Flowers of Despair

The ringing phone filled her with dread. She knew it was a matter of time before they would call and say it was her husband is the next unlucky soul to not come home safe and sound. Her trembling fingers answered the phone.

"Hey Shannon did you hear from the office yet on whether Vic was coming home?" Shannon visably sighed when she realized the person calling was Annette, her friend and fellow army wife.

"No, I thought it was them calling now. I mean how could they not know, the bomb went off two days ago. I hate this waiting the dread. The kids are starting to wonder too. Thank god they are only three and don't realize much of what is said on the television."  Shannon looked over to her children, they were beautiful in her opinion. Her little boy looked just like his father, he had the deepest brown eyes with flecks of gold amoung them and strawberry blonde hair. He was rambuctious and loved to get rough and tough. Where as his twin sister was very far from her brother, she had forest green eyes and her fathers strawberry blonde hair, but it fell in tight curls like my hair.

"Just be thankful that you haven't gotten the call yet, that could be a good thing. You got to not think dispair Shannon, think of a happier time and you will see him in your arms again." She sat on the couch and thought back to when she saw him off.

Tears were in my eyes but I refused to cry in front of Victor. He was smiling and had his strong arm wrapped tightly around my waist. It would be his second tour and he made it home the first time just in time for his children’s birth. But this time he would be gone for a year. So much could happen in a year. I felt his hot breath against my skin.

“Don’t worry babe, I will be home before you know it. In your arms, swinging you around and kissing those lips I love so much.” I leaned in closer to him, despite the stifling texas summer heat, in his arms is the only place I wanted to be. The children who were now up and starting to walk were with my mother for the afternoon.

"I don't worry, I fear you won't come home." I wrapped my arms around his neck and his large hands encased my sides.

"I will do anything to come home, even if it means that I have to crawl the whole way with no legs I will, nothing will keep me from you, Alex or Alicia." He leaned down and gave me one of those soul touching kisses, the ones that make me feel complete yet so lonely when his lips leave mine. He placed his hat back on his head and with one last look of longing he boards the bus with his squad. I knew I would see big things out of him, but I never knew I would fear for the life we built. I turned sadly to my friend as she finished her goodbye. Her man was off to war to. I knew that the day I married him, he would fight, protect. It is who he is. Ann, placed her arm around me and with smiles we wave our men off.

His tour was almost up, but during a 24hr stealth mission his group was getting tired and before they could react the bombs were flying and the curch they stood in was collapsing around him, his squad had walked into a trap.

It hit the news within hours and the woman in this twenty man squad feared for their son, father, husbands. Tweleve of the wives, and mothers had gotten calls and for those eight it was nothing but a waiting game for the hammer to blow. Shannon walked back up to her children's room when there was a knock on the door. She made sure her children were still down for a nap when she walked down and there stood two army commanders with their hats off.

"Mrs.Winters?" The first man asked, he looked well into his thirty's, his olive complexion and blue eyes looked sad.

"Yes." The second officer stepped forward.

"Mr. Winters was found at twenty one hundred hours. Im sorry mam but he was pronounced dead on the scene, he had died admirably and was a hero. He saved the rest of his squad." The pain Shannon felt was unbearable, the pain of twenty hour labor paled in comparison to this, she felt as if her heart was stopped, frozen till it shattered into tiny pieces.

"Mam, he died a hero." Shannon didn't care that he was a hero, that he died saving everyone else, his last words replayed in her mind. There was nothing left for her to say. Her lover and soldier was gone. She broke down and held on to her children as if they were still him on this earth. He promised her a return home but she knew it would of never been safe. Annette stood with her at the funeral and Shannon just watched as they lowered her husband into the ground. All the dreams would forever stay that way. All she was thankful for was that he wasn't hurting, he didn't have to deal with the pain of life anymore. On the darkened day as the flowers by his grave died a lone ray of light reflected on the ageing face of Shannon as she replaced the floweres on her husbands grave. She knew that no matter the weather that ray of light was her husband guiding her home.