Collection

Love We Thought Lost

Name pronunciations:

Tialu (tea-ahh-loo)

Celli (sell-ee)

Zhede (shay- day)

Captain Henry Mulltan was never a man who claimed to be brave. In fact if you'd have asked him he'd would've described himself a coward. Yet somehow he had been recognized for an act of valor. All he'd done was fly injured soldiers back to base, not such a big thing. He guessed the fact that he had flown under heavy enemy fire and made three trips to get all the boys probably decided why he would even be considered to get such an award. Still he didn't feel he deserved it, not like the soldier men who marched on the ground and fought to survive nearly every day.

Henry even got a couple days (1)R and R, and he was excited to leave the

base. He could go see Tialu, the kind woman he knew he could never truly be with. After all he

was a foreigner, a soldier in her land fighting a war he had no business fighting. Still, Henry

couldn't stop himself from going to visit her, if just to see her shy smile, and warm eyes. He

certainly wouldn't fool himself into thinking she did not care about him either. Tialu certainly

accepted every gift of affection, and reciprocated his actions of interest. He could still remember

the first chaste kiss.

At this point in time when he'd seen just about every crappy thing the world had to offer, Tialu was a point of refuge. Well her, and her daughter. Henry had found out after their third date, if that's what he was going to call the little outings. She had invited him to come back to her home, and he excepted. She introduced little Celli. Henry knew then and there he would do anything to protect them. Yes them. He became Celli's papa, and Tialu's man.

(1) R and R - rest and recuperation

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"Why are you here?"

"What?" Henry asked. Tialu wasn't making sense. She seemed angry, and scared, and sad, and guilty all at the same time. He couldn't fathom it.

"Why have you come back? You are not welcome here." Tialu's eyes narrowed and shifted. Henry felt his world shift a little bit. He didn't understand, she had always been happy to see him before.

"I don't understand, Tialu, 1 gûshtÿd a gha maåtö?" Henry could've sworn she nearly smiled at his butchering of her native tongue, but instead her frown deepened.

"I heard today, you, soldiers, you'll be going home soon. The war is almost won. You too 2 Hânërry. You'll go and leave us behind. Time for the bonds to be cut." Tialu said quietly. Henry felt his stomach twist. He couldn't even begin to imagine leaving Tialu. But she was right

he had let this get too far. Maybe he should never have helped her on the street the day they

met. No, he thought. Henry didn't care if the war would be over soon. He would find a way to

stay with Tialu and Celli, or perhaps find a way to bring them back home with him. Whatever it

took he would protect them. Hadn't he promised that already?