Letters Unsent

by Knichols12

I regret my past and all of its horrors, yet dread the future the most. My time in the Navy is ending: I must decide what's next. These unsent letters are a record for you, Gil. I want there to be answers for you to find when you return, just in case I'm not here. An illegal weapons trade wreaks havoc in town. His mother's memory still fades. Dietfried's heart is burdened.

6. Chapter 6

Gil,

I introduced Violet to Mother today.

Mother's memory has been… fuzzy lately. I have had to explain your death to her many times over. Still, she could think clearly enough to request to meet Violet. I hadn't thought she truly understood me when I told her about the girl, but she'd known what name you'd given her. I wish you could've seen the way she looked out over the crowd when I went to pick her up from CH Postal…. She seemed to have been expecting you. They must have given her my last name only. She'd been a blur of blue flying down the stairs, and a hopeful expression on her face as she eagerly searched the room. I called out to her, and her blank mask fell too late: I'd seen the grievous disappointment there in her eyes.

Mother said 'It's not your fault. You don't have to live with that burden.'

Through the stories I'd told her, she managed to hear the words that I hadn't been able to say to Violet directly, and gave them like a gift. I cannot describe the gratitude and love for our mother that overwhelmed me then. I had to step down the hallway to compose myself as they finished speaking. I could hear Violet softly sobbing as Mother spoke so gently to her.

Violet has found a reason to live. One that's worth overcoming her past an d learning to continue with the weight of death behind her. She has chosen not to kill anymore, and I will honor these wishes. I will try to ensure they don't get her killed either. I cannot help but feel left behind, now. I think I'm more broken at this point than she is, and I have little hope that my situation will improve.

D