Dear Alex,

It has been six months since I have seen you. I am missing you and little Ava ever so terribly. Things are pretty much the same around here. It is just very hectic, as you would expect. I cannot wait until Thanksgiving rolls around. I will finally be reunited with the two most important people in my life. I have to get going now though. Write you soon.

-Liv



I have been in love with the same girl since I was 16. The woman that makes my life complete is named Olivia. We are both 23 now, and I could not possibly imagine my life without her. However, it has been about 6 months since I have seen her. She was recently drafted into the war.

Olivia is the kind of girl that would drop everything that she is doing to help someone else. So of course, being drafted into the war was her way of taking her part in helping our country out. We have a young three-year-old daughter named Ava; she reminds me so much of Olivia. I hate the fact that she is not here to watch Ava go through her young years.

I get letters every other week from Olivia, but once a week if I am lucky. My heart jumps every time I open the mailbox and see something from her inside. They are the motivation that keeps me going every day.

“Daddy, when is Mommy coming home?”

This is the question that gets me every time that Ava asks me it. It is crazy a girl so young could even acknowledge the fact that her mother is not here for her every day. All I can tell her is that Mommy is not home right now, and is going to try to be home with us as soon as she can.

Dear Alex,

Things are getting really crazy right now and to be honest, I am getting kind of worried. I wish I could just come home, but I know that that’s pretty impossible as of right now. How’s Ava doing? Hopefully she still remembers me! I want you to share with me all of the little things she does. I want to know as much about her as I can. I should not even have to worry about her; she’s got a great father taking care of her right now. Talk to you soon, babe.

-Liv

Dear Olivia,

I pray to God that things do not get too much for you to handle. Things just are not the same without you here. Ava is doing great. She’s such a smart girl, you would be so proud. Mom comes over a lot to bond with her, and Ava loves her. Surprisingly, she asks about you a lot. She wonders where you are and when you will be home. It gets hard sometimes to hear her ask those questions, but I bear through it. Honestly, I don’t know how much longer I can go without seeing you. I’m counting down the days until Thanksgiving.

-Alex

It’s mid-October now; this meant that Olivia would be home in a little less than a month. I have been counting down the days ever since she left. At this point, I was also filled with excitement at the fact that I could finally share with Ava that Mommy would be coming home soon finally. Now that this was the case, I had no problem with answering the question “When is Mommy coming home?”

However, the notes started coming through less often. I, of course, started to grow worried. All I could do was take it upon me to write continuous letters to her.

Dear Olivia,

What’s going on? It’s been awhile since you’ve written a letter back to me. Are things alright? You do realize that there’s only around 30 days until you finally come home? Words still cannot describe how excited I am. I am going guess that you’re just very caught up in business there and are very busy, but please try to find some time to write back to me. I hate opening the mailbox and seeing nothing.

-Alex

Weeks had passed and I had finally received a letter.

Dear Alex,

I feel terrible, I am so sorry. I’ve come down with a horrible type of flu. It’s so horrible that I haven’t been able to pick up a pencil. Also, I have bad news… unfortunately, due to my condition, they told me it’s not safe to travel back home and need as much rest as I can. I tried as hard as I could to refuse, but I have no choice. On the bright side, as soon as I’m all healed, they will send me home for an even longer vacation than it was intended to be in the first place. I don’t know how long it’ll be though. I need to go get some rest now though. I’ll write back whenever it’s convenient. I love you and Ava so much.

-Liv

This letter broke my heart. I’ve been waiting months for this day, and now she’s not coming home. What was I gonna tell Ava now? I couldn’t bear to see her upset at the fact that her mother was all of a sudden coming home.

It was just a few weeks before Thanksgiving now. Still no word from Olivia, and I had no way of trying to get ahold of her other than writing numerous frantic letters. They were, however, doing me no good. Ava and I were growing impatient.

Then one day, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and it was 2 men from the military standing in front of me. Right when I saw them, I knew what this meant. I broke into instant tears. The love of my life, Olivia, had died.

There was a huge funeral ceremony held for her days later. Ava was quite young to understand all that had just happened, but at the same time, had some kind of sense that it was nothing good. What was a man to do? My little girl was going to have to go her whole life without having some kind of motherly figure in her life. Also, I was going to have to go living life without my soul mate there with me. I know I won’t be able to find someone to replace her. The role of my other half is already taken, and she is gone forever.