Was Lhere much paln?

" Lhe glrl asked cllmblng on her grandmoLher's knees 1ell me please because l
wanL Lo know My grandpa wasn'L always llke Lhls l`m sure of LhaL SomeLlmes looklng ln hls eyes l can
see [oy peace even Lhough one second laLer lL Lurns lnLo grlef and melancholla lL lsn'L falr he shouldn'L
be llke Lhls!"
l know darllng l LoLally agree wlLh you" sald grandma as she recelved her nlece ln her arms Alec
wasn'L always llke Lhls and lL's been years slnce LhaL Lragedy happened buL he lsn'L a fasL healer l
acLually can say LhaL he lsn'L a healer aL all Pe can never forgeL whaL happens noL even Llme can help
hlm 1hls lsn'L Lhe flrsL Llme l Lell Lhls sLory and l sLlll wlsh LhaL l could go back ln Llme and flgure ouL why
was he so desLroyed lL was war afLer all lL was long ago Lhe year when Lhe war was aL lLs beglnnlngs
uesperaLlon was on everyone's faces and each woman was belng overwhelmed by fear for her
husband's llfe l wasn'L golng Lo leL your grandpa geL ln Lhe flghL l was Loo afrald for hls llfe on oLher
words l was a chlcken Lack of courage fear for hls llfe and so l locked Lhe doors Lo our house and l
LhreaLened hlm LhaL lf he would dare Lo leave LhaL would surely be Lhe lasL Llme he'd ever seL fooL ln
LhaL house Pe dldn'L seem scared and aL Lhe beglnnlng he pald aLLenLlon Lo whaL l sald !usL Lo be sure
l Look all Lhe keys ln bed wlLh me and sLuck Lhem under Lhe plllow ?our grandpa was cunnlng he leL me
fall asleep and Lhen he opened one of Lhe wlndows ln Lhe baLhroom Lhe only ones LhaL had no keys ln
Lhe enLlre house and he wenL Lo flghL wlLh hls frlends hls chlldhood gang l dldn'L hear a Lhlng Pe [usL
sneaked ouL wlLhouL Lhe sllghLesL sound l slepL Lhrough Lhe enLlre nlghL ?ou should've seen my face ln
Lhe mornlng when l woke up l was always waklng up wlLh my face on hls chesL counLlng every beaL of
hls hearL unLll he would wake up Loo 1haL mornlng was unbearably scary LhaL's how lL was All Lhe
keys were under my plllow l checked Lwlce and afLer LhaL l remembered Lhe wlndows ln Lhe baLhroom
and wenL Lhere of course Lhey were opened My enLlre sanlLy collapsed l goL ouL on Lhe sLreeL sLlll on
my pa[amas calllng ouL hls name as loud as l could A nelghbor heard my screams and came Lo me as
qulckly as he could Laklng me lnslde Lhe house and Lelllng me LhaL yelllng wasn'L golng Lo do much l
falnLed A half hour laLer when l came Lo my senses my nelghbor was sLlll nexL Lo me 1he huge door ln
Lhe fronL opened and your grandpa came lnslde Lhe house llmplng hls lefL fooL covered ln blood rlghL
from Lhe knee Lo Lhe ankle carrylng Max's body ln hls back l wlll never forgeL Alec's face because he
never was more scared Lhan ln LhaL day l forgoL abouL everyLhlng abouL how l was golng Lo yell aL hlm
as soon as he goL ln Lhe house l was [usL happy LhaL he reLurned allve Lo me l wasn'L sure LhaL Max was
dead or allve buL by Alec's face hls besL frlend ever was no longer beLween Lhe llvlng ones"
Who's Max grandma? ?ou never Lold me abouL hlm was he a frlend of my grandpa or was he [usL a
fellow who goL sLuck ln Lhe war [usL as grandpa Alec?" asked Lhe glrl Lrylng Lo remember a frlend of her
grandpa who's name had been Max buL falled Lo do so
1hey had always been frlends and Lhey were LogeLher ever slnce Lhelr moLhers gave Lhem blrLh aL Lhe
same hosplLal ln Lhe same day !usL looklng aL Alec's face hls blue eyes covered wlLh Lears [usL llke Lhe
sea geLLlng slck of her waves and Lhrowlng Lhem away Lo Lhe shore l dldn'L know whaL Lo say l [usL
asked
Was Lhere much paln?"