YouTube One-Shots

Soldier Coming Home (GassyMexican)

This idea came from Traveling Soldier by the Dixi Chicks. I'm not much of a country girl but this song just gets to me. My brother was in the army for some time. Even though now I want to gut him with a dull spoon. But back then he wasn't such a dick and I loved my brother. So yeah.

I sat down in the small cafe. I had some papers on the table. "Um... Miss... Mind if I sit here? There are no there tables available." I looked up to see a young man. He was wearing army greens. "Of course." I said moving some of the school work off the table. "Sorry.... I'm a school teacher." He sat down and said "Oh. That's fine.... Um. I'm Max." "Pleasure to meet you Max. I'm Amy." "How long have you been a teacher?" He asked sipping on his coffee. "Not too long. It's one of my absolute passions." He smiled. "Well.... You can obviously tell what I'm doing." He said gesturing to his greens. I nodded. "How long you got till you ship out?" He sighed. "About three hours." I nodded. "Have a lucky girl you gonna be writing to?" He looked up from his coffee. "No. I don't have anyone to write too. My family isn't really happy with me. I kinda left on bad terms. But that doesn't matter. When I come back I'll talk to them and stuff." He then paused. "Maybe I could write letters to this sweet school teacher I met." He smiled. "Yeah. I bet this school teacher would really like that." "Only if it's OK with the school teachers husband." I laughed "I'm not married." I wiggled my left hand in his face. He then laughed with me. "So where would these letters I would send go to? I could always address them here." "No. Send them here." I wrote down my address on a napkin, folded it in half and handed it to him. He then tucked it in his chest pocket.

We talked for a while longer. "It's time for me to go." He said once he looked at the clock. "Goodbye." "I'll be back. We can meet here. When I'm back. At this exact table. How about that?" I smiled. "I'd like that." He then left. My brother entered the cafe about a minute later in his sailor blues. "Hey sis. I don't have long. Please don't tell Dad or mom that I joined. I'll be back soon and I'll write to you every chance I get."

I received letters from him almost every week. Some times twice a week. They were always kind and thoughtfully written. Like he didn't want me worrying. But this week no letters arrived. So I did as I always did. I just went to work like I always do. It was around noon when another teacher entered the class. With a letter addressed to me. I took it and opened it. I read through the letter. And collapsed to the floor. "He's not coming home." It was my brother Adam. He wasn't coming home. "My brother. His ship was destroyed." The teacher patted me on the back and dismissed me. I ran to my mother and Father's house and handed them the letter. "He joined the Navy. And now he isn't coming home." "What about your soldier boy? Is he alright?" They asked knowing that I've been getting letters from Max. I've been writing back but I doubt he got any. "I haven't gotten a letter from him this week. He must be busy." We all mourned silently for Adam. Our parents weren't mad at him for joining. They just wish they could have ended things on better terms with him.

We went to a baseball game in honor of Adams fun spirit. Then... They read off names of dead and missing in action soldiers. The soldiers that won't be coming home. Then one name was read. A name that no one else cared about. But me. Max wasn't coming home. I no longer could be happy. I stood up and went home. I pulled out all his letters and read them through and through, again and again. The man I fell for wasn't coming home. He wasn't coming home. His group was on the same ship Adam was on. They were being transported to another battle field. I lost the two people I was wishing to come home. Now their not coming home.

It's been about a month and a half since I found out my brother and Max weren't coming home. I walked to the Cafe and sat in the seat. Our seat. I ordered a coffee. And sat in silence. I then heard someone sit down in Max's seat. Then another person at next to me. I looked up. Max. Adam. "Hey. When I was on the ship. I made a friend. His name is Adam. Turned out we both knew a sweet young school teacher. And we both made a promise to come home to said school teacher. So we teamed up to make sure we were able to keep that promise." "Max? Adam?" "We just got back. When the ship went down me and Adam swam to shore. And we fought our way back to see a smile on your face." He then leaned forward. "Not tears." The then wiped some tears off my face. I didn't even realize I was crying. I hugged both of them, then I punched Adam. "Ow. Why did you punch me?" "For scaring me. For making me think you were dead."