The Soldier Next Door

As we find ourselves sitting down at the main table adorned in complete white and the scent of lilies that attack our senses, I turn to my now wife and take her face gently between my hands. With only but a feather of a whisper, I look deep into those sparkling brown eyes.

“Boo, I know now that no matter where we find ourselves in our lives, at the present moments, that we have always been destined to be together.” Then as a tear appear in the corner of her eyes and starts rolling down her cheek, I gently wipe it away and lean in closer, “Thank you for coming back. I think, yet I know, that I would simply have died if I did not see you walking through that door.”

She only but chuckles at me and pull my lips closer, “I love you, you crazy Marine. Your body might be broken, but your heart is right in the place where it needs to be.”

And with that, I hand her, and yes, it is white, and it is folded in a square.

“Oh god no!” she utters in complete surprise. “Not a damn envelope.”

As I shove it gently in her hand, I only but smile, “This one you will like.”

So goes quiet and looks at me for a brief moment, then slowly, yet cautiously, she starts opening the now. And as I watch her form the words on her lips, it gives me great satisfaction. 

“Mrs. Ana Hunter, 

There’s this thing that holds my heart down whenever I think about you; I would have called it love, but it’s more than just love, and words lack a name for it. Indeed, I am glad that you are my own now, and I am yours, true soul mates we shall always be to each other. 

I love you from the very depth of my heart, and there’s nothing I will not do to always keep us together. 

With you, I feel happy that I have someone to call my very own, someone that has shown me what it means to be loved with all sincerity from the heart.

I may never be able to say thank you enough for your warm love, kindness, affection, and care. I may not often tell you that my whole heart belongs to you. I may always not be able to make your thoughts know that you’re the one I am always thinking about on a per-second basis. 

But, I sure can do one thing, and that is to treat you like the queen of my palace, the owner of my heart, the very one I think about on a per-second basis, the one I never stop deeming about, the one that has caused the realization of my dreams, and the one that gives me so many reasons to believe in the existence of true love. One thing is certain that I will always be yours.

In letting you know how much I love you, the best thing to do would have been to give you my whole heart to read, but that’s not possible, and my heart doesn’t have a voice of its own to say everything it feels. So, whatever you hear from me is only a few percent of what I truly do feel about you. 

Having you in my life has been so special that words alone can’t tell. There’s this girl I never expected to keep so close at first sight because I knew less or nothing about her. But with time, I got to know how real and beautiful she is. I began to feel an unshakable bond by looking into her crystal-like radiating eyes. Now, all that makes me happy is the thought that you’re mine.

There’s nothing that would have ever been able to make me as happy as I am now because of your presence. Your presence in my life is worth more than what I can explain, and your love speaks a language that only my heart understands. People like you are indeed very rare to find in a world like ours, and since I have you to call mine, and will always remind you that you’re the best lady in the world.

Like it has been before like it is now, so shall it always be that you own my heart. Amongst billions of men in the world, I consider myself to be the luckiest because I have a sincere and loving heart to call my own. You give me so much peace of mind that I have literally felt the blessing of having someone to call a soul mate and a God-sent angel to me. I love you very much, dear, and I will always do.

So much love…

Your husband.”

…….

For what seems like an eternity, we just stare into each other’s eyes. 

She looks down at my slightly parted lips, and I know what is about to happen. We both lean into each other in slow motion, never breaking eye contact once. My heart skips a beat, and my knees get wobbly, even though I am not standing on my feet. I curl my hand around her neck and tangle the other in her long wavy hair.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Our lips brush softly against each other. Her lips are soft and delicately. They dance against me like butterfly wings. I pull away, hesitating for a moment. She felt new yet oddly familiar. Her lips seemed molded to the shape of mine. My hands curled around her so perfectly as if they were made just for her. She tastes like passion, like pure, unrestrained passion, and I want more.

Then we begin to close the gap even more than before. What begins as a small peck becomes more passionate. The rest of the world spins so fast that it becomes non-existent. I lean even further into her, and my body melts into hers. It is as if I can feel a fire blazing within me, out of control. We are completely and utterly in sync at this very moment.

Everything about her is perfect. The sheer softness of her hair as I run my hands through it. The taste of sweet cotton candy that lingers on her lips. Her breath that warms my cheek. The way she plays with the hair at the back of my head that tickles my neck.

She presses her lips against mine even harder. Lightning passes through me. I feel lost in a different universe, and she is slowly taking me away. Her cold hand creeps from my neck down my spine and pulls me closer. Her touch makes my body shiver. Her delicate, innocent kiss makes my heart flutter. Then it races. My body surrenders. I let her kiss me for as long as she wants. Every time I let go, I go back and kiss her again softly.

After what seems like being away for hours, we part and put our foreheads together.

She stares into my eyes and softly whispers. “I love you.”

As evening approaches and everyone has gone their separate ways and to their homes, we go seek the comfort of our bed. Sadly we cannot do our wedding night ritual, but as long as I have her by my side, I truly do not care.

So as I sit in the corner while she is wiggling that gorgeous body into her nighties, I cannot help but admire the woman that I am going to spend the rest of my life and the eternity beyond that with.

If there is one thing that I have ever done to complete perfection…then it is this.

I might be a great Marine, but I will be an even better husband at it.

As she finally finds herself snug under the blankets, I fall down next to her on the bed, and we both just lie in silence as we stare at the roof. Even though the words are unsaid, we both know that now things will be better. We had done what we set out to do. Then after gathering my breath and composure again, I turn my head to look at her. I can see there are tears trickling in the corner of her eye, yet I know that she is not sad, but she is only filled with joy. With only but a whispered breath, I lay my hand gently against her cheek.

“Boo, I cannot live without you. I know that now more than ever. Some people come into your life for a short period, while others are destined to stay till the end. You are one of those people that are destined to stay until the end. I’m not ever going to let you out of my life; you are a perfect representation of all the beautiful things in my life. You have always been the reason for my persistent smiles and happy moments. I will never love you any lesser than this. I know my feelings for you will continue being doubled and tripled.”