You read this in part 2
I stayed quiet for a while and then said, "I got married a year before I joined the army, and now it's been three years. We almost didn't live together; there were no leave facilities due to the war. We don't have any children."
There was a silence again. Was anything expected from my side? But if he wanted to say something but kept silent, I smiled and thought that silence could be helpful in such a situation.
You have read this story up to this point in part two
Part-3
But Major Atan paused for a while and said, "I think, in married life, there must not be so much tenderness in the beginning! I feel the first thing that should come between men and women is mental compatibility. And all that makes a couple understand each other on better terms.
I looked at him, but I was completely unprepared for what he said, and I couldn't find a connotation in the words that he said because they sounded so deep the way he said them.
I thought, "Could he read my mind?"
"I have no children, and now, how can there be any since my limbs would remain numb for the rest of my life? I didn't hesitate for a moment when I said it.
"Is that all you want? He looked at me ironically. Do you think the support of one child is enough to live a life for you? Major, this compassionate leave is a good joke—who else can give compassion except for God, and where is it except for death?
"If it was me, it was the end of the beginning." He continued.
I was left stunned. I couldn't speak a word. After a while, I felt that the speed of the car had slowed down to almost 10 kilometers per hour, so much so that it was giving jerks even in third gear. He changed gears a little cautiously and then accelerated, driving focused—I can say he was worried but looked focused.
Then Major Atan shook his head once, as if breaking the chain of thought, and sat down straight. After a while, he said, "Sorry, I may have said something silly. Maybe I wasn't ready for your questions.
I paused and said, "Major, I have no words to say on this topic."
"What would you say? Some things are beyond words—perhaps even beyond imagination. Do I even know what I will feel when I return home?
"Do you remember I was deputized for the military police for a few months last year?"
I knew Major Atan was trying to change the subject.
But I said with full interest, "Yes, yes. That experience must have been full of strange incidents."
''Yes. That's why I suddenly remembered one. One night, I was going alone on patrol duty in my Jeep. You know that the road that leads to the township from Happy Valley cantonment is zigzag and has ups and downs in the thickets of pine. I had just come out of a turn when I felt that something jumped out of the way and lurked on one side. I searched the edges of the clumps.
I saw a soldier trying to hide. I thought, "Is he doing something that he shouldn't be doing? Did he want to hide something that was against army rules? Was he a criminal?"
A number of questions came to my mind.
I approached him, looked at him a little, and asked his name, number, platoon address, etc.
He was out at night without a pass, but he told me that he was going to a settlement half a kilometer below. I didn't ask questions beyond that because I already knew the answer to all my questions. And I also knew that if he answered, an officer would have to punish them, which most officers don't want unless they want to bring a scandal out in the open.
To be continued...
@ty-ty doves and parrots are peaceful birds😁