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[FICTION] Tales from Port Astor | I'll Be Home Soon

 Dearest Claudia,


It has been so long since I have seen you, too long. I think about our goodbye at the docks at my boarding of the Eastern Gloam to set sail for Indochina. I remember how you wept, and how I did too, as we kissed goodbye. I remember how you worried about what you heard, about how the people there attacked the French, but I told you that it was still worth it. A decision I still stand by, even though it meant being so far from home, and you. But I have joyous news; I will be home soon.


Let me tell you of my adventures! The chance to join the university expedition to parts unknown was well worth it, as it has given me so much to share with you. I was hesitant at first, watching Port Astor sink below the horizon, but if I had only known what awaited! The journey was long, and I assisted the professors with planning the route we would take overland once we arrived in that tropical land so far away. It was then, after spending so much time with Professor Garland, that I noticed how severe he had gotten after accepting this expedition, and a gray countenance he did assume-- but perhaps I was simply too harsh minded of an old man close to the end of his tenure.


Once we arrived in Indochina, we soon after departed into the jungle once all supplies and personnel were accounted for. How alive a place can feel, but so rarely did I chance a glimpse of neither animal or man. I will not bore you the details of perilous tedium while we marched on, but suffice to say, it is not a thing I should like to repeat ever again. But I recall a conversation I had with Professor Garland, and a curious item he showed to me one night as we neared our destination. I at once understood why he was how he was, and why I must do the same. I will share with you what he showed me, when I soon arrive home.


When we first spied our goal, some were dismayed that it appeared so mundane; a pile of stone in a foreign jungle, but to me and the others it was so much more. We persevered with great conviction, pouring ourselves upon the stone carved by hands so distant in time as to never have been. I recall the growing frustration, then anger, at the part of the team that just could not understand what this was. What we sought could be the end of so much that plagued the world, why could they not see? Then I remembered, that they had not seen what I had seen. What Professor Garland had showed me.


I convinced the professor that they must see, that they must understand! He finally acquiesced, and allowed me to show them all the proof of purpose that they would ever need. Some resisted, but not for very long. Not after there were more of us than there was of them. One by one, they all came to see our truth. One I hope to soon share with you. I will be home soon.


Yours,

Charles

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