The object of war is not to die for your country but to make your enemies die for theirs.
•••
V.E.J stands for Vivian Edith Jennings, but my friends call me EJ.
I can't possibly imagine what you're feeling right now but the fact that you're reading this, means I'm dead.
I am truly sorry for the secret I have kept. You have every right to be upset with me.
I had planned to tell you a long time ago but I didn't know how.
How do you tell your best friend that you have kept such a huge secret since the minute you met them?
Alan knew, but I never told him. He discovered by chance. He begged me to tell you, but I pleaded with him not to say a word. And now he has died with that secret.
Steve, I can't say that I'm completely sorry for pretending to be a man. If I was, it would mean I was sorry I met you, and I'm not.
I will never regret meeting you and the friendship we formed. It was a privilege and a honour fighting by your side, Stephen Knight.
Love
Vivian/EJ
P. S I hope to tell you this on person, Steve, but just in case I can't, I'll write it I this letter. Go to my hometown. I would like you to meet my folks and friends; Frederica and Louisa.
You'll like Frederica. She has a way of making everyone feel right at home.
•••
Stephen didn't know how to feel anymore. Too much had happened for him to function normally. He felt empty, lost and confused.
It hadn't always been him and EJ. The letter had brought back memories of another. Alan.
Alan, EJ and Steve was what everyone had called him. Till the war took Alan's life.
But now he couldn't think of Alan. At least not in a good way. Just knowing that his best friend had been keeping such a secret from him was too much to handle.
EJ is a girl. No, was a girl. Now both his friends were gone, leaving him alone in this war torn world. Was the war still going on? Stephen didn't know, nor did he care.
Why EJ? Why did you lie to me? How could you hide this from me? How could I not see it?
Stephen didn't like all the question going through his mind. He hated feeling clueless. No, he was going to get answers, and he knew just where.
As soon as the war was over, he was going to EJ…Vivian's, hometown.
YOU ARE READING
After Effect
Historical FictionPost WW1. Stephen Knight tragically loses EJ, his best friend. But EJ's death brings about some shocking information and Stephen takes it upon himself to visit EJ's hometown. Soon secrets are unveiled and things are not what they seem. Stephen sets...
