2 little wolves

A final family meeting before a war

A cold wet morning. Their steps could be heard over the surrounding vegetation, making their way through the street. She had a quick pace, making him struggle to keep up. Finally they reached the military base. She approached the gate and touched the button:

“2146 Please”

Suddenly the door opened and a man showed his face. He looked at her holding his umbrella, and through his stern figure, a smile appeared. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. She raised her head from his chest.

“Do you really have to do this?”

“You already know the answer to that, did you bring him?”

“Answer me…do you really have to do this, why must it be you, can’t they find somebody else?

He looked away not wanting to have this conversation again. The war had made him uneasy, and now that he was being sent to the front, his blood pulsed with anger and fear, wanting no more than to get it over with.

“Did you bring him?”

From behind the woman a little boy appeared. Below his thick strands of hair, a pair of big brown eyes awaited. The man lowered himself to the kid and hugged him.

“Do you remember what I thought you?

“A-ha, no crying” even though it was taking everything he had just to keep his composure and not burst into tears

“That’s it, you’re the man of the house now. ”, a cliché he had heard in war movies, ironic how life turns out sometimes. Luckily, this kid had no such info, he had no script.

“No dad, I don’t want you to go, you’re the man of the house, please don’t leave us…, I’m going to count to 5, and I’m done you’re going to come home with us”. If only he knew how much the man desired to make that wish come true.

“Vlad, listen to me. Focus, the time for games is over, remember the story about the 2 little wolves?”

“Three little pigs dad”

Damn, this war was affecting him more than he thought.

“No son, 2 little wolves. A big wolf and a little wolf. They share a pack no matter where they are.

 They shared a smile.

Getting up he looked at her again. He always had a vague idea about what was going through her mind but he could rarely put a finger on it. They had known each other from way back before the tanks, the planes,  the hunger, before all this had come about.

The raging storm brewing inside her soul was the sum of ten megatons of TNT exploding at once. She was emotional and while looking at him, her hand cupped  Vlad’s little fingers. These were the only men in her life. She had lost everything, and her desire to live was resting on seeing them breathe.  

He approached her mouth with his ear and heard the only thing that needed to be said:

“If you die, and they send you back to me in a body bag, all your promises will have been for nothing, and you will die a liar, making me think that you were the wrong man. Do not worry, I will find some other dad for Vlad, if you go out and get killed like some hero in a cheap novel”.  Sometimes he thought what cosmic venom was flowing through her veins, but he loved every drop of that venom.

He looked at her thinking : when did she put on weight, looking at her wrinkles and looking at her aging but still beautiful eyes, Vlad’s eyes.

She had been in the rain during this conversation leaving the umbrella to Vlad. Now she took it back, and turned around, looking at the man. He had to come back to her, he just had to.