Wake me Up When September Ends, chapter 1
by Shiraz Dhume
(minoritypunk)
That night, he wanted that moment to last. As the two of them stood in the lush field letting the moonlight pour over them. She whispered in his ear "You know that if you ever leave, if you ever get into trouble, there will always be someone here, waiting for you at home. You know that, right?" He whispered back "Of course, I would never leave here".
She came screaming onto the porch. Tears streamed down her face. "How could you do this?!? Don't tell me this is true! Don't tell that this letter is true!" She was clutching a small piece of paper. "You know why I did this! I did this for us! This isn't just for me! This is us!" he pointed vigorously at the paper as he screamed. He stormed back into the house and came out moments later with a green duffel bag. "Good bye... " he whispered as he loaded his things onto the dull, dirty bus. He stared either longingly or morosely (she couldn't tell) at the big black letters tattooed along the side of the bus. "U.S Navy".
He stared out of the grimy bus window as it pulled away from the dock. Even during his death he could never get the picture out of his head. The picture of her, standing there on the porch as the bus pulled away. It was just like the ending of every trauma film he had ever watched. As the bus carried him along the dusty trail and out of that small town in Texas.
The next thing he heard was the shouts of many men dressed in the same dull, green suits as him. Before he knew what was going on, a gun was shoved into his arms and he was pushed into a dismal town filled with gunfire and random shouting. He hid inside one of the vacant buildings watching bodies fall everywhere. His breathing grew heavier as each man fell. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down to see his green suit stained red.
Back home, she walked along the dusty trail in front of her home. The essence of the bus still lingered along the ground where the tire tracks lay. Tears still rolled down her face. She remembered her last words to him. Although the day was bright, her essence brought gloom to the small town. Every home bore an American flag outside its door in memory of the lost soldier.
He fell to the floor. People say your life flashes before you when you die. For him, all he saw was her. Standing there on the porch, as her figure grew fainter and fainter... and in his mind he heard, "You know that if you ever leave, if you ever get into trouble, there will always be someone here, waiting for you at home. You know that, right?"
The End
(minoritypunk)
That night, he wanted that moment to last. As the two of them stood in the lush field letting the moonlight pour over them. She whispered in his ear "You know that if you ever leave, if you ever get into trouble, there will always be someone here, waiting for you at home. You know that, right?" He whispered back "Of course, I would never leave here".
She came screaming onto the porch. Tears streamed down her face. "How could you do this?!? Don't tell me this is true! Don't tell that this letter is true!" She was clutching a small piece of paper. "You know why I did this! I did this for us! This isn't just for me! This is us!" he pointed vigorously at the paper as he screamed. He stormed back into the house and came out moments later with a green duffel bag. "Good bye... " he whispered as he loaded his things onto the dull, dirty bus. He stared either longingly or morosely (she couldn't tell) at the big black letters tattooed along the side of the bus. "U.S Navy".
He stared out of the grimy bus window as it pulled away from the dock. Even during his death he could never get the picture out of his head. The picture of her, standing there on the porch as the bus pulled away. It was just like the ending of every trauma film he had ever watched. As the bus carried him along the dusty trail and out of that small town in Texas.
The next thing he heard was the shouts of many men dressed in the same dull, green suits as him. Before he knew what was going on, a gun was shoved into his arms and he was pushed into a dismal town filled with gunfire and random shouting. He hid inside one of the vacant buildings watching bodies fall everywhere. His breathing grew heavier as each man fell. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down to see his green suit stained red.
Back home, she walked along the dusty trail in front of her home. The essence of the bus still lingered along the ground where the tire tracks lay. Tears still rolled down her face. She remembered her last words to him. Although the day was bright, her essence brought gloom to the small town. Every home bore an American flag outside its door in memory of the lost soldier.
He fell to the floor. People say your life flashes before you when you die. For him, all he saw was her. Standing there on the porch, as her figure grew fainter and fainter... and in his mind he heard, "You know that if you ever leave, if you ever get into trouble, there will always be someone here, waiting for you at home. You know that, right?"
The End
