Snow

It was a cold morning if i can remember correctly. No sun and the clouds brought with them a feeling of despair. The smell in the air was of fear, death and and outright distress, but somehow we managed to keep our spirits high. We had only been dug in for about a month and a lot of us were feeling as if the worst was yet to come. How painfully right we would be.
They day went on with only a few machine gun bursts to the north. We mainly sat around talking about our homes and the grand plans we made for post-war life. Occasionally I would walk to other fox holes, mainly to bum a butt or swap rations, this helped keep my mind away from what was waiting for us just across the field. In fact by the time dusk rolled around i believe i must of had, collectively, a whole pack cigarettes and a meal large enough for five men.
After this escapade of casual looting i managed to find myself back at my fox hole. A light snow began to fall and all grew silent as if the curtains just opened at the opera. I could feel this tension grow inside of me, a tension that i had grown familiar with over the past two years. Then as soon as i could blink the ground was practically ripped from underneath me. Artilery rounds were closing in on our position one after another truley showing us no mercy.
All around me men were screaming, trees were bursting and earth was moving. I laid deep in my fox hole clenching my rifle praying that one of those rounds didn't have my name on it. Then, as soon as it started it stopped and all fell silent again. I wasn't hurt and niether was Pvt. Lewis, who had been sharing the hole with me, but judging by the screams someone was. I sat up but remained in the fox hole and Pvt. Lewis did the same.
By this time it was dark, some of the trees that had been hit were still smoldering and the smell of sulfur filled the air. The captain ordered us to stay in our fox holes until all was clear. It was at this moment that I closed my eyes again just for a rest. Some how I found comfort in this chaos and I dozed off. Then I awoke to one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed in my life.
I awoke to the smell of flowers and instead of the fox hole i was in my bed. At the foot of my bed was my family, young and old, all very warm and welcoming. I was speechless and my sight was hazy but even with the absence of my sight and speech i could feel a great deal of love. It was at this point I knew I was forgiven and that i was no longer a soldier of the past. My vision went black, my breathing came to a hault and a tear rolled down my cheek. It was a cold afternoon when my war was finally over.
Dedicated To:
Edward L. Arthur
"Papa"
1922-2003