Soldier Of God

Chapter 1

~Chapter 1~

In April, my mother's worst nightmares that she prayed wouldn't happen, did happen. I went outside, picked our mail up from the ground, and stared at a single envelope. We never got mail because of the money the person had to pay for the stamp and here I was staring at a letter that I knew must have cost a fortune. When I handed the letter to my mother, she opened it even though it wasn't addressed to her. Her hands shook terribly and her tears soaked into the paper as she shook her head. Quietly, she whispered my brother, Erik's name. I ran with my brown hair swishing side to side behind me. My brother was sitting up in his bed when I entered. I tried to catch my breath and tell him that mom wanted to see him but he must have seen everything in my green eyes because he ran past me. Slowly, I trudged my way back to my mother to see Erik hugging her. I swallowed hard.

     "What's going on?" My voice trembled with fear.

     "I'm leaving." Erik acted like he explained everything with just two words.

     "Why?"

     "I am being drafted... I leave in a few days apparently."

     My heart sank. Of course, I suspected what was coming but I guess I wasn't prepared to hear the words. I was in shock but the tears never came. When my dad came home and heard the news, he said:

     "Oh God, please help us." he pleaded with his hands concealing his face. My thoughts of doubt arrived as that sentence was said. If God was there, would he have let this happen?

     I hated seeing my parents like that but instead of comforting them, I walked away without looking back. It might have been a terrible thing to do but I kept away from my family for a couple days because I couldn't bear the sadness that hung about them. During the last few days before my brother left you might have expected happiness for a good memory but all he would get was the sad eyed parents that nearly cries every time he walks by. You would have thought that there should have been some pride but, no, there wasn't any.

     The day my brother left, he held me close, nearly suffocating me. He breathed in my dirty hair while my silent tears soaked his thin shirt. Erik pushed me away from him and stared hard into my eyes.

     "Please, Kristina, stay safe and take care of mom and dad for me. Do as your told and don't give anyone heart attacks." he laughed and I knew he was remembering when I literally scared everyone half to death.

     "Good bye, Kit."

     "Bye, Erik. Come back safely, please." he ruffled up my hair like he used to do when I was ten even though, he was only a year older than me; I had just turned seventeen in January.

     My parents entered the room to say their good bye. My mother held Erik's face and cried into his shoulder. I could tell from looking at the bags under her red eyes that she hadn't been getting much sleep. My father gently pulled my mom away from Erik and gave him a handshake that quickly turned into a manly hug. Then, he walked proudly out the front door while dodging our neighbor's harsh words. My mother sank into a chair and my dad tried to comfort her but me? I just walked away.