She wrote him every day, and every day she checked the mail, anxiously waiting his replies, and they came. Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years, and still the letters flew back and forth as the war that kept her brother away from her, raged on. He told her about how rainy it was there, how much he missed the sunny skies at home. He talked about long nights in cold and sometimes wet tents, or even worse when they were out without a tent.
She told him about home, how lonely she was without him there to talk to. She told him about life with Byron, how it wasn't as bad as she thought, and that sometimes he even talked Mama into letting her do things, as long as he goes with her. She told him how she couldn't wait until he was back home so they could get their own place together, so she could finally get away from Mama's craziness.
Then the letters stopped coming, she didn't stop sending them but they quit arriving. Days turned to weeks, and still no word, she tried hard not to worry, he told her it might happen, that sometimes they had to go on special assignments and they weren't able to send out letters. When the weeks turned to months a hollow pit replaced her stomach. She couldn't eat, couldn't sleep.
Byron tried to cheer her up, taking her shopping for a special dress for her 17th birthday, but nothing helped, not even his promise of the special night he had planned for her could make her smile.
Then the knock came.
Missing in Action, that was the official report, the helicopter her brother had been in, had been found, what was left of it. No evidence of any survivors. He was gone, her lifeline had just been severed. Her world grew dark, and it stayed that way, the sun didn't dare rise on her, not after the universe played such an evil card.
Only the sun did rise, the next morning, and the morning after that, until one morning Byron came in her room. "Out of bed, Khalisee, you can't go on like this, you aren't honoring his memory by slowly killing yourself. Zacharias would want you to live, to laugh again. Today you are going to shower and brush your teeth, and you are going to walk outside with me. Tomorrow we will worry about when it comes."
Little by little Khalisee came back from the dark, and holding her hand, showing her the way was her step-father, Byron. Byron took her out to the movies, the swimming pool, he even took her out to see the ball game. He showed her that life was still worth living for.
Then it was there, her 17th birthday, she didn't know when she woke up that morning if she could do it, could she actually laugh that day, knowing her brother wasn't ever coming home to rescue her? Then she realized, she didn't need rescued, sure Mama was as nuts as ever, constantly badgering her about her clothing, her bathroom times, even her bed times, but Byron was there, he was there to talk sanity into Mama, and to make her life as easy as possible.
She slipped on the dress Byron had chosen for her with a smile on her lips, after she applied her makeup, and fixed her hair, she looked into the mirror. Mama would definitely not approve, but she knew it didn't matter, because Byron had bought it and Mama couldn't argue with Byron, besides, Byron had sent Mama to a private resort for the entire week as a birthday gift to Khalisee!
The evening was magical, Byron taught her how to waltz, and men twirled her around the dance floor all night, wishing her a very happy and very sweet seventeen. She laughed, sixteen might not have been the sweet year it was suppose to be, but seventeen was going to make up for it!
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