All Is Lost In Love and War | Teen Ink

All Is Lost In Love and War MAG

September 18, 2008
By Molly Lorenz BRONZE, Georgetown, Massachusetts
Molly Lorenz BRONZE, Georgetown, Massachusetts
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

As a Southern boy, I know all about warmth, both physical and emotional. My dad died before I was born, but my mom always had plenty of pictures of him around, and she’d talk about him all the time. She’d constantly tell me that you only get one life, one love, and one chance to lead, so don’t take it for granted. I asked her if Dad was her one love, and she said he was her whole life, and the only one she would have as my dad, whether he was gone or not. At the time I accepted this and went ­outside, the warm summer air seeping into my skin like a hug from the man himself. Now, however, I’m cold, I’m wet, I’m hungry, I’m exhausted, my mother died, and though I don’t know where I am, I know it’s some small, forgotten piece of Europe.

Who would live here? Milo tells me to keep an open mind: all the nothing around us is made by men, and it’s up to men to fix it. Milo has been my bunkmate since we arrived here 48 hours ago. Milo’s not even that friendly; he seems the kind of kid whom the other kids back at home would pick on, but I can’t make out why. I figured it out eventually though: the reason was, Milo wasn’t his brother.

Robbie, Milo’s brother (at least that’s what I think Milo said his name was), played quarterback at their high school. He was the kid who never said no to anybody, and while he wasn’t necessarily the smartest fellow, he got along all right. Milo never really had any super exciting stories of his own to share, but he always came up with some crazy story about a stunt his brother had pulled. I swear Milo idolized Robbie; I don’t know what would happen if Robbie died.

So, the next morning Milo gets a letter from his mom, and I catch a glimpse of the name “Robbie.” It must be an update. That’s all we ever say about our letters, they are just updates, even when they’re not and your mother is telling you they lost the family farm or something. It’s not that we’re cold-hearted or anything, there’s just no room for emotional baggage when we’re being shot at.

I, of course, never got letters, I don’t have any friends back home, I have no family, and that’s probably the reason I am writing this journal, to have something to read that’s not just my dog tag. Anyway, Milo disappears after he gets the letter, which nobody really notices, since he’s quiet as a church mouse and all. But after breakfast, I go into our tent and am surprised to find him there.

His hazel eyes are just staring at the letter that his hands no longer clutch but rather hold by gravity. ­Milo has a great life back home in Michigan, as far as I’ve heard. His fiancée works at the local diner – a beautiful brunette named Georgia who aspires to be a first-grade teacher. His mother, Jennabelle, makes the best peach cobbler in the tri-county area, at least that’s what Milo always says. His older sister is married with three kids, helping to run his father’s farm. Lastly, his older brother is fighting on the Pacific front, while Milo and I are doing the same on the ­European front. In fact, the worst thing I can think of for him to be reading on that sweaty, limp piece of paper is that his brother has died. I rule that out when I hear Milo mutter the only words I’d hear him speak for the next two days. Milo is rather shy, so to hear him say that he is going to “kill him” is rather serious. The question isn’t when, where, with what or why – but who? Who is this “him” he’s talking about? Milo doesn’t seem to notice me, so I deduce I am not going to be killed today – at least not by my bunkmate.

Eventually, I find out the man to be killed is a soldier, Milo’s brother. I shouldn’t fear my friend whose girlfriend just dumped him for his own brother! I really shouldn’t want to run into battle and not be near Milo, but all I can see when I look at him is his smiling face telling me something he said when we first became bunkmates. He told me I remind him of his brother. That used to be high praise, but now I’m not so sure.

My hands must be shaking, because when he looks at me, his sinister smile seeps into the room and seems to light it in an eerie, incandescent red glow, I drop my glass and it shatters into a million pieces. I really am walking on eggshells now, or at least, the war-rationing equivalent.

Every day at mail call Milo gets a letter from his brother. Every night the camp has a campfire. Every night my hands are not frostbitten because of Milo’s brother. It has been almost two weeks since his mother wrote him that first ­letter. I ­always say that I don’t have ­anything left back home in Alabama,
but at least my nothing really is nothing; Milo’s nothing means losing everything.

I begin to worry when Milo seems to be losing his mind. He just sits there at breakfast, his hand on his spoon, body skinny and limp, his head bent to one side. The creepiest part is that less-than-blank stare and empty grin. He never seems to “snap out of it,” like our ­sergeants would yell at him.

Yesterday, I had to shove his body into the trench, because the Germans were narrowly missing him. When he looked back up at me, he had a small shard of glass sticking out of his cheek from his glasses, which had broken. As if he was aching everywhere, he pulled his gun up slowly, not careful about where he pointed it – or so I thought. I couldn’t see his bloody face anymore because my eyes were focused on the barrel of the gun that was an inch from my nose.

It didn’t happen like in the movies back home. I could still hear gunshots from both sides being fired, and the freezing rain on my helmet, and feel the ground get soggier and soggier as we all began to sink into the sludge. He yelled at me, his voice much louder than I had ever heard it, though it cracked from lack of use. I strained to listen as he told me I should have let him die. I replied with the only thing I could think of: he was too good to be lost in the war. He asked what I meant by “too good.” Why was nobody else looking at us? I told him the truth: that he was the most honest, smart, and good man I knew, and that he didn’t deserve to be stuck here in the war. I told him that we are all going in alive, and we’re coming out the same way.

The next part happened fast. As his grip loosened on the gun, it dropped slightly. My eyes closed, I ­tilted my head up to face the icy rain and thanked
my momma for watching over me. Next, hot liquid splattered my neck and my gut wrenched horribly. Shocked, I looked down at my feet. Milo was dead, and his eyes were looking straight into mine, but they finally had some recognizable emotion – they were terrified. I tried to back up, but I was already against the wall of the trench. When I reached to get the handkerchief to wash off Milo’s face, my hand came up crimson and sticky, and I looked down. The bullet must have gone straight through him and into me. I heard somebody say that they were sorry about that, and then there was nothing.

The first thing I noticed before I even opened my eyes was being dry. I couldn’t remember the last time I was dry, and I ­began to dread what it meant. Despite my feeble attempt to open my eyes, there was a bright light that made them water. I settled for trying to sit up, but I found that brought on blinding agony that made me want to black out and go back to sleep. I heard a voice before I saw the masked figure to whom it belonged. He said something about how I should have what he is now putting in my hand. Barely hearing him sigh and beginning to tell me that there was nothing they could do for him, and how doubtful it was that I would last much longer, I looked down at my clean hands grasping something warm and hard. It read “ALLIS, MILO, 655-300-078, O POS, UNITARIAN.”.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 59 comments.


Molly L said...
on Jan. 27 2011 at 11:47 am
No, I'm not. I actually am attending college as a science major. I wrote this in 9th grade. =)

on Jan. 27 2011 at 10:10 am
shockingreality PLATINUM, Manila, Other
27 articles 4 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
Believe on the Master Jesus the Messiah and you will be saved! (Apostle Paul) #faith #salvation

I think that was his dogtag.. *shrugs

on Sep. 17 2010 at 9:43 am
Awesome. An Allis,Milo is boviously a person with the numbers being a phone number of sorts an a Unitarian is a branch of the UN those that believe in unity an O POS is a city in Brazil.

on Aug. 30 2010 at 3:14 pm
crubs33 DIAMOND, Lido Beach, New York
58 articles 3 photos 750 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."- Coco Chanel
Life isn't about surviving the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

I probably sound like an idiot... but wat does “ALLIS, MILO, 655-300-078, O POS, UNITARIAN.” mean???

on Aug. 26 2010 at 4:02 pm
shayna101 SILVER, Carlsbad, California
5 articles 0 photos 35 comments
truly amazing! must I say more? keep writing :)

on Aug. 26 2010 at 9:59 am
DiamondsIntheGrass GOLD, Martinsville, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 278 comments

Favorite Quote:
Worry is simply a misuse of the imagination.

i dont really get the ending.

on Aug. 4 2010 at 6:07 pm
crubs33 DIAMOND, Lido Beach, New York
58 articles 3 photos 750 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."- Coco Chanel
Life isn't about surviving the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

This is really good!!!! Please rate and comment on my work!!! thankyou and ur soo amazinf!!!!

coly33 BRONZE said...
on Aug. 4 2010 at 11:24 am
coly33 BRONZE, Lyndhurst, New Jersey
4 articles 0 photos 76 comments

wow really great story but it was sad :( but thats not always a bad thing in storys though it was really well put together i really liked it

:)


on Jun. 21 2010 at 1:36 pm
Waterlogged BRONZE, Grapevine, Texas
1 article 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Winston, you are drunk." To which Churchill responded, "and you, madam, are ugly. But in the morning, I'll be sober,"-Lady Astor and Winston Churchill

I'm not big on war stories, but this was extremely well written! It contained the perfect mixture of emotion. Could you read my article if you  find time?

on May. 30 2010 at 9:06 pm
RawyaAviva SILVER, Tuolumne, California
9 articles 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I wake up every morning determined to change the world and have one heck of a good time . Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult."-E. B. White

I am going to be truthful. I almost never like pieces like this. But this piece of work is amazing! What made this story strong is how you focused on developing interesting and life like characters instead of the battle field. In doing so you made the entire work stronger and very intriguing . Good Job! If you get a chance could you click on my name and check my work out?!! I would totally appreciate it!

on Apr. 16 2010 at 8:56 pm
xBaByGiRrL22x PLATINUM, Pearl River, New York
22 articles 0 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The goal isn't to live forever, but create something that will."
"If you wanna go, baby let's go; if you wanna rock, I'm ready to roll.''
"No one ever said it'd be easy. They just said it'd be worth it." <3

wow this is amazzing!! i luvvd it. i couldnt stop reading from the beginning. plz keep writingg!

on Apr. 16 2010 at 8:19 am

I loved this and it made me wnat to cry while I read it. Keep writting stuff like this!

 


Pillow BRONZE said...
on Mar. 25 2010 at 9:20 pm
Pillow BRONZE, Spokane, Washington
1 article 5 photos 300 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing says oops like a wall of flame.

This is amazing!!! I love it. I thought it was a little foggy at first. I didn't understand what was really going on at first but then it hit me and I was like Whoa! WW2!

on Mar. 11 2010 at 5:55 pm
francinejar SILVER, Chino Hills, California
7 articles 1 photo 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
God and the devil are raging inside me.

r u publshed yet?

on Mar. 3 2010 at 3:46 pm
krisssss BRONZE, Nyack, New York
1 article 0 photos 25 comments
I love your piece alot! The title itself is very captivating, but the story is very well written, too. The ending is a little bit confusing, and it should be writtien more clearly. Otherwise, the plot to this story is good and you should deffinetley continue onto the piece and make it into a short story, or even a novel. Keep writing.

on Dec. 27 2009 at 4:02 pm
justkasey SILVER, Oak Grove, Missouri
6 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
"These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which as they kiss, consume." -William Shakespere (Romeo and Juliet)

This is great! You should add more and make it a novel. I have a problem with writing pieces and never putting them together so it is just a bunch of random story parts that didn't fit. But this has serious potential. Go get it :)

on Dec. 5 2009 at 5:44 pm
4everluvjc BRONZE, Plantation, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 44 comments

Favorite Quote:
nothing is impossible with God! Try him and you'll see :)

Wow. This was such a good piece. I really enjoyed. It was sad though.

I don't get the ending though. Is Milo still alive? Did they think the main character was dead? I think they thought the guy died. I'm not sure.

But apart from the ending part, I loved it. I just wish it ended differently.

Daijaa BRONZE said...
on Dec. 5 2009 at 12:57 pm
Daijaa BRONZE, Long Beach, California
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Im More than What You See"

this was AMAZING!

you should read minee :)

Avalynn BRONZE said...
on Nov. 14 2009 at 12:01 am
Avalynn BRONZE, Monrovia, California
4 articles 0 photos 26 comments
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS! IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT BOOK, REALLY. ITS GREAT!

on Nov. 13 2009 at 4:36 pm
rAinDroPsdRip SILVER, Fairfield, Ohio
6 articles 0 photos 150 comments

Favorite Quote:
\\\"never give up on something you cant go a day withouth thinking about\\\" \\\"carpe diem\\\"

this is like extra good!

but i dont get the end sentance/paragraph...could you explain it a little? i mean, to a smarter person it prob makes sense, but im kinda stupid so ya...