Page 71 of Salute, To Bravery

Ophelia

A nxiety filled my lungs as I landed in Seattle. The sky was crying when I landed. Once I grabbed my luggage, I hailed a taxi.

I hadn’t told anyone that I was back. I hadn’t told anyone that I was fired. Surprising them was the plan, but this anxiety wasn’t.

Knowing that I would have to tell Violet and my friends made my anxiety worse. I would talk to them when I was ready. It wasn’t their story to understand; it was mine, and I could barely understand it.

Was I weak?

Was I too much?

It felt like I was always ruining what was perfect.

The Air Force used to be my safe place, but I had to destroy that.

In all of my past relationships, I was either too much for them or too little, emotion-wise.

I always ruined what I considered too perfect.

I knew it; everyone knew it. Well, everyone except Violet, which made me nervous.

She didn’t know that I was hard to love.

She knew nothing about my emotional state—how broken I was.

One minute I would be your best friend, the next we would be sworn enemies because I said something wrong.

I always hated that part of me. I always make mistakes with my words and actions.

I always ended up losing the things I loved.

I arrived at Violet’s house about an hour later.

The bricked, two-story house looked like something that should’ve been in the middle of the country, not the middle of the city.

The grass was a bit overgrown and had flowers all over the lawn, adding to the whimsical factor.

All the simple trim was a beautiful dark sage green.

I knocked on the green door.

Goosebumps littered my skin, and butterflies flooded my stomach. There was a quiet moment that made me doubt everything.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come here.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left Japan.

She doesn’t want to see me.

I turned around to leave, but then the door creaked. I turned around towards the door to see Violet standing there in her bathrobe. She looked like she had seen a ghost as she stared at me with horrified eyes.

Violet ran up to me and gave me a tight hug. She leaned back for a moment, making me want to question the action. Violet smashed her lips onto mine without letting any words leave my throat.

Relief swamped me. She had missed me, like I had missed her. With only one simple action, I was complete again. I picked her up and spun her around as a little squeal left her. She had the most beautiful smile as I set her down.

I looked into her eyes. Her beautiful copper eyes were so hard to look at; there was so much pain and happiness in them. Violetsmiled at me with sparkles in her eyes and gave me another hug.

“I missed you.” Her voice was quiet.

“I missed you too.” My voice matched hers.

There was a stillness between objects, a moment where everything was beautiful. I had the woman I cared for in my arms. I was where I wanted to be. I was where I was meant to be. Peace filled the air that I breathed, calming my mind. It was something so special.

It was peaceful knowing that all this trauma had led me to this moment. It was refreshing to breathe again.