Author's note: Fifth Chapter is up, but I'm not very pleased with it, because I can't write a "love" letter even if I tried.
Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.
Chapter 5: The Confessions.
It had been four weeks since Arnold found the letters, which were now in a drawer collecting dust. He didn't know what to do with it, until today. In school, his history teacher assigned the students to research about any major events that had occurred throughout human history. Of course, Arnold had a grandfather who fought in the Second World War, so he decided to use the letters as a reference. He was walking from school with Gerald, discussing about the assignment.
"So you have any ideas about the assignment?" Arnold asked Gerald.
"As of now, the only thing I can think of is researching about the Vietnam War. I'm pretty sure dad has a lot of stories to tell for me to use as reference."
"Didn't he already tell us when we went to the Washington during Veterans Day some five years ago?"
"I'm sure there's more than that, man. I mean, come on, my old man stayed in Vietnam for many months for crying out loud, there's got to be something."
Arnold nodded in understand, as they continued walking.
"How 'bout you man? What are you planning to report on?" it was Gerald's turn to ask.
"World War Two." Arnold replied it short.
"About your grandpa, huh?" Gerald said with a smile.
"Yeah, not only that, World War Two is my favorite subject to study in History. There's so much we can learn about it: like the Pacific Theatre, The Blitzkrieg, D-Day, The Battle of Britain, Midway Islands, The Invasion of Malaya…"
"Yeah, yeah I hear ya man," Gerald cut him, "Say, how come you're not choosing the Vietnam War too? Your dad served in that war, and unlike my pop, he saw action."
"Yeah, I know Gerald. But like I said, World War Two is my favorite subject." Arnold said with a smile.
Gerald smiled back at Arnold's remark, and then he intentionally averted the conversation to a more casual one, "so wanna go and play baseball at the park with the guys at five?"
"Maybe. I'll be with you guys, just as soon I'm done finding some points of reference for my assignment."
Gerald shook his head upon hearing that, "Man oh man, always with the homework first aren't you? Well, suit yourself; I ain't going to argue with you." And they finally arrived at Arnold's house.
"Man, after all these years your house is still giving me the willies." Gerald shuddered.
"What? Just because it resembles Helga's house?" Arnold asked.
"Well, yeah – to a certain point."
"Whatever man, see you later." Arnold said. They then did their handshake, and parted. Nobody was inside the house, since his parents were still at work, except for his pet pig, Abner.
"Hey, boy. How're you doing? He said as he petted the animal. "Hungry, aren't ya?"
He then went to the kitchen, with Abner following him from behind. He went to a cabinet and took a can of pet food out and poured it into a bowl. Abner then sprinted to it and starts to eat it vigorously. Arnold couldn't help but to smile at the little pig.
"If you need anything, just squeal." But that didn't garner any respond from Abner, as he kept munching the food. "I'll be upstairs, okay boy?"
Arnold went to his room, threw his bag on the bed and sat at the study table. He took out the letters from the drawer and a highlighter from the pen holder, which resembled like a mug with the words 'I bought this mug so I could put stationery in it' written across it. As he was about to highlight the date, he stopped, thinking that he should preserve the letters in its current state. He snapped the cap back on, took a new paper and a pen out so he could write down any interesting points he found on the letter.
June 5th 1944,
Arnold widened his eyes upon reading the date.
"The eve of D-Day…" he said under his breath.
Dear Gertrude,
This may be my last letter to you. Everybody in the camp feels the same way as I am: brave, scared, queasy, all rolled into one because we've finally been briefed by our Captains and Colonels about the location that they've been keeping a secret from us. We were supposed to go yesterday, but by some reason, it didn't go well as planned. By the sheer value of it, we all know that some of us will not make it out alive. I can't tell it, but I believe by tomorrow it'll on the front pages of every newspapers in the States. Please, pray for me that I will make it out alive from this ordeal. I hope you could read this sorry excuse for a handwriting because I'm trembling in fear as I'm writing this letter down. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to dim my spirits at all.
Judging by the letter's date and grandpa's feeling in the letter, Arnold assumed that grandpa actually took part in D-Day, the single most largest landing operation in World War Two. "Heh… wow…grandpa… wow…" he chuckled in disbelief as well in astonishment. He couldn't be more proud of his grandfather.
I don't know how should I put it, but I'm going to say it just so it'll clear off my chest. Ever since grade school, I couldn't help but to be thinking about you. Even though you are tough and hardened outside, but deep down inside you, I can feel it, I see a completely different you. A person who is actually considerate, nice, caring, compassionate, thoughtful, good hearted person… well, I could go on and on forever. Please don't lie to me Gerthie, because you've shown your caring side to me on your previous letters, so any denial you will say is moot. I was right, at least I think I was right; your aggressive behavior is just a concealment of your soft side, which I have grown to adore.
"Okay… this is déjà vu…" he said with puzzlement.
Yes, adore. For you see, even though you scowled, threatened, mocked, insulted me over the years past I never feel intimidated by it, not by a single bit, because I knew you were just hiding your real feelings away from me. Maybe because of that I see a more vulnerable you, which I want to help. Maybe that's why I care a lot about you. I might be wrong and have no right to judge you this way, but this is the way I feel about you. I'm sorry if I offended you in such way. Whether you've noticed it or not, I've seen you indirectly helped a lot of people, and by golly it makes me feel happy just seeing you in that kind of way, not to mention that it actually makes my assumption sounds valid.
In these anxious times, I tried to think about you because firstly, just the thought of you makes me calm and secondly, I miss you dearly. I admit, over the past years I'm actually beginning to grown to like you. I now no longer skeptical and doubt about my feelings, because I am more than ever confident about my actual thoughts about you. You are more than a friend, Gerthie. You're the best companion that I've ever had in my entire life, even after all the lowdown, dirty things you done or said to me…
I think that I am in love with you.
Arnold held the letter away in shock, lost on words to say anything. "So this is where grandpa confessed…" he finally said.
The whistle has been blown; everyone is getting up from their seats while I'm still here at the postmaster's office. I shouldn't be here anyway, since I snuck out from the field just to get here to write a letter. I must be crazy to even think of doing this. Heh, maybe that's the jitter talk. Pray for me, Gertrude.
Phil.
"Wow grandpa… you never ceased to amaze me," Arnold said with a chuckle as he put the letters aside. "And the Eisenhower's letter is one valuable piece too. Now let's see what grandma's reaction to this…"
June 6th 1944,
"June 6th 1944?" Arnold read it aloud in confusion, "how come the letters are a day apart?"
Dearest Phil,
Just now, a coworker of mine handed me the today's newspaper, and suffice it to say, I am worried about the outcome of today's events. I'm writing this letter at lunch right now. So that's the thing that your Generals, Captains or whatever has been keeping it a secret from all of you. An armada of 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 other ships, 500 naval vessels, and air fleet of 13,000 aircrafts certainly doesn't sound like a walk in a park to me. I'm worried about you, Phil. Do you actually have to go through this entire nightmare?
Arnold repeated the said numbers and jolted it down on a piece of paper. "Number four…" he said, "an armada of3,000 landing crafts, 2,500 support ships, 500 naval vessels, and 13,000 aircrafts took part in the Normandy Invasion, the first day of D-Day."
I hope that you will make it out alive, hale and hearty after this. I don't know whether this letter will reach your hands or not, but I will pray that it will. I hope that you're still alive when this letter reaches Europe. For you see, I have a confession to make. It's about you, actually. I have been harbored this feeling about you since grade school, but I was, and still afraid to let it out and say it to you. It has been haunting me to no end that it actually makes me want to kill myself just because I'm so gutless about it. But I keep strong, because of you. You're my biggest adversary and yet at the same time, are my biggest source of strength. You're my enemy, and yet you're my ally. You're an annoyance, but yet you're the person who I constantly look for guidance and advice.
You're an oxymoron, Phil. I just don't understand how you managed to make yourself to be like you are now. You are one amazing person Phil. And because of these qualities of yours they make me feel all warm inside. All the scowls, hatred, loathe and bitterness about you was just a bad outburst which only purpose is to hide away my real feelings about you. Deep down inside me, lies a soft spot that actually harbors a nice, positive feeling about you.
By now, you must've taken aback by all the stuff I wrote just now. All the things that I said are true and come straight from my heart. We've known each other since our childhood, and through this troubled times I would like to seize this opportunity to apologize for all the nasty things that I have said or done to you. Like I said earlier, I did it out of fear and dejection. Fear you ask? Well, to be very honest, I fear that you would reject my love towards you.
"Grandma's confession…"
Yes… I am completely, deeply, madly in love with you.
It took an insurmountable amount of strength just to write those simple words down, yet, its meaning delivers more power than any bombs and weapons could. Yes, my dearest Phil, I am in love with you ever since our eyes first met! It's only now that I finally have the guts to say it. I miss you ever since you left the city to join the army. From that moment on, I couldn't help but to think about you each and every night and day and constantly worrying about your welfare. Even before the war started I just can't stop thinking about you, my love. My only fear is that, after all these long, hard confessions that I made, you would snub my affections towards you. Oh, my dearest Phil…
Love,
Gertrude.
"They both have a lot of explaining to do after this…" Arnold said with a snicker. He put the letters down, and turned his head to the alarm clock. "4:30 in the afternoon… I guess it wouldn't hurt if I keep reading these letters and find more references." Arnold said with interest.
Chapter Six will be up after I'm done with my nap. Any mistakes please point it out.