welling up within him. His hand found her cheek, stroking it's softness, a moment of utter happiness found amid the wreck of war. Kissing her lips, he tried desperately to convey his emotions to her, knowing that words could not express it fully. Yet he said them anyway, needing to, needing to her the words spill out of his mouth, unable to stop them, his very emotions dictating his every move and thought.
"I love you, Piper. Too much for you to ever know." His eyes said it all, she could feel his warm breath on her ear as he whispered the words she knew were truer than any Daniel had ever spoken to her.
"I love you too." The words were whispered, meant, for eternity. Their eyes met, both knowing this was not an ordinary day. The emergency bell grew louder and more frantic, and Leo looked behind him, out the window, the tent in the distance a place he didn't want to go to. With one last long look at Piper, he backed slowly out the door of their secluded hut.
"Two minutes." She nodded. His blood covered white coat disappeared as the door banged shut, the cold draft causing her to shiver, and pull the blankets closer to her. Forcing them down, she slowly got up and pulled on the clothes she could well have done without as long as she lived, if Daniel wasn't around, and the war was over, if everything was different. If only she and Leo could be together as they were supposed to. Her nurse's watch declared two minutes had passed unknowingly, and she grabbed her coat and raced out the door, knowing that the sooner she reached the hospital tent, the sooner she could once again see Leo.
~~~
I am here now
You've got the best of me
So go ahead now
Take the rest of me
~~~
"Okay, put him in...." Leo's voice trailed off as he realised there was not a single free space to put the injured soldier in the entire tent. He directed the medics holding outside, where they lay him on the ground, as Leo checked the man's pulse. He had known the truth without feeling, and shook his head sadly as more blood oozed out of the large hole in the soldier's side. Leo took off his own coat and laid it over him, remembering the man who had come
into the tent just days ago, desperate to get back out to the field, to fight for his country. "I'm sorry George." He whispered just loud enough so he himself could hear it.
Suddenly above all the commotion there was a nearby cry of, "...medic!" Leo whipped around, to find himself staring into the cold steely eyes of none other than Daniel, Piper's husband. A huge gash adorned the man's cheek but even as the blood ran down and into his slightly opened mouth, the man showed no pain, trying to act the brave soldier, despite the cries of anguish from all around him. Leo hated him more with every breath.
"Soldier, someone will see to you in a minute. There are more pressing casualties than yours at present." It was true, and not just words of hatred; the early morning air was filled with the screams of those dying, the cries of the injured. If Daniel wasn't in pain, Leo wasn't going to attend to him first.
Then suddenly there was Piper, acting the dutiful wife, gently turning Daniel's chin so a shadow did not lie across his cheek.
Acting, Leo reminded himself. Acting. Her eyes deliberately avoided his as he handed her a small piece of gauze. Tingles shot through both of them as their fingers touched, sending sparks spiralling through their bodies. Dangerous ground was found where a man and a woman could not hide their innermost feelings. Daniel watched them both, confused, as the blood seeped slowly down the front of his camouflage shirt, a river flowing unnoticed. Leo and Piper simply stared at each other, his eyes finding hers among the chaos, her hand still touching his amid the confusion and screaming. Daniel was a forgotten prospect, a man who no longer mattered. Leo had known this day would come, ever since he had first laid eyes on her more than six months previous. For so long love at first sight was a myth, and then in one day his whole approach to life changed as he watched her with every breath. Piper had been amid a wreck of a marriage, a violent husband, a difficult job. Leo turned all that around, he made her get up early in the morning so to see him once more, made her open her eyes to all the possibilities life held. And even with Daniel's cold eyes calculating more of the affair each
second, he could not tear his eyes from her, nor she from him.
"Leo..." He silenced her with a finger to her lips, her next words known already.
As he looked at them, this man's hand on his wife's cheek, caressing it, their eyes so locked on each other, the rage inside Daniel grew and he allowed it to. Who was this, how long had this been going on? Every time she was late, had she been with him? The questions rattled over and over in his mind, until his rage was finally released.
His hand gentle on her face, his body heat radiating through her. His hot breath formed as vapour in the early morning cold. His green eyes telling her everything she needed to know.
His hand slamming bluntly into her cheek, not in a drunken rage, but in a pure release of hatred, of a man's wounded pride. The pain seared through her, knocking her off her feet. Around her the cries of the dying had faded, their frantic calls for a nurse not heard, all she knew was the tenderness of Leo and the hatred she felt for Daniel. His cold grey eyes stared at her, lost in the hatred boiling within him. Leo's warm green ones did the same, love for her pouring out of them in equal quantities as his detest of Daniel erupted, with his violence towards Piper the last straw. Leo drew his fist back, teeth clenched, eyes sparking, and hit Daniel squarely on the nose, sending him reeling backwards in shock.
But it soon passed and Daniel was upon him, kicking and hitting and shouting obscene language at both Leo and Piper. As a soldier, he was far stronger than Leo, and soon had the upper hand as Piper could only stand by watch helplessly. Every soldier she tried to entail to stop them looked into Daniel's hard steel eyes and scarpered, shouting excuses. Piper's hand rubbed her cheek hopelessly, as she watched the two men brawling in the
centre of the field of dying men.
"You fucking bastard!" But the words meant nothing, conveyed nothing of the pure form of utter detest that was brewing inside of Daniel. Leo, seeing his chance, scrambled to his feet, his eyes catching Piper's; a silent plea of love heard. His hands dragged him up, and he was running, limping, away from Daniel's deathly hold.
Leo ran to what he knew best next to Piper - a casualty unattended amid the battle that still continued. He fell to his knees beside the man, realising too late there was nothing he could do.
Piper followed his lead and stood fearfully beside the ill, as she watched Dan reach into his pocket. What was he doing? Suddenly his hand reappeared, revolver clutched menacingly. Piper's eyes darted between her husband and the man she loved, her mind finally comprehending what was going on. She began running, her legs unwilling to work, each foot that landed taking her closer to Leo, to stopping Daniel. Her feet pounded on the dusty ground, sending spirals of dirt into the air, her every thought focused on the two men in her life. Just metres ahead of her Daniel took aim, as Leo crouched over the soldier, praying Daniel had forgotten, his back to the man.
A finger clasped around the trigger on the revolver, it's black crudeness glinting. Daniel's eyes were empty; blood seeped slowly from his cheek, each drop an adrenaline boast. As she watched in utter horror, unable to stop him in time, a shot erupted in the morning air, interrupting the cries and screams. Silence washed over her as the bullet whizzed though the air, gaining speed with every second, it's metal form moving too fast to be seen anymore. Her entire being sobbing with grief at the impending tragedy, she screamed the only word she could think of in a vain attempt to save her only love.
"NO!" Leo's head whipped around a millisecond too late, as the bullet of hatred sped towards him, the inevitable now unavoidable. His eyes met Piper's one last time, as hers filled with tears, his form blurred as the bullet struck his back. It tore through the coat that held the blood of so many others, shooting through his skin, severing his spine and central nervous
system. His eyes blackened, her form gone, her collapsing body his last sight. He slumped over the dead soldier, a fitting tribute to the man who always put others before himself. It was over, as Piper's shaking body and cries of sorrow and grief echoed louder than any other's which filled the tent and field. A lover's cry for her lover; a soul's cry for a soul. A jealous man's revenge sought and found. Soul mates were torn from each other once again.
She ran over to him, he made no attempt to stop her, his eyes simply following her form, the knowledge she would never recover satisfaction itself. His back turned to her and walked slowly into the medic tent, the event going by unnoticed as more and more casualties piled up.
"Leo!" she cried frantically, a storm of tears spilling down her cheeks as she choked on the words. The blood flowed out of the wound, as she turned him over, knowing it was over, knowing he was gone. His hair was still tousled from their last time together, his eyes were still open, though their warmth gone, their presence vacated. She placed her hand over them as her tears fell on him, so they rolled down his cheeks too. His eyes closed, she opened hers once more, sealing this image, as he lay peacefully in her arms, forever in her mind. Her lips pressed to his once more, a final goodbye, a final declaration of love before soldiers and medics swarmed around her, realising the result of the shot fired.
~~~
Let me touch you
Put my hands on you
I'll kiss you
And we'll see things through
~~~
Piper left her post as head nurse, returned to America, never to see Daniel again, her wedding band still glinting in the candlelight of the hut she and Leo shared, never to be worn again. Leo's body was returned to his family, in San Francisco, and she visited the grave only once, as she reached her 49th birthday in 1973. Still the tears of grief rolled down her cheek, as the memories of so many nights together flooded back to her, the memories she had denied herself so many times before. She could still feel his eyes on her, his hands held in hers, his soft breath on the small of her back. A letter placed at his grave, saying everything she needed to say, a final glance at the headstone. Not three days later she was found dead, her body riddled with cancer, left untreated for months.
~~~
Leo,
I have missed you for so long, your touch, your beautiful eyes, your comforting words. I know my time is soon, I can feel it drawing near. I have lived these years alone; I left Daniel, for you. That day on the field left me empty, as without you I am no one. I know you would say otherwise, but I cannot feel complete unless you are holding me, whispering in my ear,
your hot breath warming me. Now I am coming, to be with you, I hope, eventually. I'll wait for you Leo, no matter how long it takes, I know we were meant to be together and we will find a way someday, somehow, if not in this lifetime then the next. But I just can't save myself.
So I write these lines
Metaphors and rhymes
Till I think of something else
Is there really nothing else?
I'll love you forever Leo
Piper
~~~
Their souls parted, their lives torn apart, a life that should have been spent together but struggled through alone. Once again they were reborn; another chance to find each other and hold on to the happiness that should be. Because soul mates will never rest until they can do so together.
He died...1942
She died...1973
Reborn....1924
"AAAAAARRGGHHHHHHHHH!" the wounded soldier's cries of utter horror echoed eerily through the tent. Not one person winced anymore - the screams and cries blending into the fabric of the tent, drowned by so many others and the constant gunfire just metres away. The dead still lay on the floor where they had died, the living had beds if there were enough, and the medics, doctors and nurses rushed around, the entire tent in complete chaos. Soldiers sat untreated for hours as more pressing casualties arrived one after the other, each needing immediate attention.
"I promise, George...you're next!" the young blond doctor called out to a young man as he and several others lifted a screaming soldier with a large amount of shrapnel embedded in his stomach. He hollered in pain every time he was moved, and as the doctors and nurses rushed around him, dressing the wound and removing shrapnel, his cries did not cease. Finally after what seemed like hours, his frantic screams died down, becoming frightened
whimpers and whispers, his body no longer able to keep up such a level of adrenaline.
"Piper, keep an eye on him, okay?" the young doctor asked a nearby nurse, his eyes shining as they met hers.
Piper smiled slightly, memories flooding back, and replied. "Of course, Leo." His eyes remained fixed on her trim figure, long chestnut hair trailing down her back, far longer than they should have, and Leo only tore his eyes away at the frantic shouting from the tent entry
"I'll be right there George, " he answered, a last glance shared before he turned to the young man at the door, whose shoulder had been grazed with a bullet. Even so, he could feel her eyes on his back, following his kind words and gentle actions, mesmerised. Memories of so many nights engulfed them both, each other's sweet breath teasing along jaw lines, when lips
finally met, gentle kisses shared, each unique and special. Memories made, hands explored, every pore found and known. Her wedding band, discarded for their time together, glinting in the candle light. A husband forgotten, an enemy denied. A love that knew no boundaries, and one which was surrounded by them and could not be called love now, she knew. What she felt for Daniel was nothing to that she felt for Leo, his kisses were so restrained, his hand
more than once blunt across her cheek, followed by immediate apologies, none of which could rectify the damage. Not once had Leo touched with anything but the utmost respect and softness, his hands lightly in her own, his body pressed against hers. Love and hate are two very similar emotions, each based on passion, the line separating them thin and hidden.
But with Daniel so preoccupied in the war, constantly fighting, she thankfully rarely saw him. When he did return late at night, she pretended to be asleep, or if she was still out, "There was another casualty," she would whisper innocently on her return, the hours of happiness just exchanged with Leo still playing through her mind. His arms wrapped tightly around her
waist, gentle showers of kisses pressed gently into her skin, her heart racing with every breath, his evident too through the mere layers of skin that separated their very hearts. On the rare occasions that it was certain Daniel would not return, they would lie together all night, his hands on her abdomen, warming her very soul, his head pressed into her hair, breathing in it's addictive scent with every breath.
~~~
Would you lay with me
Would you lay with me
Til the sun peaks through the blinds
~~~
***
Piper's eyes drifted slowly open, the frantic sound of a buzzer of some kind forcing her awake. Beside her Leo stirred unwillingly, before each eye peaked open slowly, the grin across his face that formed whenever he saw her, fading rapidly as the major casualty buzzer droned menacingly in his ears.
"Oh god!" he cried, leaping out of the warmth of the bed and her arms as he raced to find the discarded clothes from last night and pulled them on quickly. She watched his muscular back disappear under the blood stained shirt, and he ran his fingers through his hair, a plan forming.
"Okay, you stay here for a couple of minutes after I've gone. Then, follow up; come to the tent. This is big." Leo checked his pockets, feeling for emergency gauze and bandages that he knew would be virtually impossible to find once he reached the medic tent. Satisfied he was as prepared as the chaos of the war allowed him to be, he took one last look as his love, her hair tousled with sleep, eyes darting around the room before finding his. In the early morning light, as the sun rose slowly over the horizon, he found himself unable to shake off the feeling of dread welling up within him. His hand found her cheek, stroking it's softness, a moment of utter happiness found amid the wreck of war. Kissing her lips, he tried desperately to convey his emotions to her, knowing that words could not express it fully. Yet he said them anyway, needing to, needing to her the words spill out of his mouth, unable to stop them, his very emotions dictating his every move and thought.
"I love you, Piper. Too much for you to ever know." His eyes said it all, she could feel his warm breath on her ear as he whispered the words she knew were truer than any Daniel had ever spoken to her.
"I love you too." The words were whispered, meant, for eternity. Their eyes met, both knowing this was not an ordinary day. The emergency bell grew louder and more frantic, and Leo looked behind him, out the window, the tent in the distance a place he didn't want to go to. With one last long look at Piper, he backed slowly out the door of their secluded hut.
"Two minutes." She nodded. His blood covered white coat disappeared as the door banged shut, the cold draft causing her to shiver, and pull the blankets closer to her. Forcing them down, she slowly got up and pulled on the clothes she could well have done without as long as she lived, if Daniel wasn't around, and the war was over, if everything was different. If only she and Leo could be together as they were supposed to. Her nurse's watch declared two minutes had passed unknowingly, and she grabbed her coat and raced out the door, knowing that the sooner she reached the hospital tent, the sooner she could once again see Leo.
~~~
I am here now
You've got the best of me
So go ahead now
Take the rest of me
~~~
"Okay, put him in...." Leo's voice trailed off as he realised there was not a single free space to put the injured soldier in the entire tent. He directed the medics holding outside, where they lay him on the ground, as Leo checked the man's pulse. He had known the truth without feeling, and shook his head sadly as more blood oozed out of the large hole in the soldier's side. Leo took off his own coat and laid it over him, remembering the man who had come
into the tent just days ago, desperate to get back out to the field, to fight for his country. "I'm sorry George." He whispered just loud enough so he himself could hear it.
Suddenly above all the commotion there was a nearby cry of, "...medic!" Leo whipped around, to find himself staring into the cold steely eyes of none other than Daniel, Piper's husband. A huge gash adorned the man's cheek but even as the blood ran down and into his slightly opened mouth, the man showed no pain, trying to act the brave soldier, despite the cries of anguish from all around him. Leo hated him more with every breath.
"Soldier, someone will see to you in a minute. There are more pressing casualties than yours at present." It was true, and not just words of hatred; the early morning air was filled with the screams of those dying, the cries of the injured. If Daniel wasn't in pain, Leo wasn't going to attend to him first.
Then suddenly there was Piper, acting the dutiful wife, gently turning Daniel's chin so a shadow did not lie across his cheek.
Acting, Leo reminded himself. Acting. Her eyes deliberately avoided his as he handed her a small piece of gauze. Tingles shot through both of them as their fingers touched, sending sparks spiralling through their bodies. Dangerous ground was found where a man and a woman could not hide their innermost feelings. Daniel watched them both, confused, as the blood seeped slowly down the front of his camouflage shirt, a river flowing unnoticed. Leo and Piper simply stared at each other, his eyes finding hers among the chaos, her hand still touching his amid the confusion and screaming. Daniel was a forgotten prospect, a man who no longer mattered. Leo had known this day would come, ever since he had first laid eyes on her more than six months previous. For so long love at first sight was a myth, and then in one day his whole approach to life changed as he watched her with every breath. Piper had been amid a wreck of a marriage, a violent husband, a difficult job. Leo turned all that around, he made her get up early in the morning so to see him once more, made her open her eyes to all the possibilities life held. And even with Daniel's cold eyes calculating more of the affair each
second, he could not tear his eyes from her, nor she from him.
"Leo..." He silenced her with a finger to her lips, her next words known already.
As he looked at them, this man's hand on his wife's cheek, caressing it, their eyes so locked on each other, the rage inside Daniel grew and he allowed it to. Who was this, how long had this been going on? Every time she was late, had she been with him? The questions rattled over and over in his mind, until his rage was finally released.
His hand gentle on her face, his body heat radiating through her. His hot breath formed as vapour in the early morning cold. His green eyes telling her everything she needed to know.
His hand slamming bluntly into her cheek, not in a drunken rage, but in a pure release of hatred, of a man's wounded pride. The pain seared through her, knocking her off her feet. Around her the cries of the dying had faded, their frantic calls for a nurse not heard, all she knew was the tenderness of Leo and the hatred she felt for Daniel. His cold grey eyes stared at her, lost in the hatred boiling within him. Leo's warm green ones did the same, love for her pouring out of them in equal quantities as his detest of Daniel erupted, with his violence towards Piper the last straw. Leo drew his fist back, teeth clenched, eyes sparking, and hit Daniel squarely on the nose, sending him reeling backwards in shock.
But it soon passed and Daniel was upon him, kicking and hitting and shouting obscene language at both Leo and Piper. As a soldier, he was far stronger than Leo, and soon had the upper hand as Piper could only stand by watch helplessly. Every soldier she tried to entail to stop them looked into Daniel's hard steel eyes and scarpered, shouting excuses. Piper's hand rubbed her cheek hopelessly, as she watched the two men brawling in the
centre of the field of dying men.
"You fucking bastard!" But the words meant nothing, conveyed nothing of the pure form of utter detest that was brewing inside of Daniel. Leo, seeing his chance, scrambled to his feet, his eyes catching Piper's; a silent plea of love heard. His hands dragged him up, and he was running, limping, away from Daniel's deathly hold.
Leo ran to what he knew best next to Piper - a casualty unattended amid the battle that still continued. He fell to his knees beside the man, realising too late there was nothing he could do.
Piper followed his lead and stood fearfully beside the ill, as she watched Dan reach into his pocket. What was he doing? Suddenly his hand reappeared, revolver clutched menacingly. Piper's eyes darted between her husband and the man she loved, her mind finally comprehending what was going on. She began running, her legs unwilling to work, each foot that landed taking her closer to Leo, to stopping Daniel. Her feet pounded on the dusty ground, sending spirals of dirt into the air, her every thought focused on the two men in her life. Just metres ahead of her Daniel took aim, as Leo crouched over the soldier, praying Daniel had forgotten, his back to the man.
A finger clasped around the trigger on the revolver, it's black crudeness glinting. Daniel's eyes were empty; blood seeped slowly from his cheek, each drop an adrenaline boast. As she watched in utter horror, unable to stop him in time, a shot erupted in the morning air, interrupting the cries and screams. Silence washed over her as the bullet whizzed though the air, gaining speed with every second, it's metal form moving too fast to be seen anymore. Her entire being sobbing with grief at the impending tragedy, she screamed the only word she could think of in a vain attempt to save her only love.
"NO!" Leo's head whipped around a millisecond too late, as the bullet of hatred sped towards him, the inevitable now unavoidable. His eyes met Piper's one last time, as hers filled with tears, his form blurred as the bullet struck his back. It tore through the coat that held the blood of so many others, shooting through his skin, severing his spine and central nervous
system. His eyes blackened, her form gone, her collapsing body his last sight. He slumped over the dead soldier, a fitting tribute to the man who always put others before himself. It was over, as Piper's shaking body and cries of sorrow and grief echoed louder than any other's which filled the tent and field. A lover's cry for her lover; a soul's cry for a soul. A jealous man's revenge sought and found. Soul mates were torn from each other once again.
She ran over to him, he made no attempt to stop her, his eyes simply following her form, the knowledge she would never recover satisfaction itself. His back turned to her and walked slowly into the medic tent, the event going by unnoticed as more and more casualties piled up.
"Leo!" she cried frantically, a storm of tears spilling down her cheeks as she choked on the words. The blood flowed out of the wound, as she turned him over, knowing it was over, knowing he was gone. His hair was still tousled from their last time together, his eyes were still open, though their warmth gone, their presence vacated. She placed her hand over them as her tears fell on him, so they rolled down his cheeks too. His eyes closed, she opened hers once more, sealing this image, as he lay peacefully in her arms, forever in her mind. Her lips pressed to his once more, a final goodbye, a final declaration of love before soldiers and medics swarmed around her, realising the result of the shot fired.
~~~
Let me touch you
Put my hands on you
I'll kiss you
And we'll see things through
~~~
Piper left her post as head nurse, returned to America, never to see Daniel again, her wedding band still glinting in the candlelight of the hut she and Leo shared, never to be worn again. Leo's body was returned to his family, in San Francisco, and she visited the grave only once, as she reached her 49th birthday in 1973. Still the tears of grief rolled down her cheek, as the memories of so many nights together flooded back to her, the memories she had denied herself so many times before. She could still feel his eyes on her, his hands held in hers, his soft breath on the small of her back. A letter placed at his grave, saying everything she needed to say, a final glance at the headstone. Not three days later she was found dead, her body riddled with cancer, left untreated for months.
~~~
Leo,
I have missed you for so long, your touch, your beautiful eyes, your comforting words. I know my time is soon, I can feel it drawing near. I have lived these years alone; I left Daniel, for you. That day on the field left me empty, as without you I am no one. I know you would say otherwise, but I cannot feel complete unless you are holding me, whispering in my ear,
your hot breath warming me. Now I am coming, to be with you, I hope, eventually. I'll wait for you Leo, no matter how long it takes, I know we were meant to be together and we will find a way someday, somehow, if not in this lifetime then the next. But I just can't save myself.
So I write these lines
Metaphors and rhymes
Till I think of something else
Is there really nothing else?
I'll love you forever Leo
Piper
~~~
Their souls parted, their lives torn apart, a life that should have been spent together but struggled through alone. Once again they were reborn; another chance to find each other and hold on to the happiness that should be. Because soul mates will never rest until they can do so together.
He died...1942
She died...1973