First Short Story

I don't have a title for this yet either. I wrote it for two reasons:

• I saw a public service announcement about the US armed forces
• My friend Kim is going through something similar to this. And every time I think about what she must be feeling it hurts a bit. It's also unedited and unrevised. So really...I dedicate this to her.

“This…this is for you,” the little blonde girl handed Dan a folded sheet of paper. Maddy looked at the girl as she scampered away, grabbing her mother’s outstretched hand. The little girl reminded her of herself some 10 years ago.
“Aw! Maddy, look! It’s me!” Maddy turned her attention back to Dan, who, in the time that she had been day dreaming about her child hood, had opened the sheet of paper to reveal a green man. Maddy’s stomach wrenched. Of course, the green was to represent Dan’s camouflage uniform. A uniform he had to wear when in an airport, traveling to a far off dangerous place.
She looked up at him and his awkward, smiling face. She remembered what she had been told over, and over again. They left teddy bears and came back statues.
“Madison…” always by the full name when he knew she was upset. But she looked away.
“Madison, come on…look at me…I’m still gonna be a teddy bear when I come back! Those oafs need someone like me to lighten their mood! Come on! Don’t do this now…” of course he knew what she was thinking. He always did. It was some kind of clairvoyant entity about his person. Or maybe it’s just that she had complained to him about how he was going to change before. A thousand times before. Maybe because it was all she thought about, so her thoughts were easy to guess.
“How do you know? How do you know you aren’t going to change?”
“Because I’ve been through much worse.”
“Really, Dan? You’ve been through worse than war?” her tone was sarcastic and bitter. But of course, he just smirked back. A playful smirk.
“All right. I guess not. But I’m unchangeable.”
“No one’s unchangeable.”
“I am.”
“Just stop, Dan.”
“Stop what?”
“You know what.”
“No, what do y-“
“This happy go lucky crap!” her voice was loud enough to make everyone turn around. Dan’s face froze. There was no trace of a smile.
“Maddy…come on. Sit down.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a pair of open seats.
“What do you want from me? You want me to be OK with this?” Maddy asked him. His playful manner was gone and he was just staring straight ahead, one of his knees bouncing. She had made him nervous and didn’t even feel bad about it. Good. He should be nervous.
“This is what I want to do. I want to do something. I don’t wanna give you the whole ‘I wanna go fight for my country’ speech because that isn’t even really it. I don’t have anything else but you. I don’t feel accomplished, though, Maddy. I can love you forever, but there’s always going to be something missing…something that I didn’t do, unless I do this. This is important for me. For me to be happy and fulfilled.”
“Why isn’t loving me enough?”
“Stop being selfish.”
“What?”
“That’s selfish. You’re putting me in a corner. There is no right answer to that.”
She shook her head at his unwillingness to answer. He was right. She was trying to start a fight. Maybe he wouldn’t leave if things were sour between them. Maybe he’d stay. Maybe he’d hold her and tell her it was a mistake. Maybe, maybe…
At that moment, she burst into tears. As suddenly as a firecracker goes off, the rivulets started streaming down her face. Her body jerked with each sob. Dan didn’t freeze this time. He slid closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, pulling her in close.
“Maddy, Maddy, please…please don’t do…” his own body jerked as he tried to choke back a sob. “…Don’t do this…”
“Dan, please don’t go…please please please stay home with me, Dan…I don’t want you to go…”
“Passangers for flight AA2330 to Berlin should proceed to gate D6 for boarding,” a female voice spoke over the intercom. Madison’s hands shot out and gripped Dan’s shirt.
“Don’t go...don’t go, don’t go…” she cried, tears still streaming from her eyes.
Dan wiped his eyes in an attempt to dry them. He moved his hands down to hers and held them a moment and kissed her forhead.
He whispered, “Wait for me.” Against her head. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her skin, comfort and tranquility flowed through her, starting from where she had felt his breath. He pulled away in her lapse of consciousness and walked quickly through the gate, to where she couldn’t reach him anymore.
“Dan! Dan, don’t go!” she yelled once more, another sob going through her.
She whispered to herself, lips quivering “Don’t go…”


“…Don’t go.”