A Lonely Grave 3 (Story)

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Sighing in reflection, Caitlyn considered her options for the night.   She could go to bed, return to her family with their new dog in the morning and go through the letters at home.  Or she could stay up all night drinking Irish coffee, listening to music and reading her unknowingly scribed autobiography, which was combined with that of a lonely old man.2

Caitlyn would not be herself if she didn't choose the second option.   Mixing her drink, she sat down on the oversized motel bed, Indian style, and pet Abby while pulling out the first letter, still in the original envelope.3

September 21, 19914

Dear Mr. Callahan,5

Hi, my name is Caitlyn and I got your address for extra credit at my school.  I am in the third grade, and my mom says that her uncle was killed in Germany in World War II.  My librarian at school told me that you served in Germany too. Did you know my great uncle? His name was James too!  I think that's really cool.  Were you in a lot of battles? Did you save peoples lives? Did you kill people?  I think it's really cool to talk to someone who was in war.  War is a bad thing I think, but I also think that the people in wars are probably heroes.  It must be really scary to have your life on the line everyday.6

I think I'm rambling. My parents always yell at me for going on and on about stuff, but I don't really care, because since you gave your address to my school you wanted a kid writing to you.  I like school a lot, and I don't have very many friends cuz they think I'm a dork.  I do have friends at home in my neighborhood though, we play outside a lot and make up games and stuff.  That is a little bit about me.7

If you want to write back to me, you can, because I would like to hear the stories you have to tell and would like to get the extra credit too!8

Sincerely,9

Caitlyn Walden10

At the conclusion of the letter that would change her and Jim's life, Caitlyn smiled, bemusedly at the hyper, overachieving youth she had once been.  After a few seconds reflections, she grabbed the next letter, the first letter she had received from Jim.11

9/26/9112

Dear Caitlyn,13

I was under the impression that I would be getting letters from a fifth grader!  You must be very smart to be allowed to participate in this project at such a young age.  You asked so many questions, but first let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I was born in 1926, in western Pennsylvania, and was a young child during the Great Depression.  Do you know anything about the Depression?  If you want to know more, maybe after we do our mandatory three letters about the war, we can talk about that if you want to.  Anyways, when the war came to the United States, I was 16 years old, and doing poorly in high school, I was never as smart as you seem to be.  I got it in my head that the best thing to do would be to drop out of high school and lie about my age, to join the army.  Which, in fact, is exactly what I did.  It wasn't uncommon back then, and was a very manly, patriotic thing to do.  So, I got my dog tags and went through a crash course version of basic training, so they could ship me out to Europe as soon as humanly possible.  It was a very strange time for me, I was youthful and idealistic, and had no idea what I was getting into.14

Anyway, in answer to your questions, I knew a lot of James' in the war; yes, I was in my fair share of battles; I did in fact kill people; and I did save my friend's life, but I will tell you more about that later.  In return, I have questions for you.  So you like school? Do you like to read? What do you want to be when you grow up?  How old are you? Do you dance, play sports, anything?  What do you like to do in your spare time?15

It has been nice writing you,16

Sincerely,17

Jim Callahan18

(don't call me James, you will remind me of my grandmother!)19

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9/30/9121

Dear Mr. Callahan,22

I probably won't call you anything but Mr. Callahan for a while, but... Wow, it is hard to imagine your grandmother!  She must have been alive in the Civil War!  That is crazy!  Thank you for telling me the story of how you joined the army, I can't believe you dropped out of high school.  I can't imagine doing that, and I am only in third grade.  In answer to your questions, I am eight years old, but in February I will be nine.  I read all the time, and the reason I got invited to do this project in the first place was because I was reading The Diary of Anne Frank.  My parents tell me I have an eleventh grade reading level, but I don't believe them. I just like to read a lot.  School for me is mixed.  I don't have very many friends in school, but I like learning a lot.  I especially like Math and Social Studies, the English class bores me.  I hope that one day I get to help other kids learn to like learning.  I wanna be a teacher when I grow up, because I like my teachers.  After school, I usually do my homework and play with kids in my neighborhood.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I go to Karate at night, I am an Orange Belt!  I really like it a lot.23

In your next letter, can you maybe tell me about what happened when you got to Europe please?  Did you leave a girlfriend behind?  What happened when you left America?  Thank you so much for writing me back so quickly, and I hope to hear from you soon!24

Sincerely,25

Caitlyn Walden26