The Letter

I can't believe it.  A post before 12:00.  Simply incredible.

Less Alexard, more Camalie.  Hehe...get it?...yeah, moving on.

As usual, this is based on a writing prompt.  "Write about a letter that changed the recipient's life forever."  This conveniently applied to Natalie.

Natalie drew a sharp breath as she read the back of the envelope.  It was from the army base.  With both excitement and fear she slit it open.  Dad? She guessed, pulling a glossy white paper out and starting to unfold it.  Here eyes caught part of a sentence and her heart nearly stopped.  "We regret to inform you..." Closing her eyes, she stood still and silent for a moment, trying to calm her pounding heart.  Dad had once sat her down and explained what would happen if she received a letter from the army containing those words, but she'd never actually believed it would happen.  Maybe her fears were foolish and it hadn't happened.  She repeated this hope over and over to herself as she unfolded the letter and started to read its contents.

 DEAR MRS. AND MS. ROSS,
We regret to inform you that while selflessly serving his country in the military, ADRIAN ROSS has been killed in action.

Natalie's heart nearly burst to pieces as the letter dropped from her hands onto the floor.  She fell back onto a chair behind her, breathing hard.  Tears gathered in her eyes.  She curled into a miserable ball and wept silently.
Her mother entered the room and saw her shaking form.  "What's wrong, Nat?" she exclaimed.  Natalie didn't move and willed her to go away, but Ingrid walked toward her and stopped to pick up the letter.  Natalie held her breath, waiting to hear her mother's reaction.  She heard a gasp, a choke, and a small cry of "Adrian!" before Ingrid fled the room and Nat was again alone in her anguish.

After what felt like hours, Natalie slowly lifted her tear-streaked face and stared dully at the envelope still lying on the table.  A gleam of metal caught her eye, and she slowly raised herself and pulled it gently out.  It was a dog tag.  The tears returned as she read the inscription.
                                                                 ROSS, ADRIAN

Trembling, she hung it around her neck and laid back down, clutching her precious relic as if her soul depended on it.


Yes, that was very short.  Couldn't help myself; I was too excited about posting it before 12:00.  Hope you enjoyed.

Related posts: Character Post: Cameron Walker, Character Post: Natalie Ross, The Promised Blurb, Character Post:: Jesse and Anna [???], Character Post: Richard, Inspired By A Prompt, Colin's Coming (Writing Prompt), Maybe Not Quite So Deluxe..., Blog Post. 'Nuff Said., A Blast, Lost and Found and then Lost Again