His phone buzzed in his hand. It was a text from Emma, his wife of eight years.
«Lily won’t stop asking if your plane got lost. She made you a sign. Purple glitter everywhere. Hurry home, baby.»
He smiled, the fatigue lifting for a moment, and typed back: «Landed. 15 mins. Can’t wait to hold you both.»
Lily had been five when he deployed. She was six now. He had missed a birthday party with a unicorn cake. He had missed her first day of kindergarten, absent for the moment she put on the new backpack she had picked out herself.
He had missed them over twenty-seven video calls that froze mid-sentence because the satellite connection couldn’t bridge the distance between a father and his daughter. In his duffel bag, nestled between his socks and shaving kit, was a stuffed rabbit he had bought at a base exchange in Kuwait. It was purple, her favorite color.
1 thought on “Cops Humiliate Returning Soldier at Airport — Unaware His General Is Right Behind Them”