A week had passed since her time of mourning had officially ended. Yet she found herself still choosing the black dresses to wear. The world might say it was time to move on and to stop grieving but her heart still clung to the sadness she bore. Her world had been turned upside down in an instant.
War took the best men.
She walked through the house in a daze. Mother was in the garden and father was in town. A lonely house. Just what she needed? No! How she wished she could cling to her mother’s shoulders until the pain went away. Or to feel her father’s comforting and protective arms wrap around her to shield her from further pain. But both her parents had warned her from the start. War had doomed her love to him and here she stood in the shadow of her parents insight. Was the pain worth the memories? Was the pain worth the now unclear future? To force her heart to start from scratch?
She collapsed in a chair and her head dropped down. The day’s mail scattered to the floor. She sighed and began to pick up her mess. She gasped and dropped the envelope back to the floor. She quickly stooped down and retrieved it in disbelief.
But she was soon corrected. It was from him. His last letter. She tore it open and his first words to her melted her heart…
“My dearest Melody, my heart aches with your absence. How I wish I could run from this horrid war and into your carefree arms. Pray for me. This time away from you is proving more and more difficult. I can only hope I return man enough to face your father and receive his blessing. I so very much desire to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you feel the same way.
See what this time apart is doing to my head? I've already received his blessing and you have already said yes to my proposal. But a blessing is just words. I have not received his heart yet. Unlike you who was so easily persuaded! I hope your heart is not so easily turned for I fear my absence from you is not as hard on you as it is me. Again I say, see what this war is doing to me? I am a blubbering fool. I fret for nothing. Your previous letter to me all but strengthened my resolve that your love to me is genuine. How dare I? Forgive me, my Love?”
The rest of the letter was silly jargon of war. None of it made sense. It was only those first two paragraphs that sang in her heart. If only she could console him one last time. Her heart would forever be his.
She wished it were true but something deep down told her that her heart would heal with time and another would take his place. Perhaps her parents were right. This had just been a love of youth.
But when would her love of maturity come and save her from this desperate mourning she now drowned in?
He would want her to move on. And so she shall. She ran to her room and quickly discarded the black dress. A colorful spring dress glowed in front of her. In an instant it seemed she was now dressed and ready for life again. She would always keep his words close to her heart. She would tease any future suitors that did not live up to his standards and she would praise the man who surpassed him. And to him she would again give her heart to. She skipped off towards the garden. Her mother looked up and smiled a warm smile. It was as if Melody was coming back to life.
She felt new again.
