Veteran Returns Home From War, Gets Warned by Neighbor About Going in - Story of the Day

A veteran returned home after spending months on a foreign land. He was about to enter his house, eager to see his wife, when his neighbor warned him not to. "You better stay out," the elderly neighbor said.

"The smell of your favorite perfume is still fresh in my mind. I clearly remember how beautiful you looked in that red dress when I saw you 228 days ago. I met you before leaving for the war, but I didn't know I wouldn't see you anytime soon. I hope we meet soon," Anthony wrote in his little notebook, squinting his eyes because the prison cell wasn't the perfect place to read and write.

It was cold, and the sun had almost set when Anthony penned his feelings. His stomach growled, and he couldn't remember when he had food. The last time he saw his house in the US was 228 days ago when he left for the war.

Anthony had always dreamt of joining the forces since he was a kid, but he had no idea that fate would bring him to a point where he was questioning his choice of dreams. He didn't know which country he was in or what day it was. All he knew was he had to stay alive to meet his wife again.

Soon after kissing his wife goodbye, Anthony had joined his fellow soldiers and traveled to another country for the war. They were confident about their victory, but the enemy's last-minute strategy made them lose, and they were taken as prisoners of war.

Anthony saw daylight for the first time in months a few weeks later when a soldier from the enemy's side asked him to come out. As he exited his cramped prison cell, he squinted his eyes while trying to recognize where he was.

"Hurry up!" an angry man shouted, telling him to walk towards a bus in the parking lot.

Anthony saw his fellow soldiers walking like zombies toward the bus as he exited the prison building. Their overgrown, tangled facial hair covered their faces while they shielded their eyes against the sunlight with their hands. None of them knew where the enemies would take them on the bus, and they didn't have enough energy to ask questions.

"Are they moving us to another prison? Are we going back home?" Anthony thought while he limped, desperately trying to walk fast towards the bus.

He felt drowsy, but his eyes still searched for his wife because she was stuck in his subconscious.

Despite taking medicines for the gunshot wound on his calf, Anthony could still feel the unbearable pain. He got injured during the war like his fellow soldiers before the enemies captured them.

Once everyone got on the bus, the head of the enemy's army, a muscular, tall man, commanded the driver to turn towards the main road. Meanwhile, the prisoners of war kept looking outside the windows at the alien terrain, trying to guess if they were still in the same city where they had landed months ago for the war.

"Come on!" the man in command yelled again. "Get out, y'all!"

They had traveled for an hour before the bus stopped in the middle of a stranded barren playground. One by one, Anthony and his fellow soldiers got off the bus and waited for further instructions. They looked at the muscular man with eyes wide open, thinking if he would call someone to kill them or just let them go.

Then, the man asked them to follow him into a building, where they saw the head of their country's military standing beside a group of enemy soldiers. At that moment, Anthony and his mates realized they would return to their country. They would finally land on US soil.

After exchanging prisoners of war, Anthony was taken to the US airbase with his fellow soldiers. They rejoiced at their freedom―some cried tears of joy, while others smiled wide with unfettered pride and patriotism.

Since there were limited helicopters to carry the soldiers back, the head of the military prioritized the soldiers with significant injuries. As a result, Anthony was one of the first to land in his home country after spending months in captivity.

Upon reaching the US, Anthony heaved a sigh of relief despite experiencing the worst kind of pain in his leg. The authorities immediately took him to the military hospital, where the doctors took him into the emergency room for an operation. At that point, none of Anthony's friends and family knew he had returned.

Anthony opened his eyes in the surgery room a few hours after the operation, still under anesthesia. He felt drowsy, but his eyes still searched for his wife because she was stuck in his subconscious.

"Hey Anthony!" a doctor greeted him a few minutes later. "How are you feeling now?"

"I feel better," Anthony said while looking at the doctor.

"That's great news!" he replied. "We will keep you under observation for two days."

"Would I be able to go home then?"

"Yes, Anthony. Your wound had healed on its own during the past few months," the doctor said. "I am sure you would be good with a walking aid for now."

"Oh, that's a relief!" Anthony smiled.

"Should I call Melissa right now? Or should I surprise her tomorrow?" he wondered. "I think I'll go home and tell her I'm back."

Anthony thought he would surprise his wife once the doctors allowed him to go home, unaware of what awaited him. He had no idea his wife and sister had gotten used to his absence.

Two days later, the doctors allowed Anthony to go home. "Best of luck, Anthony!" a nurse said. "You're a brave man."

"Thanks!" Anthony smiled as he hurried out of the hospital building with his walking aid.

He couldn't wait to see Melissa and tell her how much he had missed her. He wanted to give his notebook to her and make her read what he had written in captivity. On his way home, he stopped at the flower shop and bought a bouquet of fresh roses.

"My wife loves roses!" he told the lady packing the flowers. "I'm meeting her after almost eight months."

"You must be so excited to see her!" the woman exclaimed.

"I am. I am," Anthony nodded.

He sat back in the cab and asked the driver to take him home. On the way, Anthony kept thinking about what he would tell his wife. He planned to order her favorite pizza for dinner, unaware he wouldn't want to stay in her house after seeing her.

Once the cab stopped outside his house, Anthony quickly exited it and walked towards the entrance. He stood at the doorstep and slid his hand in his pocket, searching for the keys, when he heard his neighbor call his name.

"I'm glad to see you after so long, Anthony!" the elderly man said.

"But you better stay out of the house."

Anthony frowned and gave his neighbor a confused look. He was about to ask why, but his fingers touched the keys inside his pocket, and he pulled them out. He smiled at his neighbor and pushed the key inside the keyhole. He could only think of his wife's beautiful face at that moment―twisting the key to enter his house.

However, his excitement immediately turned into shock when he saw his wife sitting on the sofa leaning on an unknown man. The flowers from Anthony's hands fell on the floor as he looked at his wife's eyes, opening wide while her eyebrows arched in horror.

Melissa's face turned pale while the man beside her couldn't process Anthony's sudden return. She tried to speak but couldn't move her tongue to explain her position. Anthony covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head in disbelief. He took a few steps back, turned around, and rushed outside the house he thought was his haven.

"Why did she do this to me?" he wondered while sitting in a cab, going to his sister Angelina's house. "She couldn't wait for me?"

A few minutes later, he reached Angelina's house and knocked on her door. "Oh my God!" she shook her head and covered her face. "Anthony? You're alive?"

Anthony saw her face turn pale, reminding him of Melissa's reaction. She couldn't speak at first but somehow gathered herself and asked him where he was.

"It's a long story, Angelina," he said while entering his parents' house. She lived there alone after their parents passed away.

"It's started! It's started! Come to the hospital quickly!" Angelina panicked on the phone.

After freshening up, Anthony told his sister about everything that had happened during the past eight months. She was shocked to learn about his living conditions and told him everyone there believed he had died.

"We were told that you passed away in the war," she said while sobbing. "They gave us a patch of your uniform and said they couldn't find your body anywhere. So we had to believe that you had left us."

She told him they mourned his death for a long time before adapting to his absence. "Initially, it was tough for us to live without you, Anthony," she said. "But―"

"But then she found another man and decided to live with him?" Anthony blurted angrily. "I saw this man at her house today."

"It's hard, brother," Angelina said. "But we had to move on."

After discussing a few more things with his sister, Anthony decided to rest in her bedroom. However, he was shocked to see baby clothes, toys, and a stroller inside.

"Are you pregnant, Angelina?" he asked curiously. "Not me," Angelina shook her head while looking down, and Anthony instantly understood why she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Melissa?" he gasped.

"It's not what you think it is, brother," Angelina said, asking him to sit on the bed.

Then, she told him that Melissa learned about her pregnancy a month after he left, but she felt heartbroken when she learned about his demise.

"At that point, we decided she needed a man so the baby didn't have to live without a father. We were sure you would have wished the same," she said. Angelina thought her brother would have understood her point of view, but Anthony was furious.

"How can I be sure that's my child? I was not with her for eight months, and I saw a man sitting beside her when I returned!" he yelled.

"It's not what you're thinking, brother," Angelina tried to calm Anthony.

"How would I know if that's my child or his?" Anthony asked angrily. "I need answers!"

Angelina left her brother alone in the room, thinking he would understand the situation once he calmed down. She heard her phone ring in her room and went to answer it.

"Hi, Angelina!" Melissa said. "Is Anthony at your house?"

"Yes," Angelina replied. "He's here, and I told him everything. He just needs some time to process everything." Then, Angelina told Melissa what had happened with Anthony while he was away.

The following day, Anthony visited the cemetery to pay respect to his fellow soldiers. He was sitting at his friend's grave when he saw a familiar man pass by. Upon looking at him again, he realized it was the person he had seen at Melissa's house.

"Hi, Anthony," he said. "I'm Peter."

"Hi, Peter," Anthony looked at him from head to toe. The men beat around the bush before coming to the topic they wanted to discuss.

"Have you and Melissa slept together?" Anthony asked hesitantly.

"What?" Peter laughed. "Let me show you something."

He turned around and showed Anthony a bruise on his neck. "I tried to kiss her once, and you know what she did?" Peter asked. "She pushed me so hard I accidentally hit my neck on the wall."

"Really?" Anthony was shocked. Before Peter could respond, he received a call from his sister, her voice shaking.

"It's started! It's started! Come to the hospital quickly!" Angelina panicked on the phone. "She's giving birth!"

"What?" Anthony quickly hung up and rushed towards the hospital.

He still wasn't sure whose baby it was, but all his doubts disappeared once he looked at the baby girl. She had the same eyes as him and a few spots below her shoulder blade as Anthony did.

With tears trickling down his face, he held his baby girl in his arms and kissed her cheek. Then, he gave his daughter to Melissa and held her hand.

"Thank you for making the right decision for our daughter!" he said, her hands sandwiched between his. "I'm grateful to you for trying your best to give our child everything."

At that moment, Anthony forgot everything; all he wanted was to live a happy life with the woman he loved most. He moved in with her soon after she broke up with Peter, and they felt delighted to be reunited after months.

What can we learn from this story?

• People will move on after you leave. Anthony thought his wife and sister would be missing him, but he was shocked that they had adjusted to his absence.
• Sometimes, you have to take steps that might not seem right. Melissa found a partner for the sake of her child after learning about Anthony's death. Her decision seemed evil to him, but he later realized she was right.

Share this story with your friends and family. It might inspire them and brighten their day.

Click here to read another story about a woman who received a message two years after her son's disappearance. "I know where your son is," the text read.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to mailto:info@amomama.com