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I appreciate you sending me a letter and writing to us. We are very proud to be serving our country and hope someday that you might choose to represent the U.S. as well. Today was a very good day because I got to split a Hostess cake with one of my bunkmates. I almost had to pay $20 dollars for it, can you believe that?
“What?” Lily blurted out, horrified, turning from the blackboard she’d been erasing the day’s notes from. “No, it doesn’t say that- does it?”
Tommy Crenshaw looked at her in surprise and repeated the line verbatim. Several of the children began to laugh as he continued to read, telling them all of how they cut up the cakes into little pieces, and each got to enjoy a bite. She felt a little better then, but was still shocked that whoever had gotten her treat had almost sold them off at an exorbitant price! She couldn’t wait to read her letter now to see if he (or she) actually admitted doing so. Maybe she’d write back and tell them about sharing, or simply manners and how the gift was intended to bring happiness, not a profit.
He finished reading the letter aloud and several other children took their turn, yet only one other mentioned the treat. Out of fifteen letters, two had talked about the care package she’d sent. Perhaps the others didn’t get any?What a shame, she thought sadly. Everyone should enjoy a piece of heaven once in a while; she certainly indulged! Maybe she would send a few more boxes so that way they didn’t have to rip off each other financially for a glimpse of home.
The day wore on and Lily fought to ignore her own letter on the desk. She had briefly thought of reading it aloud, but until she opened it to see what was said – she simply wasn’t sure it was a good idea without proofreading. Obviously, her gift had reached a few men and she was glad of it.
The lunch bell rang, and they filed out towards the cafeteria, her class of fourth graders filing neatly behind her. She liked that about the elementary; they encouraged order and thinking of others. Next week they were participating in an event to replant saplings along the edge of the school yard to form natural fencing some years from now. That and a water balloon fight would wrap up the semester nicely.
She liked this age because it was uncomplicated happiness. It was the simple things that brought joy or aggravation without being burdened with hormone horror stories. They were on the cusp and she got to enjoy the children before shuffling them to another unsuspecting teacher next year. She chuckled to herself at the thought and thanked God again for guiding her here, where she fit in.
Things were starting to get down to crunch time for her. The school year was wrapping up and she had a massive stack of papers to grade. Her excel file had frozen, losing precious data that she had thankfully backed up. She’d retrieved most of it, but had to manually redo the formulas in order for it to process the percentages on the scoring. Tests weighed heavily in the class, balancing the scale between participation grades and homework. She’d jumped at the chance of keeping it on the computer, rather than lugging her grading booklet around. It used to be a White-Out disaster of epic proportions.
As she worked through the afternoon’s papers, Lily glanced up to see that it was nearing five pm. She’d made progress on the stack and would finish it, hopefully before the weekend. Gathering up her things, she dropped her purse on the desk and fished for her car keys, spying the envelope poking out from the graded papers that were face down on her desk. She’d almost forgotten it! Sitting down, she tore open the envelope and smiled in surprise at the ink rendering she spotted.
A sweet paw print.
Immediately, she found herself smiling happily as she started the letter and then frowned. Parents? He asked to thank her parents for the Twinkies? Did he think she was a student? How funny!
The letter touched her. She could practically sense the wistfulness and longing for nature. She couldn’t imagine how different of a land Afghanistan was from here. She’d seen pictures online or on the news and it looked simply raw and brutal. She was glad she’d sent the snack cakes to him – and that he admitted teasing a few of his team mates. That was the intention, to bring a spot of joy to their day. She thought it was particularly neat that he had a K-9 dog and loved shepherds. She’d had one growing up as a child and remembered how loyal and intelligent they were. Yes, she would read the letter to the class – and she decided to also write back, surprising herself.
Lily stopped at the grocery on her way home, inspired. The box had been crushed in the mail, yet the cakes were edible, so she was on the right track. The key was to find things that were unperishable, undamageable, and wanted. She picked up a few goodies as well as a few necessities, not knowing if they could get them out there easily. She pictured herself away from everything and thought,what would I want?
She’d want fancy, smelly, pretty stuff. Some pink gel pens that glided easily and lovely stationary. Maybe a drawing pad, since he obviously was gifted and liked to draw. She’d been sincerely impressed with the skill she’d seen and the detail. He’d even gone as far as to use hatch marks to create shading. Picking up a roll of bubble wrap, she grinned. Her gifts would arrive unharmed this time, no doubt.
Part of her inspiration for doing this came from her friend, Sherry, who’d passed away unexpectedly. It had been traumatizing to lose the friend and mentor she’d looked up to. That was one thing that ate at her and pushed her to be a better person: Sherry cared to the bottom of her heart. She had never met a stranger, nor felt skittish about giving. She would bring in home-cooked dishes to the breakroom and expected everyone to eat from it. If school supplies were on sale, she would pick up several and leave them in the mailboxes in the lounge, with no expectation of return. Lily missed her terribly, and the kindness that just blossomed from being around her, so now it was her turn to take up the mantle.
What would Sherry do?
She would make another care package and continue bringing hope and happiness to others. Picking up packing tape and several packages of gum, she stopped mid-stride and headed to the health and beauty-aid aisle. She’d want smelly, happy stuff and shook her head at the silly thought. This was a guy and his dog. Snapping her fingers happily, she pushed her cart over towards the pet aisle and picked up a chew toy, as well as a dog bone. She looked down at her cart and giggled. It would look like Christmas when the box arrived.
Paying, she hurried home and began carefully packing the box. It was approximately a foot tall and a foot wide, crammed to the very top, full of different things. She got out a piece of stationary and sat down to write a letter to him.
Mr. Griffin and Radar,
I truly enjoyed your letter and drawing. It almost looked like your shepherd signed the paper himself, I was so impressed. I am glad you and your friends enjoyed the Twinkies – they are a favorite of mine. I am a teacher at the elementary school that sent the letters out, so I will accept your thanks as well as pass on your story to my parents and my students. Perhaps you can use the drawing pencils and pad to hone your skills drawing. You truly have a gift for it. I hope you can use a few of the items, if not, please distribute them out and know that we all pray for your continued safety back in the States. Is there anything you particularly need or would like? You mentioned greenery from home, so I’ve included a few things that made me think of trees. I’ve enjoyed your letter and it brought a smile to a dull day.
Thank you again- and be safe.
Lily
P.S. I’ve included some postage for you as well as paper/envelopes in hopes that we might continue our correspondence. God bless.
Smiling, she sealed it inside and labeled the box. It seemed so odd to write down the address to Afghanistan and found herself checking the return portion of the envelope several times to make sure it was correct. Taping it carefully, she grinned, satisfied with herself, and realized this had been the most she’d had to look forward to in a while that didn’t have to do with school work or working in the yard to make it more habitable. Even though it was dark out now and getting late, she got back into the car and drove out to the post office, using the self-serve kiosk to mail the package immediately.
4
June 2015
Ghazni, Afghanistan
John stood near the table under the tent awning. They were planning to head into the hills tomorrow to sweep for more mines. There had been an insurgence last week and several threats against them, making him extremely uneasy. It was times like these that made him think about his future and what he was going to do with it. He was thirty-eight and while he felt older than his years, he also realized that he still had time to begin again – as scary as it seemed.
“Griffin! When you finish, they need you in berthing,” a head peeked in the tent, interrupting him and several other officers. Cooper had arrived here last month and was green as the day was long. That was one thing that some kids had a hard time learning, when to wait their turn. He shook his head frowning because young, hot-headed bucks could get killed rushing into things or advancing before it was safe. Stupid fool.
“Is it an emergency?”
