Ad Astra Per Aspera is the sequel to The Soldier of Stars.
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Waking up disoriented and inside a hospital, that has the dingy army issued light bulbs, the rough cots and the smell of despair is not how Hazel thought her new year would start...
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" Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions."
- Dalai Lana
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Within the coming days, Hazel was getting stronger, standing and moving by herself. She ate, she showered, she would get her bandages changed by Amelia who always spent her coffee breaks chatting with Hazel and Jem.
As the days of January passed, the trio spent more time then they thought they would together. And Jem was getting his weight back up to normal as well, he was eating and drinking and he smiled more.
Hazel remembered seeing him those days curled on the cot in Bastogne. He looked healthy and with help from Amelia, the trio would get their walk in around the place, getting Jem's bad leg up to speed. But Jem always said that if he didn't have his guardian angel, Hazel Parker, he felt he never would've gotten up on his feet and he would've let himself rot on that bed for the rest of his dwindling days.
Hazel sat down at breakfast on the 26th of January, and gently ate her fill of bacon and eggs. Until Jem slid in, in front of her and held up a picture. It was of a woman, standing with a little dog in her arms.
" Who's this?" Hazel asked reaching forward to gentle take the fragile pictures in her hands, eyes wide in awe.
" That's Phoebe, and her puppy, Emmy, back home in Pennsylvania." he said with a soft smile, looking fondly at the picture in her hands.
" Is she your girlfriend?" Hazel asked softly, a gentle smile on her lips. Jem smiled.
" Yes, yes she is," Jem said, " I've taken this from Normandy through Holland, Bastogne and now here, I've always loved her, since the 2nd grade." Hazel's heart melted.
" She's beautiful, Jem." Hazel said staring at the photo with a soft heart. Hazel handed Jem back the photo and smiled gently.
" What about you?" Jem asked, " I'm sure you have a few lucky men lined up back in America." Hazel blushed and shook her head almost bashfully.
" No, I don't," she said looking down, " I was only 18, and I was too young for all that." Jem watched her softly.
" Anyone in mind?" Jem asked, with a slight smirk but she just giggled and shook her head.
" No," she said, even though her heart gave a slight tug and she frowned a bit at the feeling.
" Where's home for you, Jem?" Hazel asked him, " I know you mentioned Pennsylvania." Jem smiled and leaned forward a bit, looking fondly into basically nothing.
" State College, Pennsylvania." he said with a nod, " Born and raised." Hazel smiled.
" What's it like out there?" Hazel asked him, with shining eyes.
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