春怨
金昌绪
打起黄莺儿，
莫教枝上啼。
啼时惊妾梦，
不得到辽西。
Lizzie groaned in annoyance. Sun peaked, no poured, through the slits in the window blinds. Outside, songbirds would just not shut up. Lizzie had even prayed and shouted for the birds to allow her a few more hours of sleep. No luck.
She sighed, still clearly remembering her dream.
Gilbert.
Stupid white hair. Stupid laugh. Stupid arrogance. Stupid "I'll come back soon". Lizzie sighed and closed her eyes. She saw him so clearly, standing up proudly in his military uniform, gun at his side.
"I'm going to serve the army and save the country 'cause I'm just that awesome! I'll come back soon! Don't want to keep my anxious lover waiting!" He had said. Right before getting slapped on the cheek and kissed on the lips.
They had both known the risk of never seeing each other again, but Gilbert had set his eyes on serving his country. He was hard to persuade afterwards.
In the beginning of his time in a distant country, he had written many letters, mainly complaints and feelings. How bad the food was. How boring the soldiers were. How she didn't have to worry because he was still being awesome for her. After a while, however, the letters came less and less frequently. He was busy being awesome, he said.
Then one morning, the letters stopped.
She still sent hers to him, but she never knew if Gilbert received them. It was starting to make her go mad. She was frustrated and angry and terrified of the possibilities.
Elizaveta got up, banishing these thoughts from her head. Gilbert was going to come back. He had promised that. She slowly began to dress, heart painfully aching, mind painfully blank.
The birds were still chirping outside. They reminded her of faded summer memories, when they had first met.
Hunting.
Everyone said it was a boy thing. She accepted the teasing and called herself a boy. And the one stupid enough to believe she really was a boy was that one stupid albino kid. That one annoying albino kid that ended spending hours every day with her.
And now she didn't know what the albino kid was doing, where he was, even if he was alive or...
Elizaveta numbly went downstairs to start her usual Saturday routine of breakfast and lounging. Oh yeah, and mail. She had to check the mail for letters.
Mail first, she decided as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
The warm, spring day seemed to welcome her, shining brightly and inviting her outside. She walked out barefoot, allowing the bottom of her feet to feel the rough, concrete sidewalk and the prickly, green grass.
She opened the mailbox, shutting her eyes in anticipation.
When she opened her eyes...
The mailbox was empty. Like it had been for the last five months.