Chapter 4.

Seattle, WA 

I didn't want him to leave, I begged him to stay. But even with tears overflowing, quivering lips & the urgency in my tone was not enough to make him stay. Nothing, at this point, would make him stay. & while his absence would bring sadness to me, I admired his strength and devotion to his commitment of honoring his country. 

The day of his departure was like any other day in Seattle, except that I'm a California girl and the weather in Seattle was much different but it reflected how I had felt. Abondoned, cold. The thick blanket of fog covering the road ahead of us as if it was foreshadowing an ominous ending to us. It wasn't like any other day; it was a day I'd say goodbye and hope, HOPE id see him again. 

time layers old wounds

I'm not sure where to start because the truth is that there's still missing pieces of the puzzle. Maybe I'll never fully finish it and it will have to remain in the shadows of the shelves that have collected dust and spider web homes over time. Maybe I'll come across it someday and when I do I'll go "wow, there's that puzzle I never finished" but by that time I'd take little consideration into it because I've already occupied myself trying to put another, more intriguing jigsaw puzzle together. That's the beauty of it though, being able to look at something that once meant so much to you, that you put in every inch of yourself to figure out; being able to look at it and it no longer having any significance.

- s.a.m 

The tattoo that left me inked

It was one of those sleepless nights where we'd stay up and openly discuss whatever crossed our minds. And then this moment happened that has permanently stuck to me forever: he pulled down his lip to expose an obvious issue he had.... Insomnia. A word that perfectly described him. Each letter puncturing his flesh with ink, as if he'd purposely torture himself with the daily reminder that would be there for the rest of his life, you will never sleep through the night. I asked him why he did that. He looked at me, smiled and said let's go to sleep.

- s.a.m