More Than A Woman

Chapter 1

                     The Last Letter

“Jonathan Adams, Commander Chamberlain has summoned you.” The voice of Steven Smith, the all time messenger of the ward 17 soldiers, echoed in the prevailing silence of the common dormitory. Jonathan, whose name had been called, was busy flipping through the pages of a diary.

A half torn collection of memories stained in yellow pages, held immense power and value to the twenty nine year old. Between the pages Jonathan had kept the precious sheets of paper that held the power to control and govern his emotions.The papers were sent to him in the form of letters.

Steven’s voice caught hold of his attention and he looked up to the petite man, answering him with a nod. “You’ll get to see what your fate holds, Adams. After all it’s Sergeant Chamberlain who has called for you.” Marlin chimed in, with a tone of pretend mockery as he stood in front of Jonathan. Teddy Marlin, the most supportive inmate and a friend to him, gave a slight pat on his back as Jonathan kept his diary on the bed, stood up and shot Marlin a smile before sauntering out of the room.
                                                          

“Sir, I heard you called for me.” Jonathan spoke, his face straight, legs symmetrically aligned and his arms by his side. He was at the entrance of Sergeant Chamberlain’s official work room.

“Yes aviator Adams. I did.” The fifty eight year old man breathed. “This is not a formal meet. I would like to talk to you. Please take a seat.” A man who had never known anything in his life to be more important than serving his nation and preparing his men for war for the toughest of times had spared some minutes aside of his busy schedule to have a talk with one of his men.

Jonathan was taken by surprise to see his commander speak with a softer tone, a voice which contradicted his personality. Nonetheless, he maintained his firm expression and took a seat right in front of him.

“The war is over. It is the time for the soldiers to head back home." Chamberlain clasped his fingers together releasing a rugged breath. “I must inform you that I’ve been very impressed with your contribution to the air force, flying fighter planes at any hour of the day.” Being praised by the commander was something that Jonathan had not been expecting. But he devoted his entire concentration to listen to the wise man.

“I can see the dedication and desire in your eyes and your spirit. I can sense a younger me in you.” Immediately all the incidents of the commander’s furious commands insulting him reflected back to his mind. Yet, the comment was enough to lift up his mood.

“But I haven’t called you here to praise you. I actually wanted to give you something.”Taking away his brown eyes from Jonathan’s grey ones, Chamberlain opened the first drawer of his wooden desk to reveal an envelope.

“I believe this belongs to you. It had been stuck at the post office for nearly two months and it arrived today morning.” He handed the small piece of paper to Jonathan who had his heart in his hands just by seeing it.
To Jonathan Adams
From Trudy Segall Adams

Seeing a smile tugging at Jonathan’s face, the commander asked, “Is it from your wife?”
“Yes Sir.” He answered as he grew the irresistible urge to open the seal joining the envelope and read the letter addressed to him.

“I’ve seen you hunting for a letter almost every morning nowadays and I guessed that this might be the one you’re looking for. Well, you should go back home. You haven’t seen your family for almost nine months, I suppose.” He continued as he examined the restlessness and excitement building up inside Jonathan. 
“You must love her very much.”

“More than my own life, sir.” His reply held utmost honesty and sincerity.
                               ***

The second Jonathan left the commander’s office, his fingers tore open the seal and in his hands he held the closest source of connection to his wife.  He had collected all the nine letters sent to him by Trudy safely inside his diary and his fingers held the tenth one.  The old memories replayed in his young mind…
Jonathan had met Trudy when he was nineteen years old in the year 1906.

He was learning to become a pilot while she was in college studying music and it was her voice he had fallen love before, slowly falling for the person it belonged to, only later.

They met first at a church, with her participating in the choir and him visiting to pray to the lord. His eyes were on her the entire time she sang the very first day of their meet though none of them made any advances for a talk. Then onwards he met her quite a few times in the church and before he gathered the courage to talk to her, it was Trudy who approached him for a conversation. He had been very nervous to initiate the first talk with her whereas she found his fumbles and small stutters to be adorable. She ended up smiling at his innocence, and that earned Jonathan the courage to speak his mind.

The visits had become a habit for Jonathan and a routine for Trudy. They met every Sunday for about four months, until the day they finally confessed their feelings for one another. History was created the moment they connected their lips together only to discover the warmth, the softness they emitted. The same pair of lips he kissed, were the only ones he and Trudy ever shared in their life.

Jonathan opened the letter to notice the handwriting he knew by heart.

Dear Jon,
It has been six months since you’ve gone, and I haven’t received any letter from you in a month. How are you?
Littleton is not the same without you. I miss you Jon. I spend my time giving lessons to kids and engaging with friends but I feel your absence as every second passes by. It is the longest that we’ve been abstained from one another’s presence.

I don’t know if you are reading my letter. If you are, know that, I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you for fighting for our nation and sacrificing every little thing you have in your life. I’m glad that I met you on that wintry morning in the Church. And I want to say this to you when we meet again. I want to hold you close and tell you how much I adore you and never let go.

There is also something I have to tell you about. The month after you left I discovered a truth. I’m carrying your child, Jon. Yes, it is true. I didn’t write this before in any of those letters because I did not want you to worry about me when you had other plans to focus on. I also had chances of miscarrying the baby, so I waited till the right time to arrive for me to write to you. But don’t you worry about me and our child. We are healthy.
We need you Jon. Come back home soon. I love you.
Trudy

A/N: Hey beautiful people! This is my new story. I hope you like it. What do you think so far? Vote and comment if you want to. Thank you for your time.