Letters From Afghanistan

Letters From Afghanistan - Prologue

Photo of Chris on the side.

Author Note at the end :)

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Prologue...

 

“What? Please tell me this is a joke. Please tell me you're lying.” I pleaded with him. My heart was tearing at the thought of him being sent out there.

 

“Haley, please. You know I'm not lying. I'd never lie to you.” he took a deep breath; the anguish was clear in his eyes. “You know I have to do this. Please don't make this any harder for me to leave.”

 

“What do you mean you have to do this? Weren’t you being sent to Iraq bad enough? Now Afghanistan.” Just saying the word left a bitter taste in my mouth. “Why can't you have a normal job? A doctor, or a teacher, anything is better than this.”

 

“You know I've always wanted to be a soldier. I've trained long and hard for this. I'm ready to go now, and they need me there. I need to fight for my country Haley. You have to understand that.”

 

“Understand what exactly?” I shouted at him. “That they've brainwashed you into thinking you need to fight for them. To go into a war that's not ours to fight? And to top it all off, there's a possibility of you...” I couldn't say it. “And you want me to understand that? To be happy that you're going? Is that what you want?”

 

“Haley! Listen to me. The war might not involve us directly, but our men are out there anyway. They're already fighting for us, and I need to join them. I'm not going to just chicken out and stay here. I've already made my decision. I'm going.”

 

“Bullshit! They made that decision for you! It's not like you have any choice! They tell you to go, and you go. That's always how it is. But what about what you really want huh? Do you really want to go out there and fight like that?”

 

“I made the decision myself when I signed the contract five years ago. I knew what I wanted then, and I still want it now. This is what I've always wanted to do, I've never wanted to be anything else, or do anything else. Why is it so hard for you to understand that this is what I want? Why can't you accept the fact that I'm doing the right thing?”

 

“I'll never accept it Chris. You knew I didn’t want you to join the Army, but you did it anyway. Now you’re all I have left and you know that. What if something happens to you? Huh? What I’m going to do then?” Despite my efforts to stay strong, my voice cracked slightly.

 

“I’m sorry Haley. I can’t promise nothing will happen, but I can promise that I’m going to try my damn hardest to get back here for you okay?”

 

“That’s not good enough Chris. Even you know you might not come back. How can you still go? How can you go out there when you know you might die? That’s not what you wanted as a kid. You wanted to fight for your country, not die for it!”

“This is a war Haley! Of course I might die, what do you expect? They never sugar coated it during meetings and training, we all knew what might happen and I’m not going to do lie to you about it. I’m fighting for my country, and if I die, then I’ve died fighting. I don’t want anything more than that.”

 

“So you want to die now?” I screamed at him. I couldn’t believe this, how can anyone want to die halfway across the world in a war.

“Of course not! I’m just saying that I know there’s a strong chance that I might. And if I do, then I’d be happy I died fighting for what I believe in. I want to go out there and make a difference to the world, not sit around here watching it fall apart.”

 

“I can’t believe this! How can you be so calm about it? Why do I care about what happens to you more than yourself? You’re older than me for god sake! I’m eighteen! I’m supposed to be out partying, and having fun like most teenagers do. Instead, I’m stuck here worrying about you, because my big brother might die half way across the world!”

 

 

“I’m sorry Haley. I know this is hard for you, but you have to understand that this is what I want, this is what I’m meant to do. And there’s nothing stopping you from going out, actually you should go out, it’ll take your mind off it.”

 

I scoffed at that. How could he think clubbing would make me feel any better? Alcohol may make me forget everything, but it’s only temporary. I’ll feel a hell of a lot worse in the morning.

 

 

“I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. You have until then to say goodbye.” He told me.

 

“Bye! There I've said it!”

 

“Fine. Good bye Haley.” he said softly. He moved to hug me but I pushed him away.

“You're going to regret this, you know.” He walked out the door, not bothering to shut it after him. 

 

“I don't care!” I shouted after him, and slammed the door shut.

I leaned my back against the door and slid to the floor. The tears I had been holding back earlier came rushing back full force. I didn't resist this time and a strangled sob left my throat.

He's going. He's really going and there's nothing I can do.

 

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This is a new story idea I got from the BBC3 series, "Our War." I watched the first episode, and it moved me so much to see what they're going through out there in Afghan.

So I wanted to write this to show my support for British and US soldiers.

I'll try and get the first chapter up as soon as  I can.

And for those who think Haley is being a bit harsh on Chris, bear with me, she's going to regret her decision later.

I'm not entirely sure on the title yet, so I'm open to suggestions :)

Please vote, comment and fan.

Harley :)

P.S. I'll be changing the cover soon too, it's not what I had in mind at all. But I can't find anything like the idea in my head, so I might have to draw it or something.