A War On Her World | TWD: D. Dixon

Ch. 33

From a young age, Elizabeth loved stories. The minute she learnt how to walk, the moment she could talk, she spent her time asking for others to read adventurous tales to her. And when she wasn't listening to other people's stories, she was coming up with her own. It was probably for this reason that her grandfather was one of her favourite people in her life.

Walter Powell was a war veteran who had suffered a great amount of trauma while serving his country. At the tragic age of nineteen, he was released from his duties due to the loss of a limb which had left him disabled and defeated. With no one else on his side besides the love of his life, Mildred, Walter refused to give up.

He made sure to overcome the adversities life had thrown at him in order to start, support and raise a family. However, due to some unforeseen problems, Walter and Mildred were unable to truly start their family until later in life. After years of failed attempts, finally, during the late '50s, they were blessed with their one and only child, Margaret. Otherwise known to be Elizabeth's Mother.

Elizabeth loved the stories her grandfather had from his times in the war, but the story of how her grandparents met was always her favourite. It was so thrilling and romantic to hear how they were separated then reunited and, finally, raised a family together. It was just so unreal that she couldn't help but be enthralled. Anyone who knew Elizabeth could tell this from the way she begged Walter to retell it every time she visited.

Even so, the war stories were a close second for Elizabeth who enjoyed new knowledge about unknown areas of life. Still, she knew that these memories of her grandfather's, specifically, were to never be taken lightly. Her mother made sure of that. She always warned her to be respectful and to never push for details past what he, himself was willing to share.

Because of this, the girl rarely got the whole story, but she was told enough, over time, to grasp just how bleak war was. If that wasn't enough of a tell, then the heartbroken look her grandmother sent Walter's way when the phantom pains hit definitely was.

At the time, Elizabeth didn't understand how the looks, the war, and the pain were connected. Not until she was older, about ten years old when the term phantom pains were explained to her. From there, she was able to put two and two together; the pain was a continuous reminder of the war and the time before he lost his arm. And each time Walter experienced these pains, Mildred was left feeling useless.

As her husband was tortured from a non-existent limb, she was unable to help. She couldn't do anything other than stay by his side until he passed away. And it would be three years after his death that someone invented a treatment.

From the moment Elizabeth became aware of the suffering her grandparents experienced throughout their lives, her dream to be a writer changed to the need to be a nurse.

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Immediately after Andrea left, we gathered together to form the next course of action. It was difficult, though, to come to a singular decision. We all had our own differing opinions which made it hard to agree on anything, ultimately leading us back to square one. I just wanted everything to go back to how it was before the Governor appeared out of nowhere. I just wanted to be done with the whole thing.

Of course, I knew that wouldn't happen. I knew something had to be done before anything would get better for any of us. However, when it was decided that Rick and two others were going to go to some location to meet up and negotiate with 'the governor', I didn't feel good about the idea. The whole thing was unsettling to me, and when it was decided that Daryl and Hershel were going to be accompanying him, I wanted to protest. Not only did this man wrongfully kidnap our people, but he also pitted people against each other as if it were a sport. To top it off, Hershel had recently gone through a traumatic injury and Daryl nearly didn't come home last time. I couldn't stand it.