A soldier's story

There was once a soldier and he was overseas away from home and very homesick. His hometown was proud of him and he received many letters from the town he grew up in.

However, out of the many letters he continued to receive, he was most touched by one in particular. It was from a woman that said she knew him, but he didn't know her. She wrote many letters, sometimes a letter a day came for him. The soldier started a writing relationship responding to each letter back to the woman.

This carried on for weeks and then months. It became a sort of routine that he would finish his patrol and then get another letter from this secret admirer. It made his heart swoon, and he began to fall in love with this woman that he had never seen in the flesh.

It felt stupid, and he couldn't tell any of his soldier friends because they would laugh at him. But each night, he would write back and it made the war seem further away, and he fought harder to come home alive so he could see this woman.

Well, the war ended and he got on the boat to come home. He felt so excited about his return. Not only was his hometown going to give him a hero's welcome, but he was about to meet this woman he had fallen in love with. This woman had kept his spirits alive in the war, and he owed his life to her for giving him the hope to return home safely.

Although they did not see each other, it did not matter to the soldier. He would love this woman no matter what she looked like and he told her this. At first she did not believe him, so she said that he would recognize her in the crowd. She would be wearing a wild purple orchid above her heart so that he would know its her.

When he came into town, his heart was beating so loud he thought everyone could hear it. This was the moment he was waiting for....

When he stepped into the crowd, he was immediately greeted by all of his family and friends until he finally saw her. She was considerably older than he was, and she sat in a wheelchair being attended to by a young vibrant woman behind her. As he walked up to her, he knelt down on one knee and pulled the orchid off her jacket and put it in his hand. Then he took her hand and joined them together in a tender embrace and kissed the woman on each cheek.
Looking into her eyes, he said, "I owe you a debt of gratitude I shall never be able to repay. You brought me such joy with your letters and I am standing here because of you. I fell in love with you in each and every letter you sent to me, and I am overjoyed to finally meet you so that we can start our life together."

The woman looked at him and said, "Brave soldier, I am honoured that you have returned safely to a hero's welcome, and I appreciate your kind words, but I am confused. This lovely woman behind me asked if I would wear this orchid, and she offered to push my wheelchair to greet you..."