A Thin Line - Part Two: Love
#2 of A Thin Line
UPDATE: I made some big mistakes with the original version. Like, for example, I origionally wrote the story in third person, then changed it to first person, but forgot to change some of the third person terms (such as he, they, she, etc) to first person (I, we, you). THEN... I changed it back to third person. Some other things I made some mistakes on, which I fixed hopefully.
Honestly, introducing new characters is something I find challenging and not easy to do, and that's all this chapter does really, lays out the foundation for the rest of the story to come. But the man of the hour, our main character, finally shows up. He's a young man from the middle of nowhere about to go fight during world war 2.
Originally when writing this story, I wrote it in third person, then randomly, and accidentally, changed to first person. I went back and changed everything to first person and I hope there's no typos.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate it! If not, go sneak a bite of turkey or ham for 'merica's sake :)
~~FUN FACT: Alice's first name was taken from the video game Alan Wake. Her last name, "Trinette" translates to "innocent little," Damien's last name "Cole" means "Warrior"
The hardest part is always saying goodbye, that's the part he dreaded the most. If he could slip out the back door and be on his way, he would. At the same time, he knew he could not live with himself if he left without saying goodbye to his parents, they would be heartbroken. The young man stood in his old bedroom, a room which he spent years of his life in comfort, and he knew that he would not see this room again for years to come. The room was small but cozy. White walls were illuminated by the afternoon sun beaming into the one window on the far wall. Nothing about his room was fancy or expensive, but he didn't mind; he actually liked it better that way. The only thing on his walls was a calendar, it said March 1944.
He was finishing getting dressed. He put on boots, stood up and flattened out the material of the uniform he was wearing; a name etched into dog tags he put on said, "Cole." He walked over to the one mirror in his room, which was attached to my dresser adjacent to his bed. His heavy military boots clunked on the old hardwood floor beneath his feet. He stood tall and proud in front of the mirror. Looking back at him was a five-foot, eleven, young wolf-dog. His figure resembled that of a German shepherd but with the markings of a Mexican Wolf. The explanation was simple, his mother is a wolf and his father is a shepherd.
In the corner of his eye, a figure appeared in the doorway. Standing there was his mother, Nancy; a short wolf with a kind smile. She walked over to Damien.
"Well, now," she said in her soft voice, "don't you look handsome?"
Nancy was a sweet woman, even if she did have her faults.
"My baby boy's all grown up and heading out into the world." She placed her hands on Damien's jacket, brushing her hands across it as to flatten it out. "Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday I was sending you off to school, now it's the Army..." She had to stop to keep herself from crying.
"Mom?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." She recomposed herself, "It so hard letting go."
She hugged Damien, and he hugged back.
"Your father's downstairs, he's going to want to say goodbye too."
Damien was hesitant. He loved his dad, David. They spent so much time together when his mom couldn't always be there. You see, Damien's mom is a recovering alcoholic. When he was younger, she would drink non-stop for days at a time. Damien often blamed himself for her drinking. She was fine until Damien was born, so it had to be him, right? He hated thinking about it that way, but he couldn't help but think it were true. His father, on the other hand, was very level headed. He gave up drinking totally when Nancy started. He believed somebody had to be sober to raise a child, so he took the initiative.
His mom would go crazy sometimes, yelling, cursing, and breaking things whenever she got drunk enough. David had an amazing ability to quickly, yet gently, get me out of that environment and preoccupy me with different activities. They had a fishing spot not too far from their home they would go to. They'd talk about weird, random things and sometimes just sit in the relaxing quiet when they ran out of stuff to talk about. One time, being kind of ignorant of the subject, Damien asked his dad, "Why does Mom do this?"
And dad responded, "I'm not sure, buddy. Some people make poor decisions and sometimes those decisions can transform a person into someone... unrecognizable. You're mother means no harm, and she loves you more than anything in the world. She's just made some poor decisions, that's all." Damien was unsatisfied, but David looked at him and said, "It'll all be okay, bud. Don't worry."
And it was okay. My Mom was under the weather one day, went to the hospital to find out that her liver was failing. If she continued to drink, it could mean she may have to have a liver transplant. But being a relatively poor family, there was no way we could afford such an operation. Her options basically came down to life or death, and I am thankful she chose life.
Damien would often think back to that lake whenever times got hard. Damien didn't want to make the same mistake his mother did. He promised he would never do anything to hurt the ones he loved, and he would stop at nothing to protect them.
Downstairs, David was standing by the front door; three small bags Damien was bringing along were also there and ready to go whenever he was. His father had a smile on his face, but Damien could tell it was painted on.
He hugged Damien, "I just want you to know... I'm proud of you, son." His words were shaky.
"Thanks, Dad." I replied.
"Remember..." he paused, "stay safe and write often, okay?"
"I will."
He looked as if he had something else to say, but the words wouldn't form. Instead, he patted Damien on the shoulder and picked up one of the bags, "You ready?"
"Yeah..." I picked up the remaining two bags and walked out the door.
Damien's truck was parked by the house. His dad threw the bag he was carrying into the bed of the truck and Damien did the same with the bags he was carrying. He was finally ready to go. David shook his son's hand and patted him on the shoulder again. Nancy was standing on the front porch and waved to Damien, and he waved back.
"Goodbye, Dad."
He shook his head, "Let's not say goodbye, let's say... see you later."
Damien liked the idea of a 'see you later' much more than a 'goodbye,' so he responded, "Alright, see you later."
He got in the truck, started the engine, and put it in gear.
It was about a twenty minute drive to the nearest city, but before heading to the base where Damien was meant to go, he wanted to make a quick detour to see his girlfriend one last time before leaving.
Alice Trinette lived just on the outskirts of the city in a small house. She knew Damien was dropping by and she was waiting for him when he pulled into her driveway. She came running to the truck, and kissed Damien when he stepped out. She was beautiful woman, a feline, mostly cat, but a mix overall. Tannish-red and white fur covered her. She's not every tall and pretty skinny. She often said she wished she was taller, but Damien loved her just the way she was. His favorite part about her, though, was her eyes; they were the most beautiful blue eyes in the world. They were both twenty-one years old and stupidly in love with each other. They won "Most Likely to Be Together Forever" in their high school yearbook, even despite the jokes about how ironic it was for a cat and a dog to be together. They've been going out since their freshmen year in high school, and now, four years later, they're just as madly in love as they were back then.
"There's my soldier." She said.
Damien smiled, too emotionally drained from saying goodbye to his parents to repeat that moment with Alice.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing... I'm alright." He said, even though he was lying through his teeth.
"Are you sure? I can tell when you're upset..."
"...Well, of course I'm upset, Alice. I've been dreaming about joining the military since I was a little kid, but now that the time has come for me to leave... I feel scared."
And that was the truth too. He had no idea what the big, bad world had in store for him.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Damien..." Alice assured him, "actually, I would be more surprised if you didn't feel anything."
She hugged him, and he hugged her back. All that surrounded them seemed to fade away for a brief moment, and for that moment, everything was alright.
"Don't leave me..." whispered Alice.
"I have to... at least for now. I went through training already, I have a duty, a responsibility..."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Alice, there's no one on this Earth I'd rather be with--"
"No, no... I don't want to lose you! Damien, the battlefield is a dangerous place, and I don't know what I would do if I got... bad news..."
The possibility of death was a thought Damien has been trying to avoid, but that does not make the chances go away. Alice continued to hold on tight to him. He couldn't form a response to give her. He could've lied and said that he'd guarantee he would return unharmed, or he could've cause her distress by saying he couldn't promise her anything. He opted not to say anything.
Time passed by quickly as they sat on Alice's front deck and talked. Eventually, Damien had to leave. Once again, he had to put on a brave face and pretend to be okay as he drove off. Many suppressed thoughts raced through his head as he was driving, like 'What are the chances I will die?' and 'Who all would miss me if I were gone?' Faced with the harsh reality of the road ahead, he was more than scared... he was terrified.