#346 – A Tour of Jamaica

“Kyle!” A voice called out, forcing him to pause, “Kyle!”

He looked back and blinked back in surprise as she came practically flew into his arms, leaving him barely enough time to drop his bag.  “Ashley?  I thought you weren’t coming.”  Kyle asked, bewildered.  Before he’d left that morning, words were exchanged and tempers flared.

Ashley hugged him tightly, “I know.  I wasn’t going to.  But then I knew that if I didn’t, I might never see you again.”  Kyle held her close to him, ignoring the people around them.  For a moment, they were the only two souls left on the planet.  Finally, Ashley spoke up again.  “I hate that you’re leaving and I hate why you’re leaving but I still love you and I would hate myself if I never said goodbye.”

He let out a small chuckle as he kissed the top of her head, “Babe, it’s only Jamaica.  I’ll be back in nine months, I promise.”

“But the news said it’s getting worse.  That the war could be on the beaches soon.  There’s even talks about enemy forces already behind the lines.” Ashley responded, getting worked up again.

“I know.  And that’s why I have to go.” Kyle replied, gently pulling her back into a hug, “Because if things do go bad and the Brazilians do show up, they need us there to stop them.”

“When did things get so bad, Kyle?  Why can’t they just stop?”

“I don’t know hun.  But I promise to do my best to stop them and come home.”

“By Christmas?” Ashley demanded.

“By Christmas.” Kyle replied with a nod as he let her go and picked up his bag.  “I promise.”

“I love you Kyle.”

“I love you too.”

The couple kissed one more time as the plane called for final boarding.  Little did they know that the war was going to take a very dramatic turn very soon.

Behind the Random: A tour of Jamaica?  That sounds boring.  How can I change that up?  Maybe make it a ‘tour’ of a person named Jamaica?  That has merit.  Or maybe a different sort of tour, like a tour of duty in Jamaica…wait, I have a story about a war in that area already.  Ding ding, we have a story.

The creative process is interesting sometimes.

#93 – Pick a Country…

…and imagine we’ve been at war with it for fourteen years.  Write a love story set in that world.

I carried Judy’s picture for two years.  No matter where I ended up, it was always there in my breast pocket close to my heart.  She never left my thoughts, even when I was sure the Brazilians would get me for sure.  And on those hot humid nights, when the rain wouldn’t stop pouring and I could barely breathe, the thought of her laying next to my in bed, softly snoring, gave me strength to carry on.  I would write her letters everyday and get responses back, letting me know how she was and that she missed me.

Even when my unit got ambushed in Chile and I was taken prisoner, I knew I’d come home to her.  It was never a question of if, only when.  No matter what they did to me, I held on for her.  As the days turned to weeks and hunger and pain was all the world that I knew, Judy was my light to bring me back.  The day they discovered her picture and took it away was one of the most devastating blows they could have ever dealt me, but I persevered.

In my faith, I wasn’t surprised when the bombs fell and military moved in, freeing us all.  Then, I couldn’t get home fast enough.  I had to see Judy, to touch her, to let her know that I was okay and I would never her again for as long as we lived.

As I approach the house, I see her sitting on the porch waiting.  Mom told me that’s all she did, everyday.  Just sit and wait for me.  We pull up and she perks up with attention.  Then I get out and she’s already off the porch and across the yard.  She plows into me, nearly knocking me to the ground and popping my stitches, but I only laugh as I put my arms around her.

I can barely keep her still as she nuzzles my head and licks my cheek, her tail wagging furiously.  After a few minutes, I’m finally able to get her off of me and I head into the house to see my parents.  Judy is close by my side, as if promising to never let me out of her sight again.

Behind the Random: As soon as I read the assignment, I knew this wasn’t going to be about a person.  I can’t think of anything more boring than writing about two people in love.  But the loyalty of a person and their dog always tugs at the heart with me.  Oh, and why Brazil as the country?  Because they’re rarely international news unless it’s soccer related and it was the first major country that popped into my head that isn’t already engaged in a war or controversy already.