"Can I go now?" Elias asked angrily.
He grabbed his bag and hardly heard the answer. He knew he was free to leave at long last. He was upset. Someone had mixed up a dead body because the face was unrecognisable and sent word back home that it was him. That he was dead.
It didn't help that he was gone for two months before he made his way back to his battalion. Kidnapped by the enemy until one night they messed up and forgot to lock the cage they kept him in. He snuck out during the night, killed two men on his way out of the camp, and made it back on foot, only to learn that everyone had thought he was dead for two months and that word had been sent back home.
He had tried calling home to talk to his wife Misha but she never picked up. He was sent home within that same day and figured they would send someone to tell her the good news while he was in the air.
Landing on US soil again had caused another problem. According to the computer in the airport, he no longer existed. It took time getting someone out there to explain and have him allowed back into the country.
He was finally through all the crap. He ran outside and jumped into the first taxi he saw. He gave his address and looked out at the surroundings on his way home. He had missed this so much. He was never going away again. In fact, he was done with the military completely. He had learned a hard lesson that they didn't care about him as a person. He was just another body to feed to the enemy while the people running the war sat safely at home.
The taxi stopped and he looked towards his house. His one year older brother Seth was already standing outside waiting for him. Seth's expression was weird. A mix of happiness and sadness. Elias paid the taxi driver, got out of the car, grabbed his bag from the trunk, and walked up towards Seth.
"I can't believe you're here," Seth said.
"I'm here," Elias said.
Seth wrapped his arms around Elias for a tight hug. It felt good being home.
"How is Misha?" Elias asked.
Seth's smile fell. Elias knew something was wrong. He tried walking around Seth but Seth stopped him.
"Before you go in there, there's something you need to know," Seth said.
"Get out of my way!" Elias growled.
Elias pushed Seth aside and stormed into the house. His footsteps echoed as if no one had been there for a while.
"Misha!" He called.
His voice echoed off the walls. Something was wrong. He turned around and looked at Seth again.
"No one knows where she is," Seth said.
"What the fuck do you mean?" Elias yelled.
"As soon as I heard you were dead, I drove here. The front door was open and she was gone. All her things are still here. Passport, wallet, phone. Everything you normally take with you. She's vanished, Elias," Seth said.
"No!" Elias started crying. "Did you even search for her?"
"Of course I searched for her. What do you take me for? I've done nothing but search for her but I can't fucking find her anywhere," Seth said.
Seth felt angry. He understood Elias was scared and upset but he had no right accusing Seth of not trying to find Misha. Seth had tried everything he could think of but he hadn't found her.
"She got the news first," Seth sighed. "It took days before anyone told us. I think they expected her to be the bringer of bad news. I don't know what went through her mind after hearing you were dead but she was all alone and she didn't reach out to us. I wish she had. Maybe she would still be with us if she had. Maybe I could have saved her."
"She's not dead!" Elias screamed.
Elias' knees hit the floor and he started sobbing. Seth sat down next to him and pulled him in for a hug.
"I'm so sorry," Seth said.
"She's not dead, Seth. I refuse to believe she's dead. Maybe someone kidnapped her," Elias said.
"Several witnesses came forward when we brought the story to the news. They all saw the same thing. She was walking aimlessly around and didn't respond to anyone trying to talk to her. She was last seen stopping on a road and just staring at the house on the other side. The old woman living there saw her standing there. She said it was like she was gone in the blink of an eye. One moment she was there. The next she was gone," Seth said.
"Someone in a car took her then," Elias said.
"No car came by. There was no one there but her. It was close to the bridge. Police thinks she walked there and jumped. A lot of people never get found in the ocean afterwards," Seth said.
"Don't say that!" Elias yelled.
Elias tried hitting Seth with his fists but there was no strength left inside him. Seth wrapped his arms around Elias again and held him tight.
"Don't say that," Elias repeated in a whisper. "She's not dead, Seth. She can't be fucking dead."