The prompt is in bold.
“I'd catch a grenade for ya”, Marty yelled.
“What did you say?” His wife said startled raising her head from the pillow in the dark.
“I must have been dreaming.”
“Honey, I think you need to go to the VA and talk to someone.”
“But Vietnam was so long ago.”
“You probably need a change in medication.”
She reached for him and held him until he drifted off to sleep.
Tears came to her eyes as she thought of how many times she had done this for her husband and wondered if he would ever find the peace he so deserved.
20 comments:
Ohhhhh sad but comforting at the same time. Great way to use the prompt and catch a life struggle.
Excellent...when I read the prompt all I could think of was Vietnam !
I imagine that peace is so hard to find and so longed for. Nice work!
Really touching post, nice job.
My husband was a surgeon in Vietnam and was fortunate enough to come away from it a whole person. PTSD is real and needs more press than it gets. You did a great job of writing down a reminder of that fact.
Namaste..........cj
PTSD haunts so many in so many different ways. It is so sad that Marty can't find peace in his dreams.
Beautifully poignant.
Mine can be found After the Silence
Actually, this was a really good prompt. There is not a one of us who participate in Saturday Centus that cannot relate to this in one way or another. You did an excellent job with this!!
My Granddad used to kick out in his sleep...he was still fighting the sharks who attacked him after his ship was sunk in WWII. This brought me right back to that...I can't actually put the feeling I have into words!
So sad b/c it's so real and there are so many suffering this way. Very nicely written indeed.
~Michelle
Thanks for expressing such a prolific message so beautifully, Vikki.
xoRobyn
PTSD was so hard on those vets. Still is, I imagine. I liked this, Viki.
=)
I dated someone who would see "Charlie" in his living room. One evening, I asked him if I should call his daughter, he told me he wasn't ever married (because his 20-year old self had been single at the time).
It was a scary night.
Excellent Viki. You included this prompt into a very real situation.~Ames
Such a poignant and thoughtful piece! So sad that so many suffer like this every day. You captured the moment perfectly. Wonderful job!
Very good use of the prompt! You have used the war-motif, which is natural for this prompt, and yet you have capsuled the horrors of battle in this old soldier's nightmares. Very clever, subtle and respectful of those who still suffer long after they have left the combat zone.
It's good that this man has such a loving and understanding wife.
Beautifully written, with great feeling and insight.
Best wishes,
Anna
P.S.
Pardon my ignorance but what does PTSD stand for?? Is is 'post trauma something-something'???
Anna's SC week 42 Maisy-Jane
This was a great use of the prompt. So many suffer this type of waking nightmare every day, and it's heartbreaking. Well done! Kat
Know a couple of men who suffer from PTSD. I know their wives would feel that you've captured the horror of it's essence perfectly. Splendid writing here...
My first thought (for a second) was to go this way too, but I changed mid thought, this is an excellent way to take the prompt!
Moving piece...sometimes the pain and memories never quite go away...don't even need to in a war zone to experience it in life...
Moving, poignant and vivid.
I am so impressed with your writing here Miss Viki.
Incredibly perfect.
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