Chapter 1
Another soldier dropped as a gun shot sounded in the air. Anne Knight rushed to the poor soldier’s side, hoping she could save him. But, she was too late. Blood was gushing out of his chest, near his heart. The enemy’s bullet had hit the target. Anne hated this part of being a military nurse. Ever since her boyfriend had been shot, her heart reached out to these young men like it never had before. As she carried him back to her tent, Anne wondered what this soldier had been like. Several questions flooded her mind, but none of them could be answered. After she sat him down on her bed, tears began to stream down her face like a waterfall. She guessed this boy had a family, maybe even a girlfriend. They didn’t even know he had died yet. In fact, they probably still thought he’d be coming home for Christmas. But, he wouldn’t be. Then, Anne’s thoughts turned to Jenson. He had been her high-school sweetheart, and they had even graduated together. Not long after Jenson’s 18th birthday, he received a draft paper in the mail. Anne and Jenson didn’t want to be separated, so she went with him to be an army nurse. They shared 2 years together in the military. She painfully thought back to the day that Jenson had been killed.
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Anne woke up feeling refreshed for a new day. Climbing out of bed, she looked at her laundry bin. It would need to be washed today. She sighed as she realized her work would never be done. After changing into work clothes, Anne was about to go wash her laundry when Jenson walked into her tent.
“Good morning, sweetie,” he called out to her.
She smiled. He always made Anne happy no matter what.
“Good morning to you, too, handsome,” she replied, returning the compliment.
Hugging her from behind, Jenson asked what she was up to so far. Anne didn’t want to tell him that she had slept in that day, so she simply replied that she was relaxing. It was true, too. After he walked in, she felt relaxed. They ate a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs before Jenson left to join up with his troop of soldiers.
“I love you, Anne. See you tonight,” Jenson reassured her before leaving the tent.
“Wow,” Anne thought to herself. “How could one man be so lovely?”
Little did she know that would be the last breakfast they would ever share together. Later in the afternoon, Anne was outside washing the laundry whenever she heard a gunshot. She looked around for Jenson, spotting him in the distance just as he fell to the ground. She ran for what seemed like miles to get to him. As she ran, she wept and yelled out his name. Jenson was barely alive whenever she reached him. Anne grasped his hand in hers and told him that she was there and she loved him. Jenson could hardly get the words out, but he said that he loved her, too. Then, he breathed his last breath, and died, holding her hand. Anne slumped over him, the sobs billowing out of her like they never had before. The love of her life had just died. She had no one. Jenson had been her everything. When the crying slowed down, she looked up towards Heaven. “Why, God? Why?” she desperately called out.
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Ever since that day, Anne had nightmares that went back to that very moment when he died. That was her Jenson that had given his life to protect the country that he loved so very much. Anne still had anger in her heart towards the enemy soldiers. Each day, she hoped the war would end so that no more would be killed. Watching people die was a horrible thing. She knew everyone would die someday, but she didn’t think anyone should have to die that brutal of a death. During moments like these, Anne wished she would have become a regular nurse. Yes, people still died in that career, but not near as often. Some of her fellow nurses had quit the job because they were so emotional. All they could do was cry. Anne cried some of the time, but not near as much as they had. A voice from outside of her tent interrupted her thoughts.
“Hello? Anybody here that can aid a wounded soldier?”
She jumped to her feet to open the tent flap for the man.
“Yes, I’m a nurse,” she said. “Sorry that I didn’t hear you approach. I was caught up in something else.”
He nodded and smiled. He understood. After the soldier had entered the tent, Anne closed the flap. She motioned for him to lie down on her cot, but then remembered the dead body.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot about this unfortunate soldier.” As she bent down to lift the lifeless body up, the young gentleman intervened.
“Do you need me to do that? He looks pretty heavy for a small lady like you to be carrying him.”
She nodded for him to go ahead. As he picked the soldier up, the man glanced at the dog tags. A few tears rolled down his cheeks as the soldier took the fellow comrade outside. Anne had pity for him. That was obviously his friend that died. She sent up a silent prayer for the grieving soldier before he returned. After about 5 minutes, he came back to be bandaged up. As he lay down on the cot, the man asked Anne what her name was. She was taken back by his question because everybody always referred to her as just ‘nurse’.
“My name is Anne Knight. What is your name?” Before replying, he took off one of his many dog tags and gave it to her to keep.
“My name is Malachi Peters. You can keep that so you remember me when this war is finally over.”
She smiled gratefully. She would cherish that gift for the rest of her life. As she examined the deep wound, they made conversation.
“Is your job difficult, Anne?” he curiously asked her.
She about laughed aloud, but stopped herself because she thought it might seem rude. Of course her job was hard.
“Yes, it’s very difficult. Taking care of people’s needs isn’t very hard, though. The hard part is watching young men like you die out there,” she said, motioning outside.
He nodded understandingly. He had to watch his comrades die, too. As she prepared the bandage with antibiotics to keep the wound from getting infected, Anne noticed Malachi looking at her funny. When she questioned him about it, his response surprised her.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
She made no comment as her eyes clouded over with tears. Why did everyone have to remind her of Jenson? He was her first true love, and the pain was still there. Couldn’t he see that?
“I used to, but he died 4 years ago in the war.” Her tears came slowly, but quickly increased.
He had a look of pity on his face as she wept. He obviously hadn’t meant to bring back painful memories. Malachi had just been curious. Sheepishly, he got off of the bed and put his arms around Anne, trying to comfort her. Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away. Anne buried her face in his chest as she tried to control the sobs, but they just got louder and louder. She still missed Jenson terribly. As her tears slowed down, she raised her head and thanked Malachi for being there.
“You were here, just when I needed somebody to comfort me. Thank you, Malachi,” she said, drying her tears.
“No problem. You’re really brave to do this job. Sometimes it’s good just to have a little cry.”
She was relieved that he wouldn’t call her a baby or a wimp for crying. She had no nurse friends, so she found refuge in the soldiers. Anne felt safe that way. As he walked out of her tent a while later, Malachi glanced over his shoulder and winked, which was obviously his way of saying good-bye. Anne smiled, watching him leave. Maybe he was interested in her. She was now very anxious to find out more about this soldier. Then she slowed herself down …. she would not get too attached to another soldier, regardless of how cute or sweet he was. Just about the time she would, he’d die, and Anne’s heart would break for the second time. But, it wouldn’t hurt to investigate this attractive fellow…….
