A Glimpse of Fiction

Fallen Hero

15th June 1944

There was no doubt in the heart of Peggy that he had gone down as a hero. The heart-breaking telegram had come many days earlier but it was not until now that she had received the belongings of her fiancé, sent back from the military front lines. The neatly folded uniform, all clean - as if he was going to waltz out and dress in it - lay in a pile on the bed.

The treacherous battle of D-Day had ended the lives of so many people, including her beloved. The army sent their condolences, and said she should be proud that he died a hero -but she didn't want him to be a hero, she just wanted him to be her husband.

The tears again rolling down her face, Peggy let her hair cascade down and around her shoulders. She knew no one would bother her now, not when he wasn't here. Looking back to the clothes, dressed with the final remainder of his scent which she so much loved, she began to hang them up. Carefully unfolding them and handling them with the care that he used to apply, she brushed them down before placing them into their joined wardrobe. A prominent bump was obvious in the chest pocket of the uniform and Peggy reached into the jacket to receive it, to find many of her letters to him, plus a single unsent letter, addressed but never sent to her.

My beautiful fiancée, Peggy,

My dearest love, I hope you are well. To answer your question, I am perfectly fine! I beg you not stress over me, I have promised you I will come home and I have no intention of breaking that.

There's talk around the stations that war will be over soon, hopefully before Christmas. I'm involved in an operation to storm through Normandy in a couple of day - knock the Fritz back into their own territory. If all is successful then I'll be home by the end of July. We can spend the summer together!

I hope that everything is going smoothly in the home town. What is is like with the rationing? Are you still able to get the food you need? I'm counting down the days until I return Peggy, so save something for me!

I love you so much my beautiful fiancée,

Your hero, James Rodgers x

P.S. I still owe you that dance!

And that was all it took to shatter the remaining pieces of Peggy's heart. Her loving written words stored next to his heart, along with the final words he never got to tell her. The dance he owed her, his first attempt at waltzing, he promised she could have but now every promise he had ever had was unintentionally broken. Like her heart.

But if he was still there, than that letter would have made her fall slightly more in love with her hero, instead of her memory.

~

Short but saddening romance one-shot for the Romance Contest.