Elora's point of view:

Emmaleigh and I parked the car in the middle of a parking lot in the artsy part of town. This was where all the wealthy young people spent their time. Either partying or drinking, or doing both at the same time. Emmaleigh and I went to an amusement park that sat on the pier. It looked a lot like Coney Island although it was a bit smaller. We still had the same amount of fun there.

"Come on, let's go on some rides!" She said to me excitedly as we paid to get in. I nodded and let her take my hand to pull me to the nearest ride. We came to the roller coaster and decided that we would take that one first.

While we waited in line to take our turns, we came across two young men that were standing ahead of us. One was extremely tall, muscular and had long, blonde hair that went to the bottom of his neck and blue eyes. He couldn't have been more than twenty-five. The other had dark, smooth and thick hair that went around his face. He had small brown eyes but he was quite handsome nonetheless. He was a little shorter than his blonde friend, but he wasn't short. I would assume he was about five foot eleven or ten. They saw us behind them and smiled at us.

"Would you ladies like to go ahead of us? Please," the blonde one said to us. I glanced at Emmaleigh and she raised a brow excitedly. We looked back at the boys and smiled flirtatiously.

"Thank you," Emmaleigh said as we both stepped in front of them. They let us in politely and when we reached the spot, they began to talk to us again.

"My name is Harry Gladwin, and this is my friend Julius Cole," the blonde one introduced. We shook their hands and said hello.

"I'm Emmaleigh and this is my little sister Elora," Emmaleigh replied. Harry must have been at least six foot three, since he towered over Emmaleigh and she was quite tall. She was the tallest out of all the girls in my family and she was only about five foot eight. She took most of her genetics from my father.

"Do you two want to stay with us while we're here? We've just come here from New York and we don't know the city all that well," Julius asked. Emmaleigh nodded although I was about to say no. Usually I would be the one to jump at the opportunity to spend the night with a few boys, but I just didn't want to do that anymore.

"That would be great! What are you two doing in Washington?" Emmaleigh asked.

"We're working. Construction works," Harry answered. We nodded and I kept pretty quiet. There was something about them that irked me a little. They seemed like normal men to the naked eye, but I had this gut feeling that made my spine tingle. Maybe it was the fact that I thought Flynn wouldn't like them. I don't know, I just felt a little uncomfortable when next to them.

"I see. Well, we would love to show you around. We've been to this park since we were little," Emmaleigh replied. It was clear to everyone here who was doing the talking out of the two of us. They felt just as awkward as I did but I was in no fit state to cater to someone else's needs when I could barely attend to my own.

"Sounds amazing. Tell you what. We'll go on this ride and then get some food? Our treat," Harry offered. Emmaleigh nodded and thanked him, I remained silent. The whole time I was thinking of what Flynn would think of me being there. Emmaleigh was busy trying to make conversation while I stood there like I had nothing better to do.

We went on the roller coaster, and it was fun, but that was because we were not with the boys. They had a different cart than us. After though, the mood went down because they offered to feed us beforehand and Emmaleigh never forgot a thing. I had hoped that after the ride she would change her mind, but she was like cement when it came to having a good time. So we went to a small cafe in the pier and ordered some quick food.

"Hello, do you want to go shoot at the targets with me?" Julius asked. I did a little jump as my eyes went from my eaten food to him. I didn't want to. I just wanted to go home. But Emmaleigh glared at me when asked, pressuring me to go so she could talk to Harry.

"Sure," I replied. We left the table and went to the target station right next to us. He paid for us to play and took the gun to try and shoot first. He took a few and managed to hit the target once. He won me a stuffed animal, and when he handed it to me I thanked him. "Do you want to try?" He asked after. I nodded and took the gun from him.

I shot at it the three times we were given, and hit the target each time. I saw as Julius's jaw dropped at my exemplary shot. I didn't treat it as anything too special. Everyone in my family could do this. My father made sure we knew how to use a gun in case we ended up in a bad situation and we needed to defend ourselves. It also tended to work on carnival games, so I had a lot of stuffed animals over the years, needless to say.

"That's amazing! Where did you learn to do that?" Julius asked, impressed. I shrugged my shoulders as I picked out the biggest teddy bear they had. The man at the stand was just as surprised as Julius was.

"I come from a family in the military. I also have an overprotective dad. All of my siblings know how to do this," I said. He held the smaller teddy bear as we walked back to the table. Emmaleigh and Harry were talking to each other from their seats as we sat back down.

"Looks like you won big!" Harry said with enthusiasm. Emmaleigh let out a scoff and laughed as well.

"I suppose Elora didn't tell you she was such a good shot?" Emmaleigh asked. Julius chuckled and shook his head as he rested the bear on the extra seat.

"She's a really good shot!" Julius said. I almost blushed at his compliment. But I was able to feign it off by just smiling at him and thanking him quietly. They didn't say a word about my reserved nature that night, it was most just looks from Emmaleigh. By the end of the night I managed to ignore them.

"Can we see you ladies again?" Harry asked. Emmaleigh nodded and again, I just stood there like I was in purgatory. I didn't have any plans to see Julius or Harry again but I had a feeling my sister was thinking differently.

"That would be great. Just give us a call when you want to hang out again," she replied. They nodded and said goodbye to us as they went back to their car in the lot. Emmaleigh and I were already at our car and getting ready to leave. I waited to get into the car to start talking to her.

"I'm never doing that again," I said. Her eyes widened as she started up the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were my fun sister?" She asked with a laugh. I shrugged my shoulders and thought of my past. I had a life in which I would go with any boy that had the guts to ask. When he did, we would spend the whole night together and then I'd usually never see him again. I had only had a few men stay with me after two weeks. The longest time I ever had with the same man was five months when I was nineteen. Then he went off to university and I never saw him again.

"I'm just not that person anymore. I don't know what to tell you Emmaleigh," I replied. She sighed and shook her head. I crossed my arms on my chest as I sunk into the car seat as we drove.

"You know, you don't have to tell me anything. I get it, you miss Flynn. That's normal, you're human. Either way, I think I'm going to see Harry again. I really like him," she replied. I nodded and leaned my head against the window.

"Good. You two seemed nice together," I replied. I was being genuine but it didn't seem so because I was so tired and all I wanted to do was go home. I didn't mean to make Emmaleigh have a worse time than she could have, I knew I wasn't the best time right now. So did she, she pressed on and tried to make me have fun. I just couldn't do much at the moment. I didn't mean to upset her or ruin her night.

"I'm sorry I made your night shit," I said to her. She chuckled and shook her head at me as she kept her eyes on the road.

"Hey, don't worry. You didn't ruin it at all. I met a nice man, I went on rides, and I have a feeling I'll be keeping these teddy bears. All in all, it wasn't the worst night of my life. Not the best, but not the worst either," she replied. I appreciated how levelled she was being since my behaviour was less than desirable. Emmaleigh was always like that though. It didn't really matter what happened, she always found a way to understand it and make it as justifiable as it could be.

"Do you think anyone is going to fall in love with me?" I asked. My nail grazed along the glass of the window pane. The night had gotten colder and created a frost on it that could be easily scratched off. I didn't look at my sister but I could tell she was chucking a little.

"What's not to love?" She asked. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. That was the generic, sisterly support one gave so they wouldn't have to be honest.

"I'm serious. Do you think there's some person out there that'll think the way dad does of mom and vice versa? Do you think that whoever that person is, their going to find me?" I asked. She sighed and struggled to answer, like she was hesitant in saying what she actually thought. I wanted her to be honest, so I moved my gaze from the window over to her in the driver's side of the car.

"I think you've already met that person, Elora," she replied. Everything paused when she said that to me. Was she talking about Flynn? How was she to know if he was like my father? If he was the one that would protect and love me for years to come? She barely knew him, and quite frankly, neither did I. I had no idea what his intentions were, although I thought they had a deeper meaning than what I already knew.

"I wish I knew you were right," I said.

•••

Flynn's point of view:

Elora,

I wanted to write you a letter. I really don't know why. Something just came over me and I wanted to let you know what I think. When I left, it was rather inconclusive. I barely said goodbye to you and the only memory I have of your face that day is when I saw you in the window. I wanted to have a little bit of closure before I fight in this war.

All I ask of you is that when I get back in a few months, we talk. I want to get the record straight of how our relationship is going to work. Or if we even have one, that is. I don't know what you're thinking or what you've been thinking, only that I need to know where I stand in your life. Please note that I'm not upset nor am I angry, I just want to know.

You have a few months to decide what it is exactly that you think of me. I know how I feel about you, but I won't be telling you in this letter. I'm afraid that if I do your feelings will alter from the truth because of my influence. So, considering that I want to have the full honesty in the way you feel, no questions asked, no sugar coating necessary. I'm not a man to let an idea or feeling hang loose on the hook, I like things to be straightforward and to the point. You can thank the military for that one.

Also know that no matter what happens to us that I will always care about you and relish in the time we did spend together. That night we went out dancing was a complete change of scenery to me. I had never gone out like that before, especially in the company of a woman like you. Please, never forget that you're smart, funny and have the most amazing nature I could ever encounter. I want you to know that in case I don't come out of here alive.

Hopefully this letter will get to you and you can think about what you want. I'm hoping this will also serve as a valid way to contact you for the time being. I really can't call you from all the way on the other side of the world. I wish that I could though. Maybe one day you and I will be able to do something like that. Technologically is anything but cyclical and I'm sure you and I will be alive by the time this happens.

I'll need to go soon, and I should let you know that if you don't wish to reply you don't have to. Although, I would like to hear from you just to know that you're alright. It doesn't have to be a letter about this. We can just talk about what you did in the past week or whatever you like. But again, you don't have to reply. Thank you for taking time to read this, and know I've been thinking about you while fighting in this horrid war.

Sincerely,

Com. Flynn Nash.

I hoped this was a dignified enough letter to send to Elora. As I read it over and over again, I was beginning to lose confidence. I knew that I had to mail it quick before I regretted writing it. So I mailed it later that day and didn't think about it again. I was lucky I had so much to do so I could distract myself from Elora and when she would get the letter. It wouldn't be for at least a few days.

I just wanted to know what she thought of me. If I meant anything to her life at all or if I was just a few days to have fun with. The way she and I spent time together, it seemed like we had a sort of connection, but was it so? I felt like such an idiot. Only idiots talked like this about women they barely knew. I wasn't an affectionate person. Some people even thought I was stoic. I wasn't that, I felt emotion like everyone else, I was just good at hiding it when I had to.

Yet, Elora made it all different. There was a time in which I had nothing better to do than fight and kill people. Then when she walked in and made herself at home, she became the only thing I cared about. I now had nothing better to do but think about her. To wonder what she was doing in Washington or if I was on her mind as much as she was on mine. I hated this feeling yet, I didn't want it to go. It was a perfect kind of foreign, one that was so blissfully unheard of to me. I wanted it gone but I wanted it to stay. I didn't know how to describe it properly. My vocabulary didn't span that far.

Now that the letter had been written, I had to get back to work. Now that the mess from the ambush was cleaned up we were getting ready to start up again. We had only been tracking down small South Vietnamese groups that apparently associated with Viet Cong. It was up to us to be extra careful now, since the killing of people here was becoming more and more delicate. We still had to get rid of groups, but now the war seemed more and more like a courtroom. The president kept coming to have meetings with Vietnam to try and figure things out. POWs were being mistreated and no one was doing anything about it. Not to mention the high ranking soldiers killing the guerrillas were facing murder trials. I didn't understand any of this. All I know was that this wasn't what I signed up for.

Note: At one point in the Vietnamese war, a general was charged with the murder of groups in south Vietnam. It is inconclusive from my research what happened to him, but he isn't a part of this story. In 1968, he would have been, but the time was two years before. People were also facing legal trouble when it came to POW camps, which we already know was not the greatest place to be in any war. Cases flew in of them being horribly mistreated right under the nose of the American presidency. Anyway, just a little bit of information for you. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and be sure to vote and comment. Also follow me! Happy reading!