WHAT DO THE STARS SAY?
Chapter Four
Months had passed. Jack now
looked completely different. They had cut his blond hair and left him with a
buzz cut. He wasn’t that thin anymore. He had gained some muscle. He hadn’t
seen his brother in a few weeks. They had sent him to another military base.
Jack was not a happy guy. The base was rough and he missed sitting outside his
house in the green grass. It was not much fun. He would write to his brother at
the other base every week. He would also write to his mom and cousin. He also
wrote to the only person who didn’t write back, Rose. It had been eight months
since they had had that huge argument. Even if it broke his heart that she
wouldn’t even bother to write to him, he kept writing to her. The US had
escalated the Vietnam War, so Jack was afraid that his name might be called to
go. He decided to write one last letter to Rose.
Dear Rose,
This is my last letter to you.
I just want to say that I have never forgotten you, though I know you have
probably forgotten about me. I promise this letter is my last. I won’t bother
you again. I will always remember our time together. I keep thinking about it
all the time. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. You were my
friend, my partner in crime. I understand that you don’t want to write back and
that you have forgotten me. I just want you to know that I only think of our
good days together. I haven’t changed my mind about loving you, because it was
the most amazing feeling I have ever felt. Even though you have shut your heart
to me, I will always have you in mine. They are probably going to send me to
Vietnam, so I pray to God to let me live so I can see you one last time, even
if you don’t see me. If I do die…well…let’s not talk about that. I hope you
have a great life and make each day count.
Love Always,
Jack
PS. If you still want to know
what the stars say, just keep looking. If I ever see you again, I promise I’ll
tell you.
A week passed, and Jack was sent
to Vietnam. A week passed, and Rose received his letter. She had not written
back because she was scared. She felt horrible that she had not, but she wanted
to forget. She wanted to forget Jack. But she couldn’t. Something wouldn’t let
her. She had read every letter Jack had sent her and cried all the time she
read them. She opened this last one, started to read it, and when she was done,
she started to cry. She quickly grabbed a pen and started to write him back.
Another week passed, and Rose received a letter from the Army saying that Jack
was not able to receive her letter because he had been sent out of the country.
He had been sent to Vietnam. Rose was devastated to know this.
*****
It was now 1967. Jack was still
in Vietnam. He had met his brother Peter again. They had been sent to the same
place. Unfortunately, so had Rick. Rick would always try to start a fight with
Jack, but Jack tried his best to keep his cool. Months passed. It was hell in
the jungle. Jack hated it. He really just wanted to go back home. Almost every
soldier wanted to go home. They would spend their holidays with each other and
without family.
It was the New Year, 1968. Jack
had now been part of the military for four years and in Vietnam for almost that
long. Four years of his life away from his mom, away from Rose. Jack imagined
her married by now and with kids. He wondered what she was doing all the time.
She still was what he thought of all the time, but it was hard to be at peace.
He would constantly hear gunshots in his dreams. He had seen death too many
times. Jack was starting to change; there was no more light in his eyes. The
only reason he had been able to survive was the thought of seeing Rose again.
*****
Months passed, and Rose kept
trying to get her letters to Jack, but she couldn’t, because she didn’t know
where to send them. The Army told her they could not get them to him. She felt
frustrated. It had been four years, and Jack had not received one letter from
her. For some reason that Rose did not know, she didn’t want him to forget her.
She didn’t want him to say goodbye, and she didn’t want him to think that she
had forgotten about him.
*****
It was August 19, 1968. Jack,
Peter, and the rest of the troops had moved to a deeper part of the country of
Vietnam. This made them worry more, since Vietnam was in a civil war, and they
were in the middle of it. The troops were walking through some trees. Jack and
Peter were talking about the big news they had received. In a few months, they
would be sent home. This made them happy. They were going back home. They were
planning on how to surprise their mom. Peter wanted to surprise Myra, his
girlfriend, and told Jack everything about it. Jack heard his brother talking
about Myra and began to wish Rose would be waiting for him like Myra had been
waiting for Peter. He thought this would be impossible.
"When we get home, let’s get
Mom a dozen white roses. You know she loves them. And I’ll get Myra the
necklace she wants!" Peter said excitedly.
Jack smiled at him and agreed
with his idea. Peter was talking about going back home when Jack felt the
ground shake. A huge blast pushed him to the ground. He hit his arm hard as he
fell. He felt like someone had turned on the heat around him.
It was silent for a moment. Jack
felt dizzy. While on the ground, Jack looked around. Everything was in slow
motion. He looked around and saw some of his fellow soldiers on the ground.
Some were on the ground bleeding and shouting, but he couldn’t hear them. He
couldn’t hear anything. They had been bombed! Jack realized this as he saw
several trees on fire. The scary silence suddenly left and she could hear
people screaming and guns being fired. All of a sudden, he felt a deep pain on his
arm and wiped some blood off his forehead. Something had cut him. He slowly got
up. He looked around, looking for Peter, but he couldn’t find him.
"Jack!" someone yelled.
He looked in the direction his
name was being called from. It was Rick. He was on one of two military trucks
in front of him, but far away. He was still very dizzy; he had hit his head
pretty hard. He saw Rick waving his hand, indicating to get in the truck. Jack
started to walk to him. He grabbed his arm. Blood was still pouring down his
face. Jack felt excruciating pain. He was walking towards the truck, ducking as
he heard guns being fired.
"Jack! Ja…Jack!"
Jack heard his name again, coming
from behind him. It was Peter. He was on the ground. Jack saw that he was in a
pool of blood. Jack quickly looked back at Rick. He was still waving. Jack
turned around and walked to Peter. He grabbed him from the ground, putting
Peter’s arm around his shoulders. Jack dragged Peter towards the truck. He
barely had any strength in him. They were going at a slow rate; Jack was trying
to go faster when he felt like someone had stabbed him with a screwdriver, but
ten times harder.
He felt this in his hip, his
back, and his leg. Jack stopped; he looked to his side and saw that Peter had
been shot and that he had his eyes closed with his head back. He knew that
Peter was dead. He fell to his knees; he felt blood coming out of his mouth.
Jack fell to the ground. He
looked at the truck, the truck that Rick was on, as it started to leave. Jack
put his face on the ground. He felt his eyes closing. He saw Rose’s image
smiling back. It was the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes
completely.
*****
Some weeks had passed. Rick had
been sent back home. When he arrived, he went to Rose’s house. He knocked on the
door. Rose was in shock. She had not seen him in years. He looked very
different; he wasn’t the same cocky guy anymore.
"Rick! Come inside!"
Rose said. Rick went into the house. He sat on the couch and never looked up.
"Rick, what’s wrong? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Rose…I, like many others,
was sent home," he said.
The first person that came to
Rose’s mind was Jack. "Has Jack been sent home, too? Where is he? Is he
here in Rocksprings?" she asked excitedly.
"I…Rose, I have something to
tell you." Rose began to worry; the sound of Rick’s voice was low.
"Jack didn’t get sent home. He…oh, man, I never thought I would say this,
but I’m sorry, Rose. Jack was a great guy."
Rose’s heart sank. "What…do
you mean by that?" Tears fell from her eyes.
"He…Jack…he was so brave.
He…died! I’m so sorry, Rose! I know how much he meant to you."
Rose fell to the floor. She put
her hands on her face and began to cry even more. She began to blame herself.
Before Rick could comfort her, she got up and ran to the flower field where
Jack had always waited for her. She hoped with all her heart that this was a
cruel joke. That Jack would be waiting for her, waiting to tell her that it was
all just a joke.
She hoped to see him on the
ground, looking at the clouds. When she got there, she realized that she was
wrong and Rick was right. Jack wasn’t waiting for her. She fell to her knees.
"What do the stars say? What
do they say, Jack? You promised you would tell me!" she cried, looking at
the sky. "Why? Why, God? Why didn’t you let him tell me?"
*****
He opened his eyes. He felt so
much pain. He looked around and saw a few women dressed in white. Everybody
seemed to be wearing white.
"Have I died and gone to
heaven?" he asked.
"No, sir," a woman’s
voice said, almost laughing. "You are at a hospital, and back in the US.
You were flown here, and I’m no angel. I’m a nurse."
"What happened?" he
asked.
"You were shot by the Viet
Cong, and you were brought here for surgery. You have been out for a couple of
weeks," she said, fixing his pillows. He still looked confused. She looked
at her files. "And in case you have forgotten, you are Jack…Jack
Dawson."