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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: War & Peace
- Published: 05/25/2013
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War is a horrible thing. It takes lives of soldiers and innocent people. Can’t we just stop all the fighting? Tons of people lose friends and family to war every year. And it doesn’t feel too nice when you lose someone close to you. I lost my brother. My mother and father lost a son. James lost his best friend. And Moose, our dog, lost his best buddy.
It was any normal day; I was on my way home from school. I just got off the bus and was walking home from my stop at the corner. I saw a car in my driveway, I didn’t know who it was so I went in kind of confused, then I saw my brother that I haven’t seen for 3 years because he was in the army. I was so happy to see him and talk to him and ask him how it was going, but he was really sad for some reason.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him once I got inside. “Nothing little sister, man you’re not so little anymore now are you?”
“Yeah! I bet you can’t even pick me up anymore!” and he picked me up and spun me around. We just hugged and hugged for the longest time.
Then mama came in and said, “hey now, let me have some of David too.” So he ran to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I bet you're hungry” said mamma.
“for your cooking? Of course I am!”
“Is that a joke?” asked mama with a smile on her face.
“Of course not mama. I missed your home cooking so much.”
“Then let me get to work.” And she got to work cooking.
“Hey bubby, do you want to see my room?” I asked David as he was putting his stuff in his old room.
“Sure sis let’s see it.” And we went into my room. First I showed him all my stuffed animals on my bed.
“wow Emily, how do you even sleep on that bed of yours with all those animals on there?”
“Easy!” I said and I pushed them all to my floor. We both just laughed.
Inside I missed us laughing like this, before he went to the army, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. Then I showed him all the cards and things I got for my last 3 birthdays, and I also showed him all the cards that he sent me. I kept them in a special place, in a pocket in my locked journal. I also showed him my new camera.
“Why don’t we take a picture? To remember this day in history, forever,” He said, so we took a picture, well actually we took a lot of pictures together, and I loved every second of it.
“Dinner!” mama yelled and just like old times, me and David ran to fight for the chair by the window, there was something about that chair that we both liked, I don’t know if it was because it was by the window or maybe because it wobbled just a little bit, I really don’t know, all I know is that me and bubby fought over it all the time, but that was the only thing we ever fought over, and that night, I won.
“So how is it going down there?” mama asked David.
“ok I guess, it’s getting really hard though and really dangerous. I have lost so many friends its crazy.” Me and mama just looked down trying not to cry because we knew that he had to go back in a month and he was going to be right back in that danger. “So how has it been here?” he asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Pretty good, but your father has been working late lately to get some extra money for Emily’s 10th birthday.”
“Wow two digest huh sis?”
“Yup!” I said with a big smile on my face. “And I can’t wait!”
“I wish I could be here for ya sis.” said David
“I know bubby, I know you have to go back.” I said sadly
“maybe I can come around your birthday next year.”
“Oh, yea!” I said happily, not knowing if there was going to be a next year for him.
We finished dinner and went to bed. The next day was Saturday, so I didn’t have school, but I did have cheerleading practice. So mama took me to that and bubby wanted to go so he came too. He sat through the whole thing while mama went to the store. It was like 2 hours and he watched the whole time! I couldn’t believe it! I ran over to him and asked “so did you like it?”
“I loved it sis.”
“Really?”
“Of course, you did great and so did your team.” Then after cheerleading practice he drove us to meet mama at the store. We helped her with what she needed help with then we went to the park. And bubby pushed me on the swing and went down the slide with me and played in the jungle gym with me. I had the best time ever.
For the rest of the month if I had school it was time for mommy, daddy and David to spend time together because as soon as I got home, it was me and him, only! I love spending time with my bubby.
“Will you play Babies with me bubby?”
“Well I don’t know if an army guy should be playing with Babies?”
“I might have a GI Joe!” he just laughed and said ”of course i'll play with you sis, come on.” And we played all night till it was bed time, and mama was letting me stay up until 11 o’clock because David was here.
At bed time I got ready and went to bed, but I couldn’t fall asleep, so I went to go into the living room to see if mama or daddy or David was awake, but when I came out of my room I heard mama crying. I stood there behind the wall between my room and the kitchen and just listened.
“Don’t cry mama, please don’t cry, you're gonna make me cry.” I heard David say.
“How can I not cry, you just said you're never coming back!” cried mama.
“now I didn’t say that, I just said there is a chance I might not come back, because of how dangerous it is out there.”
“How can you tell me that, you can’t tell me that! You have to say you’re going to be ok and you will come back for Emily’s next birthday, you said you were going to see her graduate! You can’t not see that now, she’s counting on you David!”
“I know but it just keeps getting harder and harder out there, I will try my best but I don’t know what I can do.”
“well have fun telling that to Emily.” And mama grabbed her house coat and walked outside.
I just fell to the ground and started crying to myself, and then I crawled back into my room and cried there, for what seemed like forever.
The next few weeks flew by faster than I could count to 100. It was the day that David had to leave. He still never told me what he told mama, but to be honest at that point I had too much fun with him to even remember that and I think mama did too.
“I’ll miss you mama.” David said as he was crying and giving mama a great big hug. “Tell dad that I’ll write him a letter when I get the chance to and tell him I said I was sorry I couldn’t get a later flight to see him from work.”
“I will David, I love you so very much and I will miss you every second of every day.” Mama was crying hard. And so was I, but I was on a chair in the corner, I didn’t want anyone to see me crying, I was going to be 10 years old in two weeks and I didn’t want anyone to see me as a big girl crying so I didn’t let them, but I was, I was crying hard like mama was.
“Where’s Emily? I heard David ask.
“Over on that chair” mama said and I turned to look at the corner. I didn’t want bubby to see me cry either.
He walked over to me and tried to turn me around to give me a hug, but I didn’t want him to see me cry, so I didn’t turn around. “What’s wrong Emily?” he asked, I just shook my head. “come on then, give your big bubby a hug, let me see your face one last time before I have to leave. Please?” I shook my head again. “ok sis, I understand, thanks for the pictures we took, I’m going to hang them up so I can always remember that day, but I’m going to keep this one with me at all times.” And he showed it to me. It was the one where I made him play dress up with me and he dressed up as Barbie and I was Ken and we were getting married. I loved that picture, so mama made two, well she made two of all of them, but she made sure to make two of those. “Bye little sis, I love you and I will miss you for as long as there are stars in the sky.” That’s what grandpa used to tell me and David when we were little when he would go away for a long time, but then he passed away. “Bye sis” he said and then hugged me and walked away crying, he didn’t let anyone see him cry, but I knew he was, I always knew what he was feeling.
He was in line to get on the plane. He was next, he gave the lady his ticket and was about to get on.
“BUBBY!!!” I yelled as loud as I could. He turned around and saw me running at him full blast. He dropped his bags and picked me up and spun me around like the first time we saw each other. “Don’t leave me bubby! Don’t leave!” I yelled as I was crying and I didn’t care who saw.
“I have to sissy, I’m sorry I have a job to do.”
“Why can’t you just quit!?”
“I just can’t, you’ll understand when you are older.”
“But, but, bubby. I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I know sissy, I know, and I’m going to miss you too.”
“I heard you talking to mama about how you might not come back, please come back bubby, please; you promised you would be here for my birthday!”
“I know sis, and I will, I promised and I never break a promise.” I smiled and said.
“I love you bubby.” And me and David both said “for as long as there are stars in the sky.” Mama started crying even harder and so did I, but through the tears I smiled to David. He kissed me on my forehead and put me down.
“I have to go now sis, the plane is about to leave, I’ll see you later ok? I’ll miss you every second, and I love you as…”
“Long as there are stars in the sky” I finished.
“Exactly” he said as he smiled.
He got on the plane and I was holding mama. The plane left and me and mom stayed there for another 10 min. then we left and went home.
That was the last time we ever saw David. It’s been about 3 years to the day that he was killed in war. I’m almost 13 now, and on my 10th birthday, he was there, I knew he was, I felt him, I knew he wouldn’t miss it for the world. He gave up his life for people that he didn’t know, and some of those people are grateful, but others are not. They will never know how it feels to lose a brother, a son, a best friend. They will never know how a mother and father had to explain to a 10 year old girl how her brother wasn’t going to come back one week after her birthday. They will never know how that little girl felt, how she feels now. They should be grateful for what they have, and who gave it to them. I miss my brother, and so do mama and daddy. We still celebrate his birthday every year. We get a cake and put however many candles on it he is gonna be. Then I blow them out, and every year the wish I make, is that my brother is happy, and has all his friends with him, and that I can see him soon and that he would know that I will always love him, as long as there are stars in the sky.
Losing War(Katlynn Vanover)
War is a horrible thing. It takes lives of soldiers and innocent people. Can’t we just stop all the fighting? Tons of people lose friends and family to war every year. And it doesn’t feel too nice when you lose someone close to you. I lost my brother. My mother and father lost a son. James lost his best friend. And Moose, our dog, lost his best buddy.
It was any normal day; I was on my way home from school. I just got off the bus and was walking home from my stop at the corner. I saw a car in my driveway, I didn’t know who it was so I went in kind of confused, then I saw my brother that I haven’t seen for 3 years because he was in the army. I was so happy to see him and talk to him and ask him how it was going, but he was really sad for some reason.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him once I got inside. “Nothing little sister, man you’re not so little anymore now are you?”
“Yeah! I bet you can’t even pick me up anymore!” and he picked me up and spun me around. We just hugged and hugged for the longest time.
Then mama came in and said, “hey now, let me have some of David too.” So he ran to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I bet you're hungry” said mamma.
“for your cooking? Of course I am!”
“Is that a joke?” asked mama with a smile on her face.
“Of course not mama. I missed your home cooking so much.”
“Then let me get to work.” And she got to work cooking.
“Hey bubby, do you want to see my room?” I asked David as he was putting his stuff in his old room.
“Sure sis let’s see it.” And we went into my room. First I showed him all my stuffed animals on my bed.
“wow Emily, how do you even sleep on that bed of yours with all those animals on there?”
“Easy!” I said and I pushed them all to my floor. We both just laughed.
Inside I missed us laughing like this, before he went to the army, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. Then I showed him all the cards and things I got for my last 3 birthdays, and I also showed him all the cards that he sent me. I kept them in a special place, in a pocket in my locked journal. I also showed him my new camera.
“Why don’t we take a picture? To remember this day in history, forever,” He said, so we took a picture, well actually we took a lot of pictures together, and I loved every second of it.
“Dinner!” mama yelled and just like old times, me and David ran to fight for the chair by the window, there was something about that chair that we both liked, I don’t know if it was because it was by the window or maybe because it wobbled just a little bit, I really don’t know, all I know is that me and bubby fought over it all the time, but that was the only thing we ever fought over, and that night, I won.
“So how is it going down there?” mama asked David.
“ok I guess, it’s getting really hard though and really dangerous. I have lost so many friends its crazy.” Me and mama just looked down trying not to cry because we knew that he had to go back in a month and he was going to be right back in that danger. “So how has it been here?” he asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Pretty good, but your father has been working late lately to get some extra money for Emily’s 10th birthday.”
“Wow two digest huh sis?”
“Yup!” I said with a big smile on my face. “And I can’t wait!”
“I wish I could be here for ya sis.” said David
“I know bubby, I know you have to go back.” I said sadly
“maybe I can come around your birthday next year.”
“Oh, yea!” I said happily, not knowing if there was going to be a next year for him.
We finished dinner and went to bed. The next day was Saturday, so I didn’t have school, but I did have cheerleading practice. So mama took me to that and bubby wanted to go so he came too. He sat through the whole thing while mama went to the store. It was like 2 hours and he watched the whole time! I couldn’t believe it! I ran over to him and asked “so did you like it?”
“I loved it sis.”
“Really?”
“Of course, you did great and so did your team.” Then after cheerleading practice he drove us to meet mama at the store. We helped her with what she needed help with then we went to the park. And bubby pushed me on the swing and went down the slide with me and played in the jungle gym with me. I had the best time ever.
For the rest of the month if I had school it was time for mommy, daddy and David to spend time together because as soon as I got home, it was me and him, only! I love spending time with my bubby.
“Will you play Babies with me bubby?”
“Well I don’t know if an army guy should be playing with Babies?”
“I might have a GI Joe!” he just laughed and said ”of course i'll play with you sis, come on.” And we played all night till it was bed time, and mama was letting me stay up until 11 o’clock because David was here.
At bed time I got ready and went to bed, but I couldn’t fall asleep, so I went to go into the living room to see if mama or daddy or David was awake, but when I came out of my room I heard mama crying. I stood there behind the wall between my room and the kitchen and just listened.
“Don’t cry mama, please don’t cry, you're gonna make me cry.” I heard David say.
“How can I not cry, you just said you're never coming back!” cried mama.
“now I didn’t say that, I just said there is a chance I might not come back, because of how dangerous it is out there.”
“How can you tell me that, you can’t tell me that! You have to say you’re going to be ok and you will come back for Emily’s next birthday, you said you were going to see her graduate! You can’t not see that now, she’s counting on you David!”
“I know but it just keeps getting harder and harder out there, I will try my best but I don’t know what I can do.”
“well have fun telling that to Emily.” And mama grabbed her house coat and walked outside.
I just fell to the ground and started crying to myself, and then I crawled back into my room and cried there, for what seemed like forever.
The next few weeks flew by faster than I could count to 100. It was the day that David had to leave. He still never told me what he told mama, but to be honest at that point I had too much fun with him to even remember that and I think mama did too.
“I’ll miss you mama.” David said as he was crying and giving mama a great big hug. “Tell dad that I’ll write him a letter when I get the chance to and tell him I said I was sorry I couldn’t get a later flight to see him from work.”
“I will David, I love you so very much and I will miss you every second of every day.” Mama was crying hard. And so was I, but I was on a chair in the corner, I didn’t want anyone to see me crying, I was going to be 10 years old in two weeks and I didn’t want anyone to see me as a big girl crying so I didn’t let them, but I was, I was crying hard like mama was.
“Where’s Emily? I heard David ask.
“Over on that chair” mama said and I turned to look at the corner. I didn’t want bubby to see me cry either.
He walked over to me and tried to turn me around to give me a hug, but I didn’t want him to see me cry, so I didn’t turn around. “What’s wrong Emily?” he asked, I just shook my head. “come on then, give your big bubby a hug, let me see your face one last time before I have to leave. Please?” I shook my head again. “ok sis, I understand, thanks for the pictures we took, I’m going to hang them up so I can always remember that day, but I’m going to keep this one with me at all times.” And he showed it to me. It was the one where I made him play dress up with me and he dressed up as Barbie and I was Ken and we were getting married. I loved that picture, so mama made two, well she made two of all of them, but she made sure to make two of those. “Bye little sis, I love you and I will miss you for as long as there are stars in the sky.” That’s what grandpa used to tell me and David when we were little when he would go away for a long time, but then he passed away. “Bye sis” he said and then hugged me and walked away crying, he didn’t let anyone see him cry, but I knew he was, I always knew what he was feeling.
He was in line to get on the plane. He was next, he gave the lady his ticket and was about to get on.
“BUBBY!!!” I yelled as loud as I could. He turned around and saw me running at him full blast. He dropped his bags and picked me up and spun me around like the first time we saw each other. “Don’t leave me bubby! Don’t leave!” I yelled as I was crying and I didn’t care who saw.
“I have to sissy, I’m sorry I have a job to do.”
“Why can’t you just quit!?”
“I just can’t, you’ll understand when you are older.”
“But, but, bubby. I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I know sissy, I know, and I’m going to miss you too.”
“I heard you talking to mama about how you might not come back, please come back bubby, please; you promised you would be here for my birthday!”
“I know sis, and I will, I promised and I never break a promise.” I smiled and said.
“I love you bubby.” And me and David both said “for as long as there are stars in the sky.” Mama started crying even harder and so did I, but through the tears I smiled to David. He kissed me on my forehead and put me down.
“I have to go now sis, the plane is about to leave, I’ll see you later ok? I’ll miss you every second, and I love you as…”
“Long as there are stars in the sky” I finished.
“Exactly” he said as he smiled.
He got on the plane and I was holding mama. The plane left and me and mom stayed there for another 10 min. then we left and went home.
That was the last time we ever saw David. It’s been about 3 years to the day that he was killed in war. I’m almost 13 now, and on my 10th birthday, he was there, I knew he was, I felt him, I knew he wouldn’t miss it for the world. He gave up his life for people that he didn’t know, and some of those people are grateful, but others are not. They will never know how it feels to lose a brother, a son, a best friend. They will never know how a mother and father had to explain to a 10 year old girl how her brother wasn’t going to come back one week after her birthday. They will never know how that little girl felt, how she feels now. They should be grateful for what they have, and who gave it to them. I miss my brother, and so do mama and daddy. We still celebrate his birthday every year. We get a cake and put however many candles on it he is gonna be. Then I blow them out, and every year the wish I make, is that my brother is happy, and has all his friends with him, and that I can see him soon and that he would know that I will always love him, as long as there are stars in the sky.
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Kevin Hughes
11/09/2019Katlyn,
I hope everyone reads your story. War doesn't have winners...your story does though, and that is the power of love. Your brother knows you loved him, and you want peace for everyone....so something good is in this story too. My heart goes out to your whole family, and Moose.
Time will help a little, and your brother wants you to live a good life with lots of laughs, good friends, and loving people...so when good things happen, send him a hug for watching out for you.
And someday, there will be no more war. And people like you and your wonderful story will make that happen.
I was lucky and didn't go to war while I was serving my country ...and like you, I believe in Peace.
I send you every good thought my wife, my kids, and my grandkids can send your way.
Smiles, Kevin
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JD
11/09/2019Heart wrenching, beautifully told story. Your words help the reader to fall in love with your brother too, and so I cried about his loss. I'm so sorry that your wonderful big brother died in the war, Katlynn. May we never forget the sacrifice that he and so many others made so that we can live in freedom. Thank you for sharing your story of love and loss and remembrance with us.
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