Wars Goodbye

• Anneri Pretorius, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2022

Tears rolled down her face as she waved good-bye to the love of her life. The blue-eyed boy that had so often climbed up the side of her house to give her beautifully coloured flowers but only to be caught and sent home. The freckled face that had so many times asked if she would marry him, but she would always blush a rosy pink and say, “One day.” And now that day had come and gone, and they were both oh, so happy. But now tears flowed like a river as the distance between them grew little by little. The band’s loud music seemed to fade as the boat with all its red, white, and blue flags flapped in the wind and all the men in their navy-blue uniforms crowded the back of the ship that slowly started heading to the horizon. They all waved, some cried but she would always be able to spot the blue eyed blonde headed boy that she called her love. But now waving farewell to that blue eyed boy knowing that he might never return shattered her heart into tiny pieces that blew away like chaff in the ocean breeze She would always remember that last good-bye kiss when he had softly whispered farewell, and she had told him the happy news that they were expecting and how he had spun her around. But the loud horn of the large steamboat brought her back to the present. She waved. she waved until her arm refused to work and she was the only person standing on the dock. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'He’s gone' she thought, 'and he might never return' she opened her eyes and took one last look at the empty, open ocean, and then turned and headed home. She would always remember that blue eyed boy whom she called her love.