I Wonder Why

          Silence is never a luxury that is in abundance in this place. There is always something going on to create some sort of noise. But this night is different. This night, the constant sound of movement gives away to hushed stillness. The ongoing shouting and yelling fades away behind silent whispers. The men sit in their tents, overcome by the strange calmness of this night. In one tent, three men are stretched out across their cots as they dream of a place far from here. In another, one man places down a royal flush to win a pot of forty American dollars, a dirty magazine, and three Hershey bars. And in another, a father rereads the most recent letter from his six year old daughter. The camp gives off a faint whiff of imported Irish whiskey.

          And the silence still prevails. Not even the rambunctious celebrating that should be going on can break through this barrier. Or maybe it is something else. Perhaps the silence is just an illusion given off by the ghosts and demons that lurk within the shadows of the night. Eluding the men into a false sense of peace. Only to bring about the nightmares once again.

          The full moon gives off a pale white glow, casting shadows on the desert. A strong wind from the east blows through the camp, tossing about the whiskey aroma. The shadows dance on the back of the wind as it travels from tent to tent. The tent openings are now occupied by the once relaxed men. Their eyes dart about through the shadows as if searching for something. Searching for the faces to appear in the darkness. Those haunting faces of men who once were. They are looking for those hallow faces of the dead that they so often see in their sleep. They are listening and waiting for the screams and cries of those faces to sound out through the dark night. They are waiting for the ground to turn red as it had so many times before. Waiting for the nightmares to come once again.

          But the faces do not show themselves. The screams and cries do not pierce the night air. The ground does not take on that red hue of a man’s insides. The rivers of blood that carry away the useless bodies of both friend and foe do not flow before their eyes. The silence still prevails. It keeps the nightmares at bay as well as the celebration. It keeps everything calm as if preparing the camp for some grand and mysterious even. Tonight is to be these men’s last night in this hell. Tonight marks the end of their services to their country. They are going home, but you would not be able to tell by the silence. Silence is never a luxury that is in abundance in this place. Silence is an unwelcome comfort. It is calm and quiet throughout the camp. Around here, that is not always a good thing.

          The tent openings are empty again. The three privates that had been sleeping before are now dreaming of home once more. The captain deals out the cards again to a few other captains and some of their men, this time for a starting pot of two packs of cigarettes and twelve American dollars. The lieutenant once again rereads the letter from his daughter. They are going home. A moment goes by and they do not hear it. Even in the silence they cannot hear it coming. By the time a sound from the outside world breaks through this barrier it is already too late. There is nothing the men can do. They did not hear it coming.

          Thirty-six hour and about six thousand miles away from that moment, a young girl of six years waits in the airport for her father to get off the plane. But the plane does not even land. She waits with her mother as the hours go by and silently thinks, ‘I wonder why daddy isn’t home yet.’

Reviews

[Michael X]

meagan, this is great, brilliant, it inspires one to write, as i have never written a story, but reading this
creative work of contemplational imaginativeness, draws out thoughts to ponder, the imagery, the detail
to the vision as a whole as well as seperated in circumstances is complex, by showing different views at
at one time, revealing how it all comes full circle, crafty, and really fun to read, the "silence" aspect has a
timeless feeling, to know what its like to give in to deperation, desires of wanting, gambling away the
moment, looking for escapes, your words play well on the readers mind, the ending caps it off with a
touching embrace of heartbreak, this was fun to read, your pen never ceases to amaze me, mike