Fallen Soldier

Chapter two

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME CONTENT THAT MIGHT BE DEEMED DISTURBING, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

My heart sunk as I listened to the quiet voice of the man on the other end of the phone

“No I’m sorry, you must have made a mistake” I assured him.

“Miss Summers I’m so sorry- ”

“No, I’m sorry but you really have made a mistake” I said firmly as my frustration increased “He’s coming home in three days, now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got housework to do” I snapped before slamming the phone down onto the receiver.

I stared at it for a few seconds, trying to dispel the anger that felt like a dead weight in the pit of my stomach.  I took a deep breath and picked up the polish and rag I had set down next to the phone when it rang and continued to buff the coffee table.  My mind felt utterly blank, numb almost.  It was as though I had no control over myself, all I could do was stare down at my own hand calmly polishing the same spot of glass over and over.

Some amount of time must have passed, how long exactly? I have no idea.  Maybe minutes, maybe hours but the next thing I remember is becoming aware of a persistent knocking on the door, I stilled my arm and stood up leaving the rag where it.  I walked through the now dark room to open the door, still in a mindless daze.  My hands shook as I slid the latch off, my arm felt weak as I pushed down the handle and dragged the door open.

  As I stood there and looked into the tear filled eyes of my mother my stomach lurched and I knew, I knew what I refused to believe before,  it wasn’t a mistake.

I knew it as sure as I knew the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

My Danny was dead.

Millie’s mum’s POV

“NO!” She moaned as tears started to stream down her face.

A jolt of shock traveled through me as she crumpled to the floor and violently expelled the contents of her stomach, her face twisted as a heart wrenching sob broke free from her.  I immediately dropped to my knees to help her up but she was oblivious to my efforts.

“No, no, no, no” She cried in between escalated sobs.

“Millie, I’m so sorry” I whispered wrapping my arms around her shaking body.

“NO!” She screamed in a feral cry of pain that would haunt me until my dying day.

I don’t know if any of you have ever seen someone lose the person they love the most in life, but if you have you will know that it is one of the most disturbing things you can ever witness.  To see someone you care about being so completely consumed by heartbreak that they no longer have control of themselves is terrifying.