Pony-

The previous night had made the house linger with sadness and an ache for Darry's safe return. We all wanted him to be safe and come home to us. But we knew the odds were against us, their were only two sole survivors. The there was no way to identify the bodies that had been found, we were like many families that were stuck with no easy answer. Many families had the same hope that their young man was alive whether he was a father, son, brother, uncle, cousin or friend, he was a person.

We knew that our Superman could easily be on of the dead but we remained hopefully that he was still alive. But little did we know that our superman was alive and fighting with each breath. He fought his battles strong like a brave solider while we remained strong. We refused to be knocked down in the face of a nightmare.

Yes, our superman was missing and we didn't know if he was dead or alive. But the only way we could get through this was as a family. Many days had passed since that day we found out he was either missing or dead. We all knew his odds were better if he had died rather than survived. Death in the line of duty brought less pain than living as a prisoner of war in a place where they hated you.

Soda was awfully quiet this morning and I knew he was suffering from more than just a hangover. Jenny found the letter that Soda had left on the floor. We all had a different view on those words on that paper. It brought tears and pain to each of us but the pain was a bit different for each of us.

Jenny just wanted Darry to come safely back to her. The two hadn't gotten to life their lives together yet. Darry had the biggest adventure of his life waiting for him right at home. He found a special girl who loved him as she loved him. The two understand each other so much and they deserve each other. Jenny just wanted to kiss Darry and tell him everything was going to be alright.

Soda was fighting a war against the demons that held evil within them. Soda was fighting various feelings at once that caused a explosive damage. Angry, guilt, sadness, grief and guilt pounded through Soda's vulnerable and weakened state. He left solely responsible for Darry's absence and possible death.

As for myself, I felt that he wrote those words in a state of hurt and lose. He must have read my theme or something that caused a storm in his weakened state. He may have acted stronger than superman in that moment he went to war. But the truth was he was fighting a war with human feelings that were overwhelming.

I watched with a careful eye as my shell-shocked brother dragged himself from the couch and onto the porch. He fought a massive headache and his body hurt from not only his pain but the effects of spent most of the night vomiting his guts up. I offered soothing words and comfort but it didn't seem to help much.

I feared that no one could help Soda in this moment. I wasn't sure what to do much less say. Soda looked like a pale ghost, a former shell to his usually happy self. I hadn't see Soda in a state quite like this one at least not since he lost Sandy. He had grown older but he seemed rather young right now. His eyes had lost their sparkle and his face didn't glow with his care-free Soda who sat on the porch wasn't the Soda I knew.

I watched as Jenny joined him on the porch with three coke bottles in hand. She took a seat next to Soda who swing his feet off the edge of the porch. I walked out the door and joined the two. Jenny's hair was tied back and she wore a baggier shirt. She had been tending to chores most of the morning while the babies slept. Jenny handled each of us a coke and we each took a sip of the cool liquid.

"What seems to be troubling you?. ", Jenny asks

"I costed him months with you and his children. It's my fault, he's gone.", Soda says

"No, Soda. He wanted to protect and care for you. That's a sign of how much he loves you.", Jenny says

"Why did he have to lie to me?", Soda asks his voice broken

"He knew you would resist and he made a decision. He's being Superman, protecting his family no matter the cause.", I answer

"He thinks you don't care about him.", Soda says

"Nah, he was in a bad place when he wrote that letter. We've been talking back and forth since, I already knew what he did.", Pony says

"What? How did you know?", Soda asked

"The commanding officer at the Draft Board called me after Darry went missing. Darry wrote a second letter explain everything. He knew he didn't mean what he wrote in the letter after he was deployed.", I answered

"And I received a letter today and I wanted to share the good news with you two.", Jenny says

"What is it?", Soda asks

"Is Darry alright?", Pony asks

"He's alive but in critical care. We've been given three tickets to Germany it's for both way and one for Darry's return home.", Jenny answers

"He's alive.", I say

Soda sobbed and I wrappped an arm around my brother. I pulled his head into my chest and he bawled into my shirt. I rocked him back and forth gently. My hands ran through his arm and his grip tightened around me. "Shh, Soda. Let it all out.", I said gently

"I forgive you, Dar.", Soda says whispering

"He loves you so much Soda.", I say gently

"He loves us all.", Jenny says

Soon , Soda's sobs stopped and he relaxed his grip a bit. I hummed softly as he calmed down. Nothing else mattered because our Superman was three of us had a journey ahead of us. One that would require a short goodbye, strength, forgiveness, patience and love. Our Darry was miles away still a solider fighting a war. This time death was the enemy and time was the Allie, it was us against the world.