Blistered palms leisurely graze splintered mahogany. Fingertips darken as they trace a path through the thicket of grime. Palatinate wildflowers sprout between keys in a flourish of lavender. Patches of moss curl across the piano’s tattered cover. Ivy scales disintegrating sides, trendles snaking upwards towards an ashen sky. Fallen maple leaves splatter fragmented ivory-like watercolor. Each passing gust of wind produces a piercing screech from rusted petals. Ravens sit hidden amongst branches, disembodied cries reiterating through hazy clouds. At the base of the piano, a soldier kneels. 

He holds his head in scarred hands. A gun rests across his back, held in place by a black belt along his waist. Torn and soiled clothes extend along his body, beige cotton turned a sooty gray. A tarnished gold wedding ring rests on his left hand. He removes it, rolling it between his index finger and his thumb. Calligraphy script is engraved inside the band, reading “forever.” He slides it back on, metal nestled within the grooves of his finger. 

An inky helmet sits atop greasy hair, indented and scratched. Chipped fingernails skim across its top, catching each fissure with sharp ridges. They waltz across chipped edges, glistening as they collect the morning dew. Its steel reeks of sweat and blood, carrying haunting battles within its musky scent. A round cavity sits at the foremost of the armor, smooth concaves dipping downwards into an abysmal crater. Decayed rust splatters across the top, coppered iron bumpy against the sleek surface. An eagle rests across the helmet’s base. Its chipped wings stretch in everlasting pride.

Shuddering legs gradually stand, hands unfolding to grasp splintered polish. Emerald eyes flicker across his surroundings. Maples, piano, rifle. Sweat beads across his forehead as moisture clings to bare skin, salt trailing across flushed lips. A rosy blush rises among damp cheeks, spreading across creamy skin. Rubied blood curls along cheekbones, reaching the tips of his ears. He lifts the helmet from his head, setting it on mildewed mahogany.   

Tentative notes spread through shattered wood, lost to deaf ears. Violet flowers crumple as keys rise and fall, perspiration seeping through withered ivory. Molded pins reluctantly shift, muffled murmurs resonating from a timeworn interior. His fingers quickly dance across the worn ebony, dissonant melodies echoing. He smiles, a joyful smile, parted lips silently singing of unbroken promises.  A husky voice echoes against maple trees, wavering breaths emitting eternal vows. Hymns whistle past parched lips in an innocent, clumsy love. Lungs exhale shaking melodies, breath clogged with remorse.

“Please wait, my love, please wait for me

I’ll return to you, harrowed yet free

To be reunited beneath the peach tree

My eternal love, I do decree

I will come back, just wait for me.”

His voice breaks away, the melody fragmented in the humid air. A branch falls within the darkened forest, a flock of crows leaping up from their hidden perch. Their wings desperately thrash in a frenzied panic, fleeing from unseen dangers. Beaks emit panicked cries, dilated pupils wildly scanning through fallen leaves. The sky promises safety, and their feral shrieks quiet as they hover in the open air. They converge in a single, charcoal congregation. Their mute shadow blankets land below them, feathers enveloping the trees, rabbits, mushrooms, and the soldier. Sobs reverberate through his chest as they bounce against brittle ribs. Lips curl in a heartbroken grimace. Salty tears flow across scarred cheeks, disintegrating in unkempt russet stubble. Longing washes over him in a dizzying rush, world swaying beneath his feet. Hands brace against the piano’s sides, knuckles whitened as they grip rotting wood. Her face circles through his mind, scraping against his skull. The memories engulf him. 

She wears a cotton nightgown, humming as limber fingers prance across glossy keys. Steam pours from two clay teacups atop the piano, lavender tea steeping in boiling water. He lays stretched out on the leather couch, a calico cat burrowed in his arm, sleeping. A spoon scrapes the bottom of the china as she adds two spoonfuls of sugar. She motions for him to sit next to her on the bench, patting the velvet cushioning. He carefully dislodges himself from their cat, Mia, softly walking to his wife. When he sits down, he intertwines their hands. “This is for when you’re away. A song to remember me by,” she whispers. She sings the melody four times, engraving the lyrics in his brain. He grins, fingers slowly playing polished notes, tongue recounting the tune. The lamp outside their apartment flickers, briefly darkening her face. When it ends, she turns to face him, a smile generating dimples in her cheeks. He leans in, and their lips interlock. She tastes of peaches. 

A breeze sweeps the image from his mind, replacing it with chaos and smoke. Their apartment lies in ruins around them, accompanied by the wail of a civil defense siren. People run, panicked, in the street. A mother presses a baby against her chest while steering a toddler away from the rubble, away from the destruction. Shards of broken ceramics lie scattered amongst splintered homes. The world condenses, drowning out the siren, the screams, the pain. A man sits in the middle of the havoc, blood falling from his nose and down his mouth. He holds her in his arms, planting a kiss on chalky, flushed lips. Her eyes stare unseeingly at the sky. A wedding ring lies a couple of feet away, buried beneath splintered wood.

The memories fade from his mind, tears receding as a sad smile spreads across his face. A dusty sleeve wipes across his face, drying salty rivers. He messily combs back slick locks, hair parting evenly in the middle. He removes a cigarette from a breast pocket, planting it between his lips. A lighter sparks as he slides his finger across the metallic wheel, smoke curls upwards into the darkening sky. Please wait, my love, please wait for me.

Steady hands reach for the worn helmet, placing it on matted hair. Badges clink as he brushes dirt off of his uniform. Each sparkling pin commemorates a small victory. A spider crawls from the interior of the piano, scampering away as the soldier plays a final note. He shoves the lighter back into a pocket, silver metal vanishing into the darkened abyss. I’ll return to you, harrowed yet free.

Maple trees gossip as he removes shotgun shells from his pocket, sprinkling them against peeling wood. A raven hops between branches, beady eyes greedily staring at the glittering bullets. Black shoes erase a soggy footprint of a passing coyote. Crumpled leaves litter the forest floor, blown away with each passing gust of wind. To be reunited beneath the peach tree.

He turns, steps enveloped by damp soil. Centipedes scuttle away from echoing strides, disappearing under a fallen log. The soldier takes ten steps forward before pausing. He leans against a decaying oak tree, wood splintering with his weight. A metallic click passes through the air as his hands fiddle with his belt. Cold metal stings his hands as he draws the weapon, pressing it against his temple. In the slightest motion, his finger curls around the trigger. My eternal love, I do decree- I will come back, just wait for me. The forest is silent as his body slumps against the putrescent bark.