The Last Letter

• Jacob Northey, Grade 8, Kempsey Adventist School
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

Jonathan was in a hurry. Being late was not tolerated in his line of work. After all he was the Senior Sergeant in charge of training the new recruits. As he paced down the street he checked again that all his medals were aligned perfectly. Suddenly he stopped and stared across the road. He took a few moments to appreciate the sight before him. She had red hair, green eyes and tanned skin. His heart felt like it was going to explode. In those few moments he fell in love.
He strolled over to her casually and asked, “Hello, I have never seen you in this area of town. Do you live here?”
Shyly she replied, “Yes I do, I just moved to the south side of town.”
“Well that explains the first mystery!” he exclaimed.
“And what mystery is that Senior Sergeant South?” she asked bashfully.
“That I have never noticed such a beautiful girl before,” he said smiling broadly, “And I see that you can read name tags but unlucky for me you don’t have one yourself.”
“My name is Monique Lynch,” she laughed.
“Well it was nice to meet you Monique but I better get off to work. Oh. And if you’re looking to join the Army here is my business card... Or even if you just want to go out for a movie – that would be cool too.”
“Can I bring my boyfriend?” she replied, “Just kidding,” she quickly added when Jonathan looked heartbroken, “Maybe I’ll call ... you’ll have to wait and see.”
“I will save a spot in the recruiting for you,” he laughed nervously, as he reluctantly hurried off to work again.
Sure enough, in a few months everyone just assumed they were a couple because they were always together. Things were going fine until the phone call........
That call was a death call. Jonathan had been called to the frontlines. Tearfully, the couple made an agreement that they would write letters to each other every week. These letters became the highlight of Jonathon’s life ‘til he received a letter that ominously stated, “I can’t write for a little while but trust me when I say I will see you soon.”
Weeks went by and no more letters came. Jonathan found himself taking more risks as time passed. One day his luck ran out. The bullet passed through his muscle and shattered his bone. Jonathan was sent to the army infirmary to recover.
One month later he was resting in his wheelchair when the grumpy Nurse Tina bustled in. “I have bad news for you Sergeant, and there will be no complaints about it, OK?” she ordered. “You have been assigned a new nurse and she has only just arrived from back home. She has only been in the army for a few months but she has been a nurse for many years.”
Jonathan sighed, “I don’t care, there is only one person in the world who I care about and that is ...”
“Lieutenant Monique Lynch reporting for duty Ma’am,” a quiet voice said behind him.