Eternal
After discussing a few more things about the plan to break away from the Empire, you change the subject to a more personal nature.
“So other than the slow collapse of the Empire…how have you been doing?” you ask.
“Me? I’ve been okay. Just been taking one day as it comes, I guess in times like this though, that’s about all anyone can do. I’ve just been keeping myself occupied, sometimes hard to do since like I said, it’s relatively peaceful here. Guess our plan might shake thing up a bit though.” Brenda remarks.
“Yeah, hopefully for the better.”
There is a long pause before Brenda continues the conversation
“I just want to say, I appreciated the letter you sent when Roldan died.” Brenda says.
“Well I felt it was only right, I probably didn’t have the words that Gerald might’ve had though.”
“No, they were fine. I was almost just as upset to hear about him as well that day, even though I hadn’t spoken or seen him in years. Had a hard time keeping it together for the next few months, don’t really know how I did it.”
“You’re an Eternal, and you’ll always have an inner strength to carry you through the hard times when you need it.”
“Perhaps. (Sigh) It’s been a few years now and I still think about Roldan. I mean I know there was always the potential for danger, and one of us getting killed was a possibility, but I dunno it just doesn’t seem real at times. I remember when we first started to desire one another, it didn’t seem real either, but then it just felt so right. We knew each other, we grew up together, and we just operated in perfect sync.”
“Yes, Roldan mentioned feeling the same way. He loved you very much.”
“I know.”
“So…where did you bury Roldan?”
“I didn’t. I had his body burned and his ashes spread to the wind outside Fort Glory. He would’ve wanted it that way. He said when he died, he didn’t want some lavish military funeral. Still, a lot of the soldier still paid their respects by standing on the battlements and giving a salute in unison.”
“Well, sounds a lot nicer than what I could do for Gerald. After the mission I dragged his body out of the swamp and back to Sinkhole. The local Empire officials said they wouldn’t bother with a proper funeral since he had no family and that it would’ve been better to just leave him in the swamp. After slamming that pencil pusher’s head into the desk, I went straight to the local undertaker and had him dig a hole for Gerald in the cemetary. Not the most elaborate of funerals, but he deserved a proper buried rather than just being left face down in the mud…though I guess in the scheme of things it hardly matters, its still in the ground and getting eaten by worms…”
“No, no, you did the right thing.” Brenda says reassuringly. “You always did look out for the rest of us in some way. That’s why I never blamed you for Roldan’s death. I knew you would’ve prevented it if you could’ve.”
“Yes, I would’ve.”
“Well, let us not dwell on such dark issues too much longer, we’ve got other things to think about. Better ones for a better future, like you said.”
Brenda smiles at you and you return the gesture.
You feel sort of funny about it, but you briefly wonder if you had still been stationed here instead of Roldan, would you and Brenda gotten together?
“So other than the slow collapse of the Empire…how have you been doing?” you ask.
“Me? I’ve been okay. Just been taking one day as it comes, I guess in times like this though, that’s about all anyone can do. I’ve just been keeping myself occupied, sometimes hard to do since like I said, it’s relatively peaceful here. Guess our plan might shake thing up a bit though.” Brenda remarks.
“Yeah, hopefully for the better.”
There is a long pause before Brenda continues the conversation
“I just want to say, I appreciated the letter you sent when Roldan died.” Brenda says.
“Well I felt it was only right, I probably didn’t have the words that Gerald might’ve had though.”
“No, they were fine. I was almost just as upset to hear about him as well that day, even though I hadn’t spoken or seen him in years. Had a hard time keeping it together for the next few months, don’t really know how I did it.”
“You’re an Eternal, and you’ll always have an inner strength to carry you through the hard times when you need it.”
“Perhaps. (Sigh) It’s been a few years now and I still think about Roldan. I mean I know there was always the potential for danger, and one of us getting killed was a possibility, but I dunno it just doesn’t seem real at times. I remember when we first started to desire one another, it didn’t seem real either, but then it just felt so right. We knew each other, we grew up together, and we just operated in perfect sync.”
“Yes, Roldan mentioned feeling the same way. He loved you very much.”
“I know.”
“So…where did you bury Roldan?”
“I didn’t. I had his body burned and his ashes spread to the wind outside Fort Glory. He would’ve wanted it that way. He said when he died, he didn’t want some lavish military funeral. Still, a lot of the soldier still paid their respects by standing on the battlements and giving a salute in unison.”
“Well, sounds a lot nicer than what I could do for Gerald. After the mission I dragged his body out of the swamp and back to Sinkhole. The local Empire officials said they wouldn’t bother with a proper funeral since he had no family and that it would’ve been better to just leave him in the swamp. After slamming that pencil pusher’s head into the desk, I went straight to the local undertaker and had him dig a hole for Gerald in the cemetary. Not the most elaborate of funerals, but he deserved a proper buried rather than just being left face down in the mud…though I guess in the scheme of things it hardly matters, its still in the ground and getting eaten by worms…”
“No, no, you did the right thing.” Brenda says reassuringly. “You always did look out for the rest of us in some way. That’s why I never blamed you for Roldan’s death. I knew you would’ve prevented it if you could’ve.”
“Yes, I would’ve.”
“Well, let us not dwell on such dark issues too much longer, we’ve got other things to think about. Better ones for a better future, like you said.”
Brenda smiles at you and you return the gesture.
You feel sort of funny about it, but you briefly wonder if you had still been stationed here instead of Roldan, would you and Brenda gotten together?