Summer of 1953

The salmon sky enveloped the vast field, but the weather was warm enough and the air was quite humid. I grabbed the newspaper as I took a sip of my hot coffee. The peace was unsettling and it feels like any moment from now, there will be trouble.

It has not been long since the government decided to form an Armed Forces to defend our land and the people. The first few years weren't necessarily bad. There are reports of illegal entry in the rural areas that turned out to be fake. Though there are robberies, it was only done out of poverty. All of the government's funds are showered to the Armed Forces, since they are the people who have sworn to protect and serve the people as a selfless service.

I have seen people build a kingdom, only to see it breaking. I have seen how a nation fell and how it got back together. I have seen it all. People come and go. For someone who lived for years, I have finally accepted it, but the memories of those still remain.

I got drowned in my own feelings of nostalgia and came back to senses when I heard the door creak. I turned around to check who it was. Michael. He approached me, his hair still wet, towel wrapped around his lower body, his trunk visible. I looked at him in awe, admiring his physique. I haven't seen him for two weeks and he just came home from his duty. He pecked my lips and said,

"You missed me that much? Don't worry, no matter how long I'm gone, I'll always come back to you."

I turned away, blushing, and I unfolded the newspaper, read the headline: 'Illegal entry of 12 armed men, reported in Glassville'

"Oh," I muttered. Michael must have heard it and turned to me and looked at the newspaper.

"Well, this calls for duty. I am barely home, just finished my shower and was going to sleep, but it seems like I'm preparing for another deployment," He frowned.

I put the newspaper down and went to him, the love of my life, the person who made me feel the warmest, the one that could make my heart race just by his mere existence, my forever love.

I embraced him, my head resting on his chest, I could even hear every beat of his heart. We did not speak. We just shared a long hug, filled with all sorts of emotions– yearning, agony, craving, on top of it all, desire. The desire to spend each other's lives together, eternally, making plans for the future, living to fulfill each of it and living happily ever after. Yet for people like me, all I could ever do is dream. Accept that all the people that will come to my life will just go and I am only left with one thing– sending them off.

This life is my only life and I'm lucky to meet this man. I do not regret bumping into him while he was rummaging through his duffel bag, reaching for his tobacco, not knowing that it had dropped and I was able to pick it up. I was half-drunk and my vision were blurry. All I have ever known was he is a soldier, an attractive one.

His warm embrace made me melt, he started patting my shoulder and hummed to the tune of Todd Duncan's Unchained Melody. My chin quivered and my lips trembled. Tears started to well up in my eyes and let out a suppressed sound of hiccups. I shut my eyelids in hopes of stopping the tears from streaming down my cheeks, but I failed. My suppressed sound of hiccups became a series of weeps. He continued humming and pulled away from the hug. He just looked at me for a couple of seconds. It wasn't an empty stare, it looks as if he had a lot to say. His eyes are already damp and red. He bit his lip, trying to stop himself from letting out a sob and he failed, as well.

He cupped my face and kissed my forehead.

"I'll be coming home, wait for me." He said.

He inched closer and our lips met, it was soft and delicate. The heat rose to my cheek as we shared one breath and sensation. Our tongues intertwined and the touch of it felt electric, making me feel like I'm not in my own body anymore. We are definitely lost at our own universe, floating. Oh, I really hope that we could just stay lost.