Six Days

Six days until he comes home, he said.
Until the soldiers are released and can return to their families after a long war against China.

He said, in his letter, "I'll see you in six days. I love you."

Those simple words leaving Kiku with frantic anxiety as he paces his home, the minutes turning to long hours as he waits for Heracles to walk through that door.

Six days of waiting and loneliness which he had spend four years indulged in while the war kept his beloved from coming back.

If only time was as painless as it seemed.