Ashokan Farewell by Jeffrey Allen White (read this if .txt) 📕

away. His face coming to rest inches from that of William’s. John’s heart raced. The pain in his legs came back with a vengeance. His screamed as snow fell into his mouth causing him to choke and cough.

He pushed himself back from William, resting against the opposite wall of the trench. John was crying now. His tears freezing immediately onto his lashes. His eyes wide and filled with pain.

John tried to close them but they would not move. Slowly the white snow around him started to fade. He felt as he was falling. No pain, no cold and no hurt. He tumbled and turned; his frozen body now able to move or rather being tossed around like a rag doll. He was now resting on the ground. The snow had disappeared and was replaced by acres of wild flowers and tall grass. The summer sun, shinning on his face and warming his body. He was dreaming or he was dead, John thought.

He raised himself up onto one elbow. He grabbed a blade of grass and broke it, feeling it against his face. The smells and sounds of summer, last summer filled his senses. He could hear birds singing and the warm wind passing through the trees.

“John... John”. A voice called him. It was Claire. He knew her voice well. He picked himself up and dusted himself off just as Claire reached him. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him in the sunlight. “I love you, John.” She said looking into his eyes.

John kissed Claire again, feeling her body against his. Her long blond hair blowing into their faces. “I love you”, he returned. He picked her up and carried her back to the house. The ruffle of the grass and flowers beneath his feet were second to their laughter and joy.

John opened his eyes. It was a dream. He was not out in the warm sunlight. He was not back home. Claire was not there. He was going to die. He was dying.

His labored breath turned into icy vapors as they left his mouth. The tears that had frozen onto his face cracked and fell down his cheek. He could it as it fell onto him. His pain was intense now. More a burning then ever before. He wondered how he could feel this burning when he was freezing to death. John turned his head and rested his face against his shoulder. More snow fell around him. It was endless, the storm surged onward killing everything around him. Killing him.

“John, what do think about this?” It was Claire. He was with Claire again. She was holding a dress up against herself with one hand as she swung around holding the full skirt. She had just gotten it. She had ordered it from John’s father. When it came in, he would not let her pay for it, not even his cost.

“Well, what do you think?’ Claire stopped twirling about and stood before her mirror. John was sitting on a chair against the far wall. He had a book in his hand. John looked down and could see the title and author. It was a book written by a Clayton Greene, a well know writer who wrote tales of heroism
and valor.

He closed the book placing it on the stand next to his chair and stood up walking over to Claire. He reached his arms around her and held her against him, her hand caressing the curve of his jaw and neck. He could smell her scent of flower water. She always smelled like flowers. Never a day did she not. Even today with snow all around him...

John was dreaming again. He had been with Claire again. When did he see her last? Two or three months. Forever it seemed. His breath filled the air in front of him. It was as cold as the air around him. John grabbed his collar with his right hand and tried to move his left. He looked down. His left arm was not moving. It was frozen. John pulled his collar tighter as if it made a difference. It crackled from the frozen wetness. His hand released slowly off his collar and he again closed his eyes. On the other hand, he thought he did. He could not see anymore.

Then he felt his vision return and he looked around. It was dark. Moonlight was sifting in through a window. He was in his bed. The bedclothes were all around him and... Claire. She was asleep next to him. They had just made love and together they drifted off to sleep. Hours later, he awoke and watched her as she slept. Her long golden hair all around her face and pillow reflecting the light of the moon outside. He reached out and brushed his fingers against her face. She turned a little and settled back into her sleep.

John withdrew his hand not wanting to wake her. He just watched her as she slept. Her breathing slow and peaceful. Her face radiant from the love they had shared. He pulled the bedclothes up around her and smoothed them out careful not to waken her. He loved her so much. He had always loved her. He had loved from the first time he saw her. Claire and her family moved to town when they were both just children. John was in the eight grade and she was a grade younger.

The teacher gave her a seat up in front. John was in the back as he was one of the older children and a lot taller too. Claire took her seat and turned around, her eyes meeting John’s. She smiled and he smiled back. Claire sat and took off her bonnet and placed it on the seat next to her letting her hair fall softly around her shoulders. Her hair was the color of gold.

John thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. No other girl compared with her, not even Melinda Thompson who was the class beauty in her own right. Melinda looked at Claire and gave her a look. Claire smiled politely and returned her attention to the teacher. John saw this exchanged and smiled again. Melinda was no match for this new girl. It was then he knew he would marry Claire, even before they had ever spoken to each other. Before they had ever exchanged a single word.

After class, John left the school with William. They were both talking about the new girl. The pretty new girl. “Are you going to talk to her?” William asked. “Of course I am going to talk to her. In fact I am going to marry her.” John had made this rather sure statement. William thought they would never marry as the only girl for either of them was Melinda and Melinda only used them to her advantage. It would be only another five years that Melinda finally set her sites on William and they married.

William shook his head and pushed John in a friendship way. “That’s right, go on and ask her. Maybe she’ll even say yes.” William laughed and turned, walking into town to his job in John’s father’s store. John worked there also but he lingered outside the schoolhouse, waiting for the new girl.

William turned around to see if John was following but saw that he had not. “Better not take too long,” he said. “I am not stocking all those new supplies by myself.” In addition, with that he walked into the center of town and into the sunlight.

Claire has been exchanging names with several girls in the class. They all wanted to know all about her and where she was from and did she have any brothers or sisters and what her father did. They all accepted her warmly. That is all of them except Melinda who put up her nose when she passed by knocking into several of the smaller children.

Claire caught one small girl as she was knocked to the floor. “Are you all right?” she asked. The little girl, Emily Charles, was about seven years old and was missing her two front teeth. She nodded that she was all right with her toothless smile.

Claire and several of the girls walked out of the schoolhouse and into the afternoon sun. They all asked her where she lived and if they would walk together. It turned out that two of the girls were near Claire’s home and they decided to walk together. As they came down the steps, Claire saw John. He was tall and had dark hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

“Hello”, she said as she passed him. The girls giggled and it made Claire blush.

John was able to get out “Hello” before he was lost in the crowd of younger students who ran by. “My name is John.” He shouted to her. He waited for her to turn around to acknowledge him and strained to see her through the mass of children.

Claire did not. She could not even if she wanted to. The giggling girls were all talking to her, filling her in on the local gossip and stories. Claire heard John but did not turn her head. She wanted to though.

John watched until she had turned the corner with the girls. He watched her as she walked away with her new friends. He waited for her to turn around to look at him. Just as she reached the corner building before she was completely out of sight she did turn and gave him a big smile. John laughed and returned a bigger grin. “See you tomorrow”, he called to her as he waved his arm high above his head. The girls all laughed as they disappeared around the corner.

John smiled all the way to his father’s store. He met William out front sweeping the steps. “I told your father you were asking the teacher a question about Arithmetic. That you stayed after.”

John patted William’s shoulder