Sunrise

The horizon had a hue of gold, as the sun was about to rise in the sky. This was the third time in a row that Sean had woken up and was awake way before he is supposed to. Sleep was a foreign affair now, not meant to bring him peace. He missed his home back in England where he could sleep peacefully. Sean belonged to the town of Hornchurch in Essex, England. Stating the obvious but life in England was quite different from his life now. They had crisp winters, stormy springs, and disappointing summers. However, the heat he has been surrounded by for the past couple of months made British summers feel not that disappointing. Besides, the weather condition was not his major concern. It was everything else.

Mail Man

Sean was just finishing up with breakfast when he heard a commotion amongst his peers. The mailman was here which means everyone was restless and excited to receive their share of letters and packages. Sean was in no hurry so he stayed put at his bench. It is not that he didn’t want to hear from his family, it just took him a lot of courage to reply to those letters. Sean’s parents were waiting for him back home. He was an only child which meant leaving them behind was not easy, to put it lightly. He is the only family they have and being thousands of miles away from them is not easy. But he understood his duties and so did they. And even miles away, his parents were his strength.

Patrolling

Sean decided to save the letter for the night. He didn’t want to start his day feeling emotional and longing for home. It was time to be on duty, it was his turn to go out patrolling today with his team. He quickly loaded up his gear and packed his backpack, ready to leave for the day.  Sean and his team were going patrol the area which was about 20 miles from their basecamp. He rushed outside and hopped onto one of the jeeps ready to take off for the day. Each jeep carried a group of five soldiers and a driver. Once everyone was on board, they were ready to head out. The jeep pulled up leaving behind a cloud of sand. The soldiers got out of the jeep and marched to their assigned areas, their boots crushing the rubble beneath it. The sun was shining brightly at the top of their heads, Sean could feel sweat dripping down his back already.

A Sound

Sean was on his way out after searching the area when he heard a sound coming from behind him. He froze in his tracks. He turned around and saw a huge pile of bricks. Sean realized there might be somebody in the building after all. He ran to the pile of debris and found a huge block of cement in the middle of it. Sean lifted the block of cement and threw it aside. Once the dust had subsided, Sean’s eyes landed on what was underneath the huge block of cement. It was a puppy. Sean’s heart melted at the sight.Even though she was covered in dust, Sean could tell that the puppy had a tuxedo fur. She was a mix of white, light brown on the body and dark brown around her eyes and ears.

Barrie

Feeding the puppy surely got her to trust Sean and this time she allowed him to pet her. Sean smiled and knew he is going to keep her with him. She is his dog now, and he decided to name her Barrie. It’s almost as if on cue, Barrie came forward and nudged her head to his leg. Sean took it as a sign that she liked the name. He picked her up and took her back to his tent.