"We'll be getting off the bus soon." An elderly woman grasps her husband's hand. "I know you wanted to see it..." Her husband nods thoughtfully. "To think, all those men and women risked their lives..."
The bus pulls to a stop. The passengers walk off the vehicle to face a large wall covered in names in numbers. They're teddy bears, flowers, and letters lining the bottom. A broken Pelican wing rested on the right. "Here we are." The husband said with a sigh. The woman placed her hand against the cold slab of black stone. "All these people...gone..." The crowd behind her suddenly began to cause an uproar. Another woman pushed and prodded through the immense crowd. As she immerged from it, her features become prominent. Her hair was frizzy, with a fading brown slowing becoming gray. Her eyes looked cold and stone-like, yet still filled with emotion. The elderly woman gazed at her from afar as she kneeled beside the wall, holding flowers and a badge. She placed the flowers around the wall, stopping at a name on the stone. She traced the etching with her fingers, sighing. The elderly woman and her husband stood at the woman's side. They read the name on the stone: "Master Chief Petty Officer: John 117--MIA"
"Was he your's?"
The brown haired woman sighed, "They were all my children. All of them." The elderly woman pat her on the shoulder. "I know what it's like to lose a child." The husband nodded. "We had a son named John. He died young. It tore us apart. He was such a joy in our lives too." The brown haired woman paused, "Wait, John? If you don't mind me asking, what did he die from?"
The elderly woman shook her head. "I was fine, then one day, he just started to change. He was quiet, which was odd for him. He usually came home to tell me and his father how he won "King Of The Hill" at school. He stopped doing that, he became quiet. He wasn't 'John' anymore. We had to put him in a wheelchair, he just became too weak to walk. And then one day, he just went into a coma...and never woke up."
The brown haired woman stood up slowly, a look of horror on her face. "Ma'am? Are you alright?" The husband asked. The woman nodded. "Y-yes. I'm fine." She looked at the wife, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm...so sorry that happened to you." The wife smiled softly, "It's fine, dear. We know he's in a better place" The woman looked up to the sky. "I-I hope he is." She started to walk away when the husband called after her, "Ma'am! We didn't catch your name!"
The brown haired woman turned around. "Catherine. Catherine Halsey. And don't worry. I know your son is with someone that will protect him." She looked up to the sky. "No matter what."
