Letters to: Little Red

Chapter 1:

I walked across camp with my bag hanging down my shoulder. I had folded my uniform down halfway so that my beige tank top showed above my camo pants. I never wore the top half of uniform onesie when I was at the camp. It was too hot. None of the guys complained. I don't think they would even if they got the chance. It wasn't everyday that a girl showed up here.

The dusty old truck was already filled with the other soldiers going home, their excitement readable on their faces. I took a seat beside Benji, one of the medics at the camp who barely knew any English. His parents moved from Columbia to the US when he was 6 and as soon as he got his green card, he knew he wanted to join the army. He was one of the people outside of my troop that I had actually gotten a chance to talk to. He taught me some Spanish and I taught him English. He now knew how to have amazing English conversation which helped do his job.

We had just started writing out words in English when we had both received that letter. The letter that every soldier waited for. The letter every solider day dreamed about getting when the day felt just too hot. And I had finally gotten it. The letter that let me visit home.

"My Ella turns 7 next week. Early birthday party." Benji smiles in a thick Colombian accent.

"My birthday is this weekend. Junio 24. Do you remember how to say that en ingles?" I test him kindly and Benji smiles confidently.

"June twenty-fourth. Si?"

"Si, yes. I'm sure Ella will be so happy to see you." I say happily, Benji's knowledge getting better every day.

"Your family will be happy to see you too, Red. Happy early birthday. Feliz cupleanos." Benji tells me kindly and I thank him. Everyone here called me Red, I had almost forgotten my actual name. The truth was, I couldn't wait to get home. It had been just over a year since I had left my camp in Afghanistan. I had no problem staying longer than the average 6 months except for how much I missed my family.

Up until last year, my brothers Ethan and Tyler were stationed at the same camp as me. After they served their time, they returned home to start their lives and I missed them terribly. Giving my phone calls to the guys who I really thought needed them, I wrote letters constantly to my family. But the camp was my second home. My troop became my extended family. But now I could return back home to Minnesota the weekend of my birthday, and I promised myself that I would soak up the cool weather and rainy days the entire time.

Boarding a small plane in the middle of nowhere, our first landing was in the UK. The next morning we were supposed to land in Minnesota so it was a rush to the plane. Benji was on the next flight to New York and I was left to my own devices to get through the crowd. In the air conditioning of the airport, I put my uniform onesie on completely The faded camo wasn't pretty at all but people knew who I was. Walking through the airport, several people nodded their heads to me while saying thank you as I passed.

As much as I appreciated it, I didn't need it. Being in the army was my job and decision and I loved every minute of it. Never once did I regret it and never once will I. But all these people were blocking my way. Most of them saw that I was rushing and moved out of my way but the ones that didn't were the ones that slowed me down. Breaking past a barrier of suited men, I rushed forward and I could feel my bun becoming loose. The cry of a child erupted from somewhere behind me and I looked back in the direction on instinct.

The next second, a force pushed into me from my front, and I fell backward, seeing a pair of hand trying to catch me. I felt stiff after being pretty much pushed to the ground and I rushed to sit up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." a nervous Irish voice speaks from above me. I look up and a pair of dazzling blue eyes take my breath. "Let me help you." the boy smiles kindly and I look to see that his hands open for my taking. I smile gratefully while taking his hand, just touching his hand for balance as I stand up on my own. "Or you could just help yourself, that's cool too." I had more strength than people guessed but I had army training to thank for that.

"Thank you... blonde boy. Wow, I'm not used to not knowing someone's name. There's always a name tag." I say awkwardly while running my finger lightly over the stitched in name tag on my uniform. Why was I talking to this kid? I was gonna be late!

"No problem... Red girl. Or maybe I should say Mes-Mese-Meser-" the boy struggles to say my last name, progressively squinting his eyes to read my name tag.

"Don't hurt yourself. Just call me Charlotte." I interrupt while covering my name tag with my hand. Why did I tell him my real name? I never told people. I always introduced myself as Red. Why did I tell this kid? But god, he was easy on the eyes.

"Nice to meet you Charlotte. I'm Niall. Well, I'm sorry again. Thank you for your service." Niall smiles as he bows his head. He picks his bag up and starts to walk away. I panic and don't think about my next action.

"Wait!" I call out quickly and grab tightly to Niall's shoulder. He looks a little shocked but he soon smiles, the white of his teeth making his eyes shine. "Uh-Where are you flying to?" I ask quickly, embarrassed about what I did.

"Home to Ireland. You?" Niall says simply. God, I just wanted to see his smile. What the hell, Charlotte?!

"Home to Minnesota. My second flight is leaving soon and- oh my god I'm gonna miss it." I start to say happily but soon my tone becomes nervous, finally realizing that I'm in uniform, talking to a boy I hardly know, in the middle of the airport. I pick up my bag and rush off in the direction I was headed in before I ran into Niall.

"Woah, where are you going?" He asks while grabbing onto my wrist to spin me around. Wow, he was strong. "The Minnesota terminal is this way."

My heart skips when he takes my hand and starts to lead me the direction he was headed, which is where I came from. Trying to keep as close to him as I can, Niall pulls my hand after him as he pushes through the crowd. We finally get to the terminals and see that the loading platforms for Minnesota and Ireland are side by side. But of course with my luck at this airport, both of our flights are delayed. Their expected time of arrivals are both at 6:00 AM which means we're spending the night at the airport.

"Looks like you're not in a rush anymore." Niall jokes, flashing his beautiful smile. Just seeing him smile made me smile. Snap out of it!