His Deepest Regret

Chapter 1

     Lt. Colonel Liam Campbell entered the exam room and sat on the exam table. He had already

 done his rounds to make sure his platoon was getting their pre-op exams and now it was

 time for his. The room was large, with an examination table in the middle, cabinets all around 

on the walls, and a curtained area to the left of the exam table. Liam was tired, it had been a 

long night of meetings and preparations for his mission. It was his first mission to infiltrate 

enemy lines and secure information about an EPW (earth penetrating weapon) that was stolen

from the American Government. He sat thinking of all the things that could go wrong and what 

he could do to avoid any mishaps. His mind traveled to the men that served under him. It was

 his responsibility to make sure that they returned home to their families, safe and sound. His 

thoughts turned to his own family; his wife, Julie, and his two sons, Christian and Blake. How 

would they make it if something were to happen to him? Then out of nowhere, he thought of

 "her" and his chest tightened. It had been 20 years since he had seen "her". Why did she still 

plague his thoughts? He had a beautiful wife, wonderful kids, a great career and he had just 

been promoted again, so why could he never shake the emptiness he felt whenever "she" came 

to mind. He raised his hand to his left hand pocket, the one right over his heart, the one he 

would never open until he knew it was time. At that moment the physician came in, and broke

 his train of thought. "Good" he thought to himself, as the warm sting of tears burned his eyes. 

He needed a distraction.

******Play the video now*****

     The Physician looked him over, said he was in good shape, and that the head nurse would 

conclude the exam. The physician left the room. Liam was alone again; his thoughts came 

swimming back. He was thinking of the time that he and "her" had gotten tattoos. He still had 

his on the back of his neck, behind his ear on the left side, in Japanese letters. Her's was in the 

same place. Because they were young, it was their way of getting engaged. He chuckled to 

himself as he reminisced about that moment, and how he teased her for acting like a baby. She 

winced and cried the whole time but she loved him and would have done anything for him. He 

sat next her and allowed her to squeeze his hand. When he would see a tear fall from her eyes he

 would lean forward and kiss her softly on the forehead and say, "it's ok hon, it's almost over," or

 "stop being such a wimp." Why couldn't he stop his mind from roaming, he felt ashamed. She 

was such a free spirit, he thought, and I hurt her. Liam wondered where she was right now as he 

had done many times over the years. They had both had dreams of joining the military, he 

wondered if she had joined too. He tried to imagine what she might look like, she must be 

beautiful he thought, she was a rare beauty in high school. She must be gorgeous now.

     There was a knock on the door and the nurse walked in. She was wearing a face mask that 

covered everything except her light green eyes. "Just like hers," Liam thought to himself and he

 looked down trying to push "her" image out of his head. The nurse's baby brown hair was 

placed neatly in a bun on the top of her head. Even with the face mask on he could tell that she 

was an enchanting looking woman. "Lt. Colonel Liam Campbell?" she asked, he nodded and he 

couldn't help but feel as though he had heard that voice before. "I'm going to take some blood 

samples from you today," and she began to cough. "Excuse me," she said, her voice sounded a

 little hoarse. She moved quickly, her supplies were already on the table behind the curtain, and 

Liam didn't feel anything when she stuck the needle in his arm. "Your very good at what you do,

 I barley felt that," he said, as she put a Band-Aid on the spot where she had gathered his blood. 

The nurse looked up at him and even though her mouth was covered, he could tell she was 

smiling at him. She cleaned up quickly and disappeared behind the curtain. "Ok, your all set," 

she said, "come back safe soldier." She had removed her face mask by now and was walking out 

of the door. She turned her face just slightly to smile at him, but he could not see her whole face.

 Liam noticed that she had a tattoo behind her ear in Japanese writing. "What does your tattoo

 say, the one behind your ear?" He asked. As she began to answer, her coughing began again and

 she quickly waved goodbye and ran out of the door. He was alone again. He walked to the door

 and stopped to look in the mirror next to it. He looked at his face closely, his hazel eyes looked 

weary and had bags under them. He examined his muscular frame thinking that he was in pretty

 good shape for a man his age. He ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair and looked away 

from his average height form. His mind wondered again the nurse's tattoo, "I could swear that 

her tattoo said Liam's girl," just as his tattoo said, "Mia's love". He exited the exam room, a single

 tear escaping his eye. He angrily wiped it away as he thought to himself, that he was tired of 

loving a ghost that he chased away.