“How to Tell a True War Story”

As Michelle walks into her door on a nice summer afternoon, the breeze blowing very lightly, she hears a voice.
“Ms?”
“Ms. Lemon”
She turns around to see the mailman approaching.
“I have a letter for you Ms.” He continues to say.
As she reaches out her hand another calming breeze blew, her long brown hair whisks up, her bright green eyes blink, she feels a tug at her lavender dress. Before taking the note she turns around to pick up her three year old niece, whom she was taking care of.
A sweet little girl she was, short, with dark brown curly hair, eyes as blue as the sky, and a polka-a-dot red dress. An ambitious little three year old just like her father.
After picking up the little girl, Michelle gives out her hand again to take the letter. It was a brown rough letter, as though it had been through a hard time in the mail. A little torn and some water spots.
“Thank you” She says with a puzzled look on her face.
She puts the little girl down.
“Katie” She says with a soft tone, as the little girl grabs for a picture of her dad on a shelf to high for her. Michelle puts the letter down on a pile of papers, as she found is unusual to receive a letter that she had not in over 2 years. Oblivious to what is said: “US Army Private Kiely on behalf of Curt Lemon”
She picks out the picture of a man in an army suit, and kneels down to little Katie.
“Here you go Katie a picture of daddy.”
The little girl says nothing but her eyes start to water up.
“He’ll be home soon baby” Michelle says.
“A few more weeks and daddy will be here.”
Katie ran off, as Michelle starts to tear up herself. She misses her brother Curt. Only 20 and given the responsibility of a lifetime. When she was 18 Curt asked his little sister to care for baby Katie, who was only one at the time. The baby know her daddy very well, Michelle showed her his picture every single day.
She was glad that her brother would be coming home from his 2 years. She was anticipating it. She would finally be able to go to college after graduating from high school two years prior. Michelle sat down on the brown sofa took out a torn picture of her brother, which was once whole with his girlfriend who abandoned Curt and Katie right after she was born.
Finally the days passed, it was the day for her brother to come home. Michelle wanted to surprise Katie. She dressed her up in a bright pink dress with little white shoes. Katie didn’t know what was going on, Michelle kept telling her, “We’re going to the store.” To little Katie it was just another day. But as for Michelle, she was excited, she knew her older brother was about to step foot into her front door.
Hours passed, Michelle was getting nervous. Thoughts in her head, “Oh the flight was late,” and “he missed the bus to come home.” She sat there all day with Katie who was on and off asleep. But no Curt insight. As night came, she put the baby to sleep, and hoped that through the night she would hear a knock at the door and it would be Curt.
As the days passed, there was no Curt. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months... Months turned into years. No Curt.
14 years later, Katie was 17; she and her Aunt Michelle were getting ready to go to a trip to Europe. While packing, she came across an old tattered box. She grabs it an opens it and finds old pictures of her father.
“Shouldn’t you be packing” Michelle says, as she walked into the room.
“Yes well um I found this” Katie hands over the box.
“Where did you find this? I have been looking for this for years now”
“In my closet behind all the other boxes”
They started to look through the pictures.
“Whatever happened to daddy” Katie asked.
“Katie…I’m not sure I have asked everyone myself, no one seems to have any answers, he went to war and never came back.”
As Katie grabs a handful on pictures an envelope falls out. It was brown with faint writing on it.
Michelle grabs the letter and realized it was never opened. She remembers this letter, she thinks back to 17 years before, with the mailman who is now her husband. She remembered she never read the letter and forgot it ever came.
She opens it and reads it, she reads Kiely’s letter he wrote to her 17 years ago. She starts to cry. It was about her brother, her brother who was killed. She explains to Katie what is written in the letter.
Unknowing of what to do next they decided to get a hold of Mr. Kiely.