Miriam McGruder
45 Long Farm Lane
Smalltown
East West Countryshire
East West Countryshire
My dear Miriam,
How my heart yearns for you. I fall
asleep with your name on my lips and I wake with your face in my dreams. I read
your letters so often it is a wonder the ink hasn’t faded away to nothing.
My days in basecamp are filled with
boredom and terror. We are ever in a state of readiness. I don’t think I have
truly clean since leaving home. I remember the scent of the farm. I
remember the scent of the cow pats mixing with the scent of the grass as the
cows grazed. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I can almost smell home again
but, then I open them, and I am back.
From time to time I wonder if it is
you that I yearn so fervently for or if it is to be as far away from this
dreadful conflict as possible. I know that sounds callous, my love, but I think
you are the embodiment of my desire to return to a place of peace.
Ah, my dear heart, my mind is as
confused as my heart these days. I find myself staring, almost entranced, at my
captain. He strides throughout the camp with a confidence that one does not
often see. His strong and assertive voice makes me believe that there might be
an end to the grim conflict. He rallies the men with an enthusiasm that I have
only seem on the football ground during peacetime. Unlike the rest of us, his
uniform fits him and seems to never bear the scars and marks of a long and laborious day. He
looks crisp and freshly pressed as if he just strode off the parade ground.
I wish I had his confidence, my dear
Miriam, he will not accept anything less than success. I fear that he might
leap over the barbed wire and go into battle single handed. I would worry more
if I did not think he would succeed.
Dear Miriam, my heart and mind are so
confused. I know that here is, where I should to be, where I have been ordered
to be, but I feel as if my destiny lies far away.
I hope that one day I can be as strong
and as self-possessed as Captain Richmond.
Yours in hope
Teddy
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