Loving A Soldier

By Noyingbeni T. Erui

How has she ended up living a life she had never dreamed she would? She thought. She was always the one to like a husband who would stay by her side, in good and bad times, enjoy the little blessings each day, wake up to him every morning, and sleep in his arms every night. She has always imagined herself living a life of complacency, simplicity and contentment with whoever would become her hubby. Married life, to her, meant a life of togetherness in spirit and flesh.

She had choices. But Norbert came from a different world. Of all the unexpected things in life, he came as the biggest of surprises. They had been nothing but an acquaintance and she had never tried to know more than his name. She was too busy. With what? She didn’t know, except that the thing with which she often engaged herself was hibernating in her sweet fantasies about a fairy tale life where everything was simple and she had not to worry about what to eat for lunch when to complete her homework, what to wear for prom, and other such trifle matters human engaged themselves with.

When Norbert proposed to her one evening at sundown, her whole life got altered. It might have been the mellow golden rays of the dying sun on their flushed faces. It might have been the romantic song being played in a nearby restaurant. It might have been the look on his face, love and kindness, mingled with a tinge of warm nervousness. It might have been because she was feeling good about her reconciliation with her best friend after a year that morning, or it might have been the tone of his voice, the deep musical voice with a note of romance. His tone promised her everlasting love. Whatever reason she tried to justify herself with, the truth was that he had made her feel the way no one else had ever done. He had made her feel safe and protected. She had felt peaceful, and meaningful.

There was no turning back since that evening. She grew in love with him steadily. She never knew the reason why she said “yes” at that moment. But when she looked at him, she noticed his easy ways of making people feel good about themselves. His kindness towards every living being he came across, his quiet respect for people who lived right and who didn’t, his natural instinct to know what people needed, his eagerness to reach out and help them, his ability to make people laugh, even those who had the heart of a stone and his strong determination to do good, it wasn’t hard to know why she came around, and it wasn’t hard to guess why both the young and the old adored him.

Then she came to know of his dreams. To be in the army, and serve the country. That was so him. But what will happen to her dreams? More than once, she was disconcerted by her paradoxical situation. But what to do with her dreams without him? After several moments of mental deliberation, she concluded that her chance of relishing every waking day with him slimmed down very low. Yet she decided to stay. What’s more, she began to love him more. Loving him was the easiest thing she had ever known.

Just then, a female voice announced that the train was scheduled to leave in five minutes. He held her tight for the last time in six months. She felt his warm lips on hers and his strong hands at the small of her back. Yes, he couldn’t hug her every day. True, she wouldn’t be able to see his handsome face every morning, nor could she sleep in his arms all night. Yet the momentary joy of seeing him return, the precious minutes which showed his profound love for her and everlasting promise of faithfulness- near or far, sealed with a warm kiss, was worth all the months he was away. This, she knew better than anyone else. And even though it was a wild ride all along, this kept her going. Every waking day and every passing sundown she slept to the peaceful dreams of believing that she was already one day closer to him!

By Noyingbeni T. Erui