Half a handful of weeks passed after Garrett's departure.
The first few days were the hardest for them all. A huge helping hand had just left behind a hard-working household. But they knew that they'd have it all figured out before they know it.
But what hit them all the most and the hardest was that, Garrett was loved very much by all, his departure left some not being able to sleep for a few nights.
But with each day that passed, bit by bit, they all coped that bit more with his leave.
'He said he'll be back. He'll be back before I, before we all know it...' Claire found herself thinking. 'He'll be back just like father, when he went and came back.'.
Though Claire was a hard-worker and spent most of her time helping out her parents when it came to the bar or heading out into the field. But when she had some time for herself, she loved to read and write. She also enjoyed listening to music, but what she loved the most was to listen to music while she was writing.
Her favorite author was Pat Gibson. A famous writer who was born in Arittoria, Claire's home country, right in its capital, Ponte Vecchio.
She wanted to attend a university, but she knew that money would be a problem. Though her parents and herself owned and lived in a big house, owned a few fields and a bar, it didn't have a precise reflection upon their financial situation. But she promised herself that, thought her path to higher education wasn't clear, she would work hard on maintaining those most important skills she gathered from high school.
With that thought entering and leaving her head, she let out a sigh. And with that, she went back to what she was doing. Reading.
Her current read was a romance novel called 'Love in All Kinds of Ways', by the man himself, Pat Gibson.
Just as she flicked the page and began reading the first sentence, a knock on her door interrupted her.
Claire looked up, calling out, "Come in!".
With that, the door opened, revealing her mother with a box in her hands. "Claire, sweetie, I am cleaning some things up around the house. I accidentally came across this box filled with many things. From what I saw, these are mostly your things. Could you do me a favour and assort what you need and don't need.".
Claire replied with a nod to her mother's words. "Yes, of course!".
With that, her mother placed the box right by her bed. "Thank you so much. I know these are mostly old things, but they are your old things. I think it's only right for you to look through these and decide what you want and don't want to keep.". With that, her mother smiled at her. Moments later, she took a step towards Claire before hugging her and giving her hair a kiss.
"Mom, where's dad?" Claire asked after they separated from their hug.
"He went to finish some errands in the town centre. And on the way back, he mentioned that he will drop by the post office to see if there's a letter that's for us from Garrett," she replied.
In all this time that he was absent, he sent his family 4 letters, informing them about what has happened. How his time was there before he ended everything off with saying how much he missed Claire and their parents. The letters that were sent out to him had a similar structure. They told him what has happened. Told him what they expected to happen. Then talked about the weather before ending everything off with how much they missed him too.
But in the letter what was sent out yesterday to him, they included a very, very special piece of news. Meghan was pregnant!
"Anyways, I'll leave you be, sweetie. You look through your stuff, and separate what you do and don't need, okay?" Claire's mother voiced as she took a step back. "And I'll be downstairs if you need me.".
Claire nodded to her mother's words. "Yes, mom.".
With that, she left the room, leaving Claire alone with a box of her old stuff by her bed.
Claire slid herself to the edge of her bed before bending down, trying to get a grip of the box that was filled with her stuff.
Pulling it up and onto her bed, she began to look through it. A small smile appeared on her lips and she remembered some of the things in this box. They evoked, woke up some old memories that no object had ever done before.
She assorted some things until she reached something. A notebook. She froze, eyes widened.
Picking up the copy, she examined it. Nostalgia lingered in her chest the more she looked at the copy. It was a red copy, but filled with scribbles on the cover of when Claire was small.
In this copy, with the aid of her older brother, Claire learned about all the countries that consisted in the kingdom where her family and her lived in.
Opening the first page, she read the writing 'The Kingdom of Veursau'. Down below was the list of countries and their capital cities.
The Kindgom of Veursau
Country: Capital:
Agut - Tuzgrad.
Arittoria - Ponte Vecchio.
Douleur - Solide.
Failin - Lilin.
Iarterre - Aides.
Iwa - Zvonok.
Lailin - Liß.
Leilesse - Leslin.
Veursau - Veursau.
The pages that followed had scribbles upon scribbles of both names of the countries and of their capital cities. She had a hard time memorizing all the names of the cities and their countries. This was her only aid.
Closing the copy, that small smile remained on her lips. 'This definitely stays.'.
Managing to assort whatever needed to be, she separated the pile. Giving what she didn't need to her mother and taking back what she needed into her room.
She hopped back onto her bed. From there, she picked her book back up and continued off from where she stopped reading.
A few pages in, she heard the main door downstairs open. Immediately, she knew it was her father. It couldn't have been anyone else. Though Meghan was a routine visitor, she knew it wasn't her. That day, she was too busy helping her own parents.
Then, she heard her mother conversing with her father. A gentle laugh was heard before some more chatter occurred. Then, suddenly, silence.
Claire reminded herself that mother told her father went to the post office to check if there were any letters from Garrett.
Leaving her book down once more, she moved to the edge of her bed before standing up. Slipping her slippers on, she went out of her room and down the stairs.
And in the kitchen, she found her parents by the dining table. And upon hearing Claire enter, they both looked her way.
Her father smiled at her. "Hey, Sweetheart!". He approached her before giving her a big hug. She hugged him back.
"Dad? Did you get anything from Garrett?" Claire asked as they broke from their embrace.
First, he looked at her before he bit both of his lips. With that, he shook his head. "Sadly nothing. At least, not today..." he voiced. "Maybe he did write us something, but it might still be in transit.". Upon hearing his words, Claire felt her heart sink ever so slightly.
"But also military knows to be very, very time consuming. He might have not gotten much time to write back to us. Just ask your father. Out of us three, he knows the best," her mother said.
Claire nodded in an understanding manner. "I... I assumed so. I can't imagine all the tasks Garrett must have been assigned to do by now...". A short pause followed, with a small, sheepish smile growing on Claire's lips. "But... but, I-I just hope that... that he is okay. I want that clarification that my brother is doing well and is healthy.".
A smile of empathy grew on her mother's lips as she walked over to Claire. She tried to reassure her daughter by rubbing her back. "I know how you feel, sweetie. I feel the same way..." she began. "But then again, I am sure Garrett is doing just fine. He is a big, strong man. A man who can fend for himself...".
"B-but how can you be so sure, mom?" Claire couldn't help herself but ask.
At first, she replied by looking at Claire, into her eyes. "Because..." she began, bringing her right hand up to her chest, right above where her heart was. "Because... I can feel it.". The smile on her mother's face grew that bit more as she held her hand that was on her chest in place. She felt her eyes as they filled with tears.
Claire noticed this, instantly, her eyes too filled with tears. With that, she hugged her mother. Seconds later, Claire's father joined their embrace too. A family hug...
But they were missing Garrett to make it a true family hug.
***
The next day came about. The morning rolled out, Claire went early with her dad to their bar. That day, she worked for nearly the whole day alongside her father. Her mother had a day off.
"You go home, Claire. I'll go and check if everything is locked up in the back.".
From her home to the bar, and vice versa, it was a five-minute walking distance. So within those 5 minutes of walking, Claire managed to get home.
Opening the door and entering, she said, "Mom, I am home. Dad will come in a few because he had to lock everything up.". No reply.
Claire turned around and closed the door behind her. Still no reply.
"Mom? Where are you?... Is everything okay?" Claire called out once more.
"I-I'm here!" her mother called out from the kitchen, but with a strange emotion in her voice.
'Why does mom sound distressed?' Claire asked herself, furrowing her brows. "Mom?? What happened? Is everything okay?".
She slipped on her slippers and headed into the kitchen. There, she saw her mother, sitting on a chair, with a piece of paper in her hands.
Claire widened her eyes. 'Letter from Garrett??'.
She was about to say something when an envelope caught her eye. It was on the bar table in their kitchen, opened.
'It must be from the page that mom has in her hands,' Claire thought to herself before sliding the envelope to herself. Instantly, she recognised the handwriting on the envelopes to be Garrett's.
Claire looked back at her mother. "Mom?... Is everything okay?...". Worry began to spread in Claire's chest. "Is Garrett okay??".
"Yes... yes he is...".
Claire sighed a breath of relief. "T-then what is it, mom? Why do you look so distraught?".
From the unfolded page in her hands, her gaze rose up to Claire. She took in a deep breath.
"A war began...".