The Goodbye

By JanG.

The words of the letter, stark and bold, had shattered my happiness. A mission overseas he’d said. I watched him as he dressed in olive green. The t-shirt hiding his muscular torso, the shirt tucked into pants that were, in turn, tucked into boots.

Foreboding so intense it set my teeth on edge. Wanting to give him a keepsake to remind him of me, I snipped one of my curls with scissors from the dresser. Folding it carefully in a tissue I pressed it into his palm.

I kissed him and then he was gone, taking my life with him.