The Lost

Prologue - The lost Father

Braelyn wasn't shocked to find that her family wasn't there at the Georgia Airport to welcome her home from her six-month tour of Afganistan - she was a U.S Specal Forces SEAL and had been in the Military since she was eighteen years old.

           As Braelyn pulled up to her two-story house that she inherited from her grandparents, she noticed that Daryl's truck wasn't parked in the driveway. Frowning, she parked where her husband usually did and turned off her John Deere green truck before hopping out and pulling her military issued duffel bag with her from the passenger seat.

Walking into the eerily quiet house, Braelyn's voice echoed as she called for her family. "Daryl? Temperance? You home?"

Hearing no sound of little running feet, her first instinct was to reach for her knife that was seethed to her thigh. Fearing the worst, Braelyn crept towards the living room. Peering around the corner she saw that the tv was off and covered in dust as if no one had been home in a while. Sheathing her knife, she walked through the whole house, checking every nook and corner.

Finally, ending up in the kitchen, she spotted a piece of paper attached to the fridge with a fridge magnet.

Snatching up the note eager to know what was going on, Braelyn started to read it. It was in her husband's scruffy handwriting and had the typical D.D signature with an 'x'  next to it.

'Lyn,
I'm sorry that we weren't there to welcome you home.
Temperance is at your parents, safe and sound. I don't know when I will see you again, if ever, but know that I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't important.
I love you, and always will. I love our daughter. Maybe one day, you will understand why I had to do this.
Goodbye, Lyn. Tell our daughter that I love her.
D.D. x'

Tears fell onto the piece of paper, smudging the ink ever so slightly. Braelyn sniffed quietly, trying to subdue the tears and push them back. Folding the note carefully, she slipped it into one of her many pockets in her black military cargo pants.

Wiping her face from the tears, Braelyn rushed to her car and turned the ignition, rushing to her parent's house in Atlanta.

            A couple of hours later, Braelyn parked in front of her parent's house. Exhausted, both emotionally and physically, Braelyn slowly walked to the front door and knocked. She dreaded seeing her daughter and having to tell her four-year-old that her daddy had left them.