It was different, having to use a gun everyday.
There was a time where he had never shot one in his life, but here he was now, killing for a profession.
Back where he was still innocent and happy, catching those who were killing was a profession.
Heavy sooty blasts, bursts of red flame, they seared his mind. Grey dust settled, covering the marks of a disaster.
Gunfire exploded, and it rang in his ears.
It kept on ringing.
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They knew what had happened before the black envelope had even reached them.
It was a terrible tragedy, they had said.
He was a hero, one who fought for the nation's freedom.
Those were just words, everbody knew. Just a way to get rid of the guilt that one more American wasn't coming home.
They only wished it wasn't him, hoped it wasn't...but it was too late to dream.
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Rain fell down heavily on that dreaded day, the sky pouring its tears upon the sea of black.
Hiding their tears, the rain only masked their sorrow with its own.
One by one, they dropped roses, mostly yellow or white ones.
She dropped a red one, blood-stained color against the pale flowers.
The solid cherry box dropped into the ground, bringing the gentle petals with it. Methodically, a man in worn overalls poured shoveled dirt over the coffin. Everyone watched as it spilled to the sides, then drifted away in pairs and groups to their cars.
Except her.
Sitting in the rain, she looked out over the field of graves, lined perfectly with names painstakingly etched into stone.
Waiting until all the soil had pushed him six feet under, she got up and pulled a small brown package from underneath the folds of her coat. On the label read "To: Sara Sidle" with a tear-stained address. Opening the package, she pulled out a red tin.
Removing the lid, shed noticed that the heat had melted the soldiers into a heart. A little misshapen but a heart all the same. She closed the tin, and sighed quietly.
Gently, she laid the tin in front of the headstone and read the words.
"Greg Sanders - 1975 to 2005. Brother, friend, colleague."
In her mind, she added the word "Lover".