A NEW CINDERELLA STORY

Him

I take a few deep breaths before walking out into the street. I notice which General this is, General Jace Carelwamenta.

"Commander Marella reporting for duty, so you can stop barking like a dog, and start chasing your own tail," I announce. The troop commander draws his attention towards me. I actually see hints of a smile.

"Commander, you are now a sergeant, until we can get you back to a base, and onto a plane," I nod as he says his words. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir, clear as the bathroom mirror!" I call, he chuckles a little before announcing the next move. 

"MOVE OUT!" Jace calls. He leans over and whispers into my ear, "It's good to have your jokes back, well, I guess having you here too is beneficial, Captain Izy." I laugh. 

"Yeah, is benefits you keeping your job, Cowboy J," I have always loved our little nicknames and jokes, sometimes they were all that kept me going through my years in the Air Force. My smile is hinted on my face, and that's enough to show General Carelwamenta that I believe that it's good to see him. "If I knew it was you looking for me, then I would have met you on the dirt road." His eyes shine with laughter. 

"I'm serious, it's good to see you," He gives me a half hug, I can tell how hard Jace is trying to not smile, but he can't smile, it's uniform. 

"I know," I whisper into his ear, smirking at him. 

"Private Begorino seems to know you well," it's more of a question than a statement. It takes me a moment to realize that he's talking about John. 

"Oh, um, we ​were​ childhood friends," I reply, trying to extend that "were" as much as possible. 

"What's that supposed to mean, are you two more than that now?" Jace asks, a teasing tone is his voice. It takes everything I have not to fall over laughing. 

"No, absolutely not. None of that 'lovey dovey' stuff. I just haven't really been friends since I was six and a half," I say, holding back a fit of laughter. I look around at the recruits, the people who were drafted. I see a seventeen-year-old boy, with sparkling blue eyes. Jace glances at me, still with a smile of his goofy face, the smile disappears as he takes a secondglance at my face. I can see him at the edge of my line of vision, he stares in the direction that I am looking. 

"Are you thinking about Benjamin again?" Jace seems to see right through me. I nod. 

"That boy, he looks just like him," I can hear my own voice crack. I can feel hot tears stinging the edges of my eyes, I force them back. My eye catches another boy, thirteen-years-old. With the eyes of a speckled owl. Anger threatens the edges of my face. "And that one looks just like, just like," I don't have to finish my sentence to know that Jace knows who I'm talking about. 

"It's been a long time, but I personally will never forget that day. That night, you became my hero, you became a lot of people's hero. The world lost a good soldier that day, they lost an incredible boy, too." His face shows so much awe. 

"I know," I sigh, "I know." We walk in silence. I laugh a little after a minute. "I really bummed the moment didn't I, Commander Carelwamenta?" Jace looks at me and raises an eyebrow, which gives me the urge to laugh for real. 

"You know what? You really did, you gone and done wrong." Jace I obviously struggling to keep a straight face. "You are now da worst soldier ever, you are officially the most depressed person in the area, and all because you brought back a shadow, a shadow that is going to rummage through your mind and haunt you. All because you brought it up." Jace's face breaks character near the end. "No, you didn't, it's high time that we realize that we can keep memories alive, but you, we, don't have to mourn. We are almost adults, not quite old enough to be on our own, but we are, and we have to fight our own battles, even against ourselves, especially against ourselves. That doesn't mean that we can't be sad over a, bad memory, but we can still be happy thinking about him. 

"Jace, er, General Carelwamental," he smiles at my old nickname, "That was perhaps, the most inspiring thing to ever leave your mouth. You done right." I nod, and give him a huge smile. "Thank you." I squeeze his  hand and fall in, he stares at me in disbelief, let's just say that I don't ever tell him how much I appreciate him.