the Unfinished

taken from LOCKING ARMS by Stu Weber

...two soldiers became particularly close. Day after day, night after night, terror after terror, they talked of life, of families, of hope, of what they would when (and if) they returned from this horror.

On one frutiless charge, "Jim" fell, severely wounded. His friend "Bill," made it back to the relative safety of the trenches. Meanwhile Jim lay suffering beneath the night flares. Between the trenches. Alone.

The shelling continued. The danger was at its peak. Between the trenches was no place to be. Still, Bill wished to reach his friend, to comfort him, to offer what encouragement only friends can offer. The officer in charge refused to let Bill leave the trench. It was simply too dangerous. As he turned his back, however, Bill went over the top. Ignoring the smell of cordite in the air, the concussion of incoming rounds, and the pounding in his chest, Bill made it to Jim.

Sometime later he managed to get Jim back to the safety of the trenches. Too late. His friends was gone. The somewhat self-righteous officer, seeing Jim's body, cynically asked Bill if it had been "worth the risk." Bill's response was without hesitation.

"Yes, sir, it was," he said. "My friend's last words made it more than worth it. He looked up to me and said, 'I knew you'd come.'"

....

Once, a good friend caught me off guard by saying out of the blue, "Kuya, kaya mo siguro gusto si Batman kasi kahit ganyan ka, nagagawa mo pa ring maging Bruce Wayne." Didn't quite know what he meant by that, but I guess anything that links me to the Bat can't be too bad. I think.

....

Growin up as kids, we had vitamin C supplements in lemon and lime flavor (yumyum!). We weren't allowed to take more than one a day. One time, I particularly remember announcing, "With God as my witness, I only took one from the bottle!" Then when no one was looking, I took 2 (or 3) and gobbled 'em up like candy.

....

Sigh. I've been here before. It doesn't get any easier. Maybe it's not suppose to. So long yet so slow. Maybe there's a lesson here somewhere...something I haven't learned. And till I get it right, there will always be this.

....

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." -Winston Churchill