HE GRABBED A STRANGER IN THE DESERT, NEVER REALIZING WHO WAS WATCHING HIM
Chapter 9
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That evening, Daniel and Thomas sat beside a small fire at a designated rest area near the memorial site.The desert air had cooled, and the sky was filled with stars.Thomas held Michael's watch in his hands.Daniel had brought it from the military archive, where it had been stored with the remaining personal effects recovered after the operation.“I used to think that if I could find out exactly what happened,” Thomas said, “the pain would finally stop.”Daniel watched the flames.“Did it?”Thomas shook his head.“No.”He turned the watch over.“But the questions are quieter.”Daniel nodded.“I understand.”Thomas looked at him.“Do you?”Daniel considered the question.“For years, I believed that if I had been faster, stronger, or smarter, I might have saved Michael. I replayed that night in my head so many times that I began to remember things that never happened.”He stared into the fire.“I imagined different routes, different decisions, different words. I thought if I found the right combination, I could somehow make the ending change.”Thomas listened without interrupting.“But I couldn't,” Daniel continued. “I could only remember what happened and decide what to do with it.”Thomas placed the watch in Daniel's palm.“You did something with it.”Daniel closed his fingers around the watch.“I hope so.”“You found the truth.”“Some of it.”Thomas nodded.“Truth is not always a single door that opens and reveals everything behind it. Sometimes it is a long road. You keep walking until you understand enough to stop blaming yourself for things that were never yours to control.”Daniel looked at him.“When did you learn that?”Thomas gave a tired smile.“I haven't.”They both laughed softly.After a moment, Thomas asked, “What will you do now?”Daniel looked toward the dark horizon.“I'll continue serving for a while. Then I may move somewhere quieter. Somewhere I can build something that isn't connected to the military.”“What would Michael say about that?”Daniel smiled.“He'd tell me to stop making plans and start fixing the old truck in your garage.”Thomas laughed.“He would.”Daniel looked at the watch.“Maybe I'll do that.”Thomas studied him.“You know, when you first stepped out of that vehicle, I thought I was looking at a ghost.”Daniel lowered his eyes.“I thought you were going to hate me.”“I was angry.”“I know.”“I wanted someone to blame. I wanted the world to explain why a father could lose his son and be expected to accept a few sentences on a piece of paper.”Thomas paused.“When I saw you, I saw Michael. I saw the boy I had lost, and I thought you were standing there with the answer I had been denied.”Daniel nodded.“I wish I could have given it to you sooner.”Thomas shook his head.“You were carrying your own grief. I couldn't see that.”