The captain's last wish

~Kayel~

I woke up to the rays of the sun shining directly on my body. As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the fine weather that greeted me that morning.

I stretched my arms upward as I yawned, feeling tired from the training yesterday. It was great. Although it was rigorous and tough, I am learning new lessons day by day. I am thankful that it is the weekend. These two days were reserved for us to rest our tired bodies.

I looked around my own space inside the barracks. Thankfully, I sleep here on my own. The bed is just the size of my body, there's a wooden table and a chair.

I stood up from bed and did my push ups to start my day. I ended up with fifty. Panting, I sat on the floor for a while before I got outside my room.

It was six sharp in the morning. I put on my sneakers and started my morning routine. We used to jog in the morning together with the other trainees. There's no way I would stop this routine that we are doing everyday to strengthen our core. Besides, doing this makes me forget the reason why I decided to join the army for good.

***flashback***

He did two part-time jobs for the past six months. He wanted to make sure that he could save for this special day.

He made sure he already reserved a slot for the pricey restaurant that his girlfriend wanted the most.

He was very excited to surprise her. He had part-time jobs in secret. That way, she will not be ashamed of him whenever they will go outside for dates. How he wished for her to be proud of him, too.

He walked proudly when he passed by a flowershop. His face beamed with a smile as he went inside.

This is the moment that he was waiting for all his life. Now, he's confident that he could afford even the most expensive bouquet ever sold there.

"How much is this?" He smiled as he held a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"That's 150$ sir."

"I'll take it." He said as he paid it to the cashier. It was a combination of Tulips, Roses and Baby's Breath. The arrangement is very attractive, it caught his attention right away.

He smiled as he looked at the bouquet. If he's pleased with the bouquet, he's sure that his girlfriend will like it too.

He reached the restaurant one hour ahead of their call time.

"Sir, may I interest you with a glass of wine?" A well-dressed waiter approached him with a fancy bottle of wine. He nodded as he smiled. The waiter poured the wine gently on the wine glass in front of him.

He took a sip of the wine to ease his being nervous. Today, he even thought of buying a decent piece of clothing. It is to match the outfits of the people who were going inside the restaurant. He observed that only the middle-class type of family/ people or the wealthy ones can only afford to book and eat in this kind of restaurant.

He glanced at his wristwatch as the people inside started to glance at him. He booked a table for two. It was getting obvious that he was waiting for a longer time now.

He was waiting for two hours and counting. He also texted his girlfriend several times but got no reply yet.

He started to look around. Maybe his girlfriend also wanted to surprise him by being here somewhere ahead of him, too.

He stood up and simply looked around as he passed by some tables. He was a bit disappointed when he couldn't see even a trace of her around the restaurant. He was sure that he already told her the exact address of this place. He could also remember her telling him how great this place was, for countless times.

However, he couldn't even feel the excitement coming from his girlfriend. He admits, this isn't the right response he expected from her this time.

He tried calling her for three times but she kept on rejecting it on her end. He sat on the table feeling down. It's been two and a half hours of waiting. He smiled and tried to keep himself calm.

He remembered her girlfriend loves to do her make-up for almost an hour. Maybe he wanted to prepare for this special day. He knew pretty well that most girls wanted to dress up as fabulous as possible. He decided to wait for a longer time as he drank another glass of wine.

After three hours of waiting, he received a text message coming from her. His smile faded when he read her exact words.

"I'm tired. Let's break up."

***end of flashback***

I don't know how long I have run when I feel that I am almost running out of breath.

I stopped as I curled down, putting both my hands on my knees. I slowly turned my back from where I dashed off. Wow, it was approximately three kilometers of sprint running straight. I am thankful that this activity is flushing my stress out.

I am somehow forgetting that exact moment where she left me hanging. I kept asking where I went wrong when I knew that I am only loving true. She was the only one and yet she broke up with me without any valid reason.

Thanks for nothing, five years.

I realized that if someone doesn't love you anymore, he/she is willing to waste those longer years of you being in a relationship. He/she will forget the promises that you vowed when you're still together.

If she doesn't love you anymore, you will just be a memorable past that she wanted to forget herself.

"Hey, bro. It's the weekend. Don't you want to sleep more?" He was greeted by his comrade who also came past him to jog as well.

"Sleep is for the weak." He responded. It made his comrade chuckle.

'Sleep causes me nightmares so I prefer not to sleep for a longer time.'

He wanted to add this but he preferred to keep it himself.