Different

Chapter 4 Letters

Chapter 4

Letters

When I arrived back to my aunts’ house I immediately went into the kitchen to grab a water bottle. As I walked I felt several pairs of eyes follow my every move. I knew they wanted to say something about my disappearance, but they remained silent. For that I was grateful, I just need more time. More space. As I enter the guest room I exhale loudly at all the packed boxes. I figured I’d let them sit there for at least tonight. I had no desire to start unpacking. After I changed out of my sweaty clothes, I stared blankly around the room for a while until the oddity of the desk caught my eye. It wasn’t just a flat boring desk. There was an opening large enough for someone to work on but arching around the working area with these shelves that assumed you’d place pictures and trinkets on. Along with the shelves there were smaller drawers for needed storage space. The arches borders were extremely detailed with swirls carved into the wood. There was a piece of blank cork board placed against the wall where the working space and wall met. The whole thing was very intricate and the most unique desk I have ever seen. As I open some of the drawers on the arch way I notice a few things left inside of them. Minor things, like a few stray paper clips or a pen. The majority of the drawers were empty. One drawer however, was not. One had an intricate jewelry box inside. Not the kind we have today, the kind your grandmother would have for just one special necklace. I pull the top off the box and see a single charm. The bright untarnished silver pops against the dark velvet that appears to be sown in around the entire interior of the box. The charm itself is a detailed bird. A Swallow perhaps? As I reached for the charm to further examine it the velvet I thought was sown in slipped around. As I tried to straighten it back out I noticed something underneath it. With a new disregard to the fabric I chunked it somewhere behind me to find 3 envelopes and one folded up piece of paper under it all. The envelopes were worn and old looking. You could tell the recipient had taken the later out and put back in several times over the years. I reopen the envelope to find a letter on unlined paper.

                    My Dearly Beloved Jade,

Surely you can’t fathom how much it pains me not to be in your presence. Every second the pain increase in my heart. I’m not sure how much longer a can withhold. I need to hear your laugh. Smell the perfume you always wear. I need to see you dance around in the kitchen when you think I’m not watching. I need to feel you wrapped in my arms. I need you, Jade. Only you. I’m aware of your concern of me moving on while I’m overseas, but you must know you are my everything. You’re my hope of better days. You’re the reason I keep pushing to come home. You are the reason I am still fighting this god forsaken war. No one can ever compare to your beauty, to your stubbornness, to your wit. I carry a photograph of you in the pocket of my shirt under my uniform. Your right next to my heart; always. I will forever, if you allow me, be in debt to you for leaving. I hope you comprehend why I took these actions. If you say you do not know why I left, you are lying. You know that the reason I left is the same reason I take every action. For you. I want you to be safe. I need you to be safe. If it takes my life to do so then so be it. I will do everything in my power to come back to you. For I am too selfish to leave you this soon. I love you Jade. I love you more than I had ever thought possible for someone as cold hearted as myself. You brought warmth into my cold stone of a heart. You brought light into the darkness that was my mind. You changed me Jade. You made me be a better person. I changed for you Jade. I hope to become half the man you deserve one day. Until then I promise you I will give you all I have. Every piece that was once mine is now yours. Hold on to it tight Jade.

                                Forever Yours; Only yours,

                                                Bentley  

With tears brimming in my eyes I folded the letter to back into the envelope. Grabbing the second envelope I noticed a later post mark than the first; October 11, 1952.

                   My Dearly Beloved Jade,

I must first open this letter with an apology for my absence on today of all days. I had great plans for this anniversary. For I knew that today would be our 3 year anniversary. Three whole years. You told me once on a rainy Sunday morning, while neither of us willing to leave bed to greet the new day, three was your number. You had said how nothing had stayed constant for three years in your entire life. For this is when I decided, when we made it to our three year anniversary I would ask for your hand. I asked your father for your hand before I was shipped out. I so desperately hoped I could ask you today, in person. I feel as if I have failed you. I feel as if I am no longer a constant in your precious life. I can only pray this is not true in your mind. I will make it back Jade, to ask you in person. To ask you to marry me. Until then, attached to this letter is a charm of a swallow, for that charm bracelet you adore. I specifically picked out this charm for us Jade. A bird may be forced to leave for a period of time, but always returns to its nest. A bird is free. The swallow in particular is witty, much like you. Above all else I want you to remember, “wherever there are birds, there is hope”.

                                                        Forever yours; With Eternal Love,

                                                                   Bentley

With tears already streaming down my face and the charm in my fingers I can’t bring myself to open the last letter or unfold the final paper. I meticulously put the box back together to the state I originally found it.  The exhaustion of the day finally hits me and I curl under the plus comforter on the bed and drift off thinking about Jade and Bentley’s story. I knew there was a very slight chance they had a happily ever after, but I chose to ignore reality and believe they did. A slight hope that true and infinitive love exists.

A/N So I’m really proud of this chapter! Bentley’s letters were a challenge to write, but I’m proud of them! Vote and comment! Have a question? Ask away(:

~Lou