The Marine's Wife {On Hold}

Chapter 2:

"Aaron! We need you... NOW."The head officer around at the current time hollered to Aaron, who was bent over a clipboard, scribbling words across a sheet of paper.

    "Sir!" Aaron replied quickly, hastily dropping his clip board to stand at attention.

    "At ease," The officer said, "We may be expecting some action about three miles away from Helmand River, south east edge. Gather everyone else, most of them should be on their way back from a different side of the river right now. We need to be there, so get a move out!" He finished with a commanding shout and a thunderous stomp of his boot, turning away from Aaron towards the base tent. The sun was hiding behind the clouds and it was early autumn. The weather was a perfect 67 degrees fahrenheit at the moment, and it was times like this moment Aaron didn't mind being at war. That is, until he cast his eyes down at the clipboard with the sheet of paper lifting up in the breeze. His next letter to his wife. Aaron felt a sharp pain in his chest, like a weight onto his heart. He missed his family so much.

    He knew he couldn't waste another minute, so he ran off to gather the other troops, only to make their way back to the river where the action would occur. They had already seized Garmsir District, and had been instructed for combat operations. Running into resistance made the job all the more harder. Their plan had changed from combat to civil  operations. Lately, their main priority had been on protecting the local Afghans as they began to return to their homes after having been displaced by the Taliban.

    The action the Colonel had been referring to wasn't much action at all. It was a group of Afghans crowded around something, but as the Marine's  moved inward, that "something" revealed to be someone. A young girl at the age of about four or five was  laying, sprawled at awkward angles, still. Not even her chest was moving. They ordered everyone to back up and move away so the medics could take the seen. Not even a minute later the girl, whoever she was, was pronounced dead. A woman released  a shriek, before ungodly wails pierced the air and she collapsed on her knees by the girl. The girl, her daughter.

    She had been shot. Presumably by the Taliban, no  one was around to notice. The small community attempted to comfort the woman while few more joined in on the crying as well. All the trying you go through in the marines, is never enough to prepare you for something like this.

    "Move out..." I hear the Colonel say quietly, probably so as to not disturb the mourning. Although there was a dab of sadness in his voice that made me wonder. The girl had jet black hair, long, stopping half way between her shoulder and her elbow. She had deep caramel skin, and that was the only look he got. Aaron wondered how he would feel if it was his Rachel lying there unmoving. He had to fight the urge to throw himself down sobbing just like the woman had done. Things were starting to get overwhelming,so Aaron decided to focus solely on the gravel, sand, and dark dirt terrain as they marched back toward base.

    I hurried to the rock I had been comfortably sitting on earlier and continued writing my letter to my darling wife.       

    June,

        We were expecting some action today, but either nothing ever had happened, or we had come too late... a young girl had been shot. it was horrible, June, I just kept thinking "How would I feel if this were my family?" I just don't understand how people can so wrongly kill innocent people... Girls so young, too.

    Aaron stopped, realizing what I just wrote. He was in the Marines. He killed people. Granted, it was for the cause of the nation, but he still hated to think of the families...

    Hon, I miss you. I know I've said it already and I'll keep saying it, because it's the truest thing there is right now, and I always hold onto it. I cling to the mental picture of you and Rachel and our whole lives engraved into my mind, so I can always watch them like a slide show, wherever I may be. I miss you, I miss you, I miss you , I miss you.   

    Aaron wrote again and again and again and again, because well, he missed her. A part of him also hoped if he said it enough, it'd all go back to the way it was supposed to be.

    And I love you...So very much...   

                    Give Rachel a hug for me, and make sure she knows her Daddy loves her.

                        Aaron.