Page 65 of Salute, To Bravery

Ophelia

I t was still dark and cold when I woke up. Smooth jazz filled my ears, and I realized that someone was calling me. I looked at my phone, and my sergeant’s profile photo filled the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ophelia Raven?”

“Yes,” I said, a yawn escaping my mouth. “How can I help you?”

“You’re being deployed to Japan for disaster relief.” His voice was as stern as ever.“You need to be here by tomorrow and ready to help. I will send you your plane information and such. Be here.”

Then I heard silence, meaning that the phone call had stopped. It felt as if my heart was trying to come up through my mouth and show me how tender and delicate it was. I was barely over what had happened the last time I deployed. What if it happened again?

My breath became shallow, but I didn’t have time to panic. I had to pack.

I looked up at the ceiling, which was becoming blurrier by the moment. Blinking back the tears, I took a deep breath and swallowed my fear. My eyesight became normal, and I grabbed my suitcase and turned on the news so I would understand what was happening in Japan.

“There was a tsunami, and it came out of nowhere,” the news lady said as the TV roared to life. She continued to give me the rundown of what was happening, where people needed aid, and how we could help.

Once I finished packing, I finally got the text message about my flight information. He said that he had called me a taxi, and it would be there in a few minutes.

It all felt way too fast.I barely had time even to text my landlord that I was leaving. I also had to tell my parents and Violet, so I texted the therapy group chat and then forwarded the message to everyone else who needed to know.

My heart beat loudly, and I couldn’t help but have a few tears race down my chin as I put my luggage into the back of the taxi. As I got into the car, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was drowning in air, closing my airways.

Everything was moving too fast.

We arrived at the airport, and I couldn’t hold in my tears. I was leaving—again. Even though it was terrifying, I felt proud to protect and serve my country even if it meant that I would sacrifice my mental health, or worse, my life.