Draft

Letter By: Ashley Lin

It was an ordinary 1968 spring in Washington. In the tiny, but cozy 750 square feet house or hut in other words, John Hastings was sitting silently doing his homework while his mom, Joanne Hastings, was preparing dinner. John was wearing what he usually wore, a simple colored t-shirt and shorts. He was very skinny and had dark brown hair just like his dad’s, the same blue eyes as his mom’s, chapped lips and a normal sized nose. Joanne was a plump 45 year old that has long, curly hair that was tied in a bun. She doesn’t work so she usually goes out to buy food and cook meals for everyone. Joanne is very cheerful. She tries to make everyone feel happy even in bad situations. “Hey Dad!” John said as the door slammed wide open. His dad looked so tired that he could barely stand up. He took off his ragged coat and hung it up. “How was work?” John’s mom said. “Not many people bought newspapers today. I don’t know if we’re going to have enough money to send John to college,” John’s dad answered. “Don’t worry, you’ll have better luck tomorrow.” “Yeah right,” Steve disagreed.There was a long pause.“It’s time for dinner! I’ve made your favorite John, mac and cheese.” Just then they heard foot steps creeping up to the door. A man with messy blond hair slipped a brown envelope into their mailbox. When opened and read it, Steve was stunned. He had to go to war in Vietnam? No way! He’s not going to just going to risk his life to fight in a stupid war he doesn’t know anything about. Never! He continued reading the note. It said that if he didn’t meet there on Monday morning 8:00 sharp, he would be sent to jail. His family was devastated when they found out. He’d have to go...but...maybe...if he pretended he didn’t get the note, he wouldn’t. “Joanne! John! I have an idea but I don’t know if it’s going to work.” “What is it dad?” John called.“If we burn the note, we could just pretend we didn’t get it. There would be no evidence.” “That’s kind of risky.”“I think it’s a great idea. The food’s getting cold so you better hurry up and eat it. We can worry about that later,” Joanne said. Steve left the letter on the couch. Dinner was very silent nobody talked except for Joanne who was trying to make conversation and cheer everyone up. The next morning was Saturday. There was no school and work. Still trying to think of a way to not go without them knowing, Steve slouches into his chair and stares at the table. “I think we’ll just stick with what we’ve got. I’ll go get some wood from outside.” He brought back three huge lumps of wood and pile them up two on the bottom, one on the top. Before he stuck the envelope in, he lit up the pieces of wood. It was got really hot when the fire was burning. Even though it was spring, the Hastings put so much heat in their house. Sunday had pasted by so quickly. It’s now Monday. Steve thought it was going to be okay if he’d slept in because he didn’t need to go. There was a loud banging sound on their front door. Their door was about to come crashing down. “HELLO?! Is anyone home?” Anyways, Steve and the rest of his family

were in a very deep sleep. As I predicted it, the door slammed down. That was what woke up the Hastings. Still half asleep, Steve jumped out of bed dizzily. John and Joanne were as surprised as the man that was banging on the door. The Hastings looked like zombies that just rose from the ground. It was the same man that that slipped the envelope in their mailbox.“You were supposed to be at the army base at 8:00 sharp! It even said that on the letter!” “Uhhhh, what letter Sir?” Steve innocently asked. “You know what I’m talking about. You’re a very bad faker. I can see the letter still sitting there on your couch.”“Ththat iis aan...um...uh invitation to party Sir,”Steve stuttered. “Yes! He’s going to a birthday party of my best friend,”Joanne agreed. But the man still looked suspicious. “Let me inspect the letter.” He cautiously picked up the note, examined it, and lifted up his head angrily. “This is no birthday party invitation.” Steve and Joanne looked as frightened as ever. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,”John whispered to his parents. “My parents were covering for me. You may take me to war.” “No! Don’t do this John!” Joanne cried. Steve stared in disbelief. He was to shocked to say anything. “Well that’s settled then,” the man happily quoted. As the man dragged John out of the house, he took one last sorrow look at his parents. “No!” Joanne kept on crying until John couldn’t hear her anymore. As the years past, John never came back. But a few months after he got sent to war, he wrote a note to his family.

Dear Mom and Dad, I hope you guys are doing well. It is hard fighting here in Vietnam. We are losing the war and don’t have enough food to eat. We also don’t get any sleep. I have made tons of friends already. I never missed home this much. The general said we might return soon. I miss and love you guys so much.

Sincerely, John