Promise

Harold had been called back to the army, to fight for his country in a deadly war. It was one of his worst nightmares, as it meant leaving his wife, Carol, and his daughter, Polly behind.

“Papa, why does Papa have to go?” Polly questioned, a confused frown placed on her face as she tugged on her father’s pants.

Harold knelt down so he was eye to eye with her and replied, “Papa has to go away for a while, on an important trip. It’s very important, and Papa can’t miss it.” He heard a stifled sob from Carol and looked up. “No, please, don’t, Carol,” Harold implored. He straightened up and held her in a tight embrace, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She leaned against him and let the tears flow freely, her hands limp on his chest. She suddenly felt a pressure against her leg, and saw Polly hugging the leg, the highest place she could reach. She smiled despite her teary eyes and red nose at her daughter’s innocence.

“Harold, please, don’t go, I’m begging you,” Carol whimpered. A lump rose in Harold’s throat and he shook his head. He hugged his daughter and wife one last time, before he picked up his backpack.

“Promise you’ll come back to see me, Papa?” Polly asked, though it seemed more like a statement. Harold nodded and turned to walk towards the army helicopter. They could not see the tears that pleaded for escape, to be free. They did not understand – when you are called to duty, it is a fight for your country, yourself, and your family. He needed them to send him off with a wave and a smile; this was only making it more difficult to control his emotions.

A few hours later, Harold arrived at their destination, he had fallen asleep on the helicopter, in an attempt to hide the painful thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him. It had not succeeded.

Harold’s batch was immediately moved to a dense area covered in bushes. It was a place which had been labeled as one where the enemy would be, by tip-offs from the few spies they had sent in. The sergeant signaled for each of them to hide behind a bush. Harold crouched behind one large enough to cover his figure. They waited in anticipation. The atmosphere was so tense, it was almost tempting to see if you would be able to slice through it with a knife.

Out of the blue, there was a rustle in the bushes on the opposite side of where Harold was, giving away their enemy’s position. He shot at the bush with his gun, and there was a soft sound of a limp body falling to the ground. People leapt up from behind bushes nearby and fired their guns at bushes.

Harold heard the harsh cry of his sergeant, “Out into the open, men! We’ll get a better shot at them from there!” Harold jumped up and aimed his gun at his foes, gunning them down swiftly, but not fast enough. Suddenly, he knew what he could do to speed things up. He ran across, into the line of fire, shooting bullets out of his gun. As he was about to reach the other side, to safety, a bullet got him in his side and he fell to the ground. He groaned in pain, but knew he was no use to his batch anymore. He would have given up, there and then, but the voice of his young daughter rang in his head. “Promise me,” she had said. Promises were made to be kept, or they should not be made at all.

With newfound determination, he used his left elbow, the side which was not injured, to push himself forward, forward to the enemy barracks. He nearly blacked out a few times, but forced himself to stay awake. If he lost consciousness, even for a while, he would not know if he would wake up again.

At last, he reached the army barracks and a nurse instantly helped him in. He had lost a lot of blood and was in need of better attention than could be given here. She called for a helicopter to take Harold back, and while waiting, did the best she could to help him. He let his tired body sleep, he knew that he was safe now.

Harold would see his daughter again.

Five hours later, Harold woke up to a series of mechanical beeps in a familiar hospital. It was one close to his house. There was a different nurse standing just outside his ward. He called her to him and grasped her wrist tightly in a beseeching manner. “Please, please, I have to see my wife and my daughter. It is highly important. I need them, get them here, now.”

Unknown to him, his wife and daughter were sitting outside his ward. The moment they heard his voice, Carol walked in, carrying Polly in her arms. A smile stretched across Harold’s lips and the nurse walked out to give them some privacy together. Harold reached out to them, wanting to hug them, but a pain in his ribs shot through him. He was very weak and laid down again, feeling exhausted already. Carol sat Polly down on the side of his stretcher and she crawled up to his left side, giving him a welcome hug. Tears touched Harold’s eyes. How he loved his wife and daughter. He smiled. He had committed to his promise.

Carol watched her weak husband. It pained her so to see him in such a pitiful state. She excused herself to the washroom, so she would have some time to compose herself. Pull yourself together, Carol. Harold would not want to see you this way, she told herself sternly. She walked back to the ward again.

As she neared, however, she saw her daughter wandering outside the ward and felt something was amiss. Harold would not have let Polly leave his side. As she neared, she couldn’t control herself any longer. She heard a rising crescendo of beeps from the ward. She began to crumble. Her knees came into contact with the floor, but she did not care about the pain.

Polly, seeing her, ran over to her and cried, “Mama! Mama! There’s something wrong with Papa! He won’t talk to me, and he’s not breathing!”

Carol gathered Polly in her arms and hushed her, even as an iron band tightened around her heart. She had no courage to go in anymore.

Harold was no more. He died with a smile on his face, because he had kept his promise.