— How are you feeling, Hattie?

— You already know my answer, Josh. I’m always fine.

The man laughs, relaxing in his chair and adjusting his white lab coat. His name is embroidered in black thread on the pocket, above his specialty. Dr. Joshua Cartter, Psychologist. He looks at the woman in front of him. They have known each other for a decade. She barely moves in her chair, her gaze lost but fixed on the setting sun.

He knows that look pretty well. No one is truly ready to face death. Not even when they decide to serve their country, they can wait, and imagine, but they are certainly not prepared for the amount of blood or the pieces of human flesh that explode before their eyes. Over the years, you may get used to it, but it is still a shock every time it happens… The piece of flesh is a partner you have just lost. And it kills you, little by little.

— Do you already know what you will do when you leave here?

— I heard from my aunt that my mother died.

— Are you going to visit the grave?

— No. — she answers vehemently. — I’m going to put the hotel she left me as an inheritance up for sale. And donate the money. I don’t want anything that comes from her.

Joshua already knew about her past, from other sessions they had had before. At ten years old, young Aria found herself in court as her parents fought for her custody. To this day, she says it would have been better if she had gone into the system. In part, Joshua agreed. No child should have to choose between an alcoholic father and a toxic mother.

— What does your aunt think of this?

— Same as you. Same as everyone else.

Aria had a lovely aunt. Unfortunately, at the time of the custody fight, she was not a choice since both parents were able to raise her and there was no proof that either parent was unable to raise her. After several trials, the judge made the decision. Her father won, and she had to move to California.

— And your father? Still in California?

— I have no idea…

— Are you going to visit him?

Aria laughed.

— I hate that place. — She tilts her head and sighs. — Just thinking about his face gives me a headache…

— I imagine.

Carl was never home, and when he was, he was never alone, much less sober. She often found him passed out on the front porch, high on drugs and alcohol; sometimes she would wake up to find strangers in her kitchen, half-naked, brought in the night before.

— Are you leaving with Asher, then?

— You’re asking a lot of questions today, don’t you think?

— Just worried. You know that right now I’m not talking to you as a psychologist, but as a friend.

— Okay, okay… a nosy friend.

Joshua laughed. Aria joined the army with Asher. According to her, he came into her life as a little gift from heaven. Asher came from a good family, who coincidentally lived down the street from her father. Joshua had met them once. The Blackwoods were not only wealthy but also quite eccentric people; but as odd as they were, they had good intentions and big hearts.

— Hey, Hattie…

— Hm…

— I know Asher is like a brother to you, but… Why did you follow him here? Until now?

Aria stared at him for a few seconds.

— When did you know you wanted to be a psychologist?

— At thirteen, when my brother committed suicide no one in the family noticed the signs of his depression.

— I am really sorry about that.

— It’s still painful, but I can deal with it now. Why do you ask?

— At almost eighteen, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my future… I didn’t have any specific talents, nor was I extremely good at anything. My grades were average, and in all honesty, I wasn’t really interested in anything.

— You just lived your life, day after day, without thinking about the future.

— That.

— Most young people live like this…

— Most young people have a family structure… — she sighed. — I started looking for what I could do. Something I liked and that would keep me financially stable. But, of course, I didn’t find anything.

— And time was passing…

— Exactly. I think his father felt that something was going on with me because one day he called me to talk.

Joshua nodded. Somehow, he could see some similarities in the personalities of Aria and Philip, Asher’s father. If he didn’t know them, Joshua would have said that Aria was Mr. Blackwood’s daughter. Even though he didn’t know the content of the conversation, he sensed what it had been.

— He asked me what I thought of the army. That Asher had chosen this path and that, perhaps, it could be my path too…

— Wise man. You fit in very well here…

— Is that a compliment?

— You’re tough. It’s impossible not to fit in…

— Tough… — Aria laughs.

She never considered herself tough. She was extremely quiet and didn’t like people very much. When she was younger, she often locked herself in the garage, pretending to organize things just to escape her father. But two months after talking to Mr. Blackwood, she was already training alongside Asher.

— Fourteen years, Josh. I’ve been in this shit for fourteen years…

— Do you regret it?

— Bitterly. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing death so close up…

Joshua sighed. He took out a business card and wrote his number on the back. He handed it to Aria with a smile.

— Today is my last one here too. Call me if you need to talk. I know this last mission wasn’t easy for your squad.

— Where are you going?

— I don’t know... But I’m tired of treating soldiers. Your traumas are... you’re terrible patients.

Aria smiled back, stood up, and put the card away, taking one last look at the setting sun. The view from that place was the only thing that kept her sane, but she wouldn’t miss it. She turned and silently left the room, just raising her hand and waving, without looking back.

The air was heavy as Rhodes drove the battered pickup truck away from the military base, the remaining soldiers of his squad in the back. The setting sun casts a warm glow over the rugged terrain, painting the landscape in shades of orange and purple. The engine roared, drowning out the haunting memories echoing in their minds.

Aria clutched her necklace tightly, a gift from her aunt before she joined the army. The scars of battle were etched across her face, a silent testament to the sacrifices she had made in the name of duty.

As the truck lurched along the uneven off-road track, Aria’s thoughts turned to the friends she had lost in the line of duty. Their faces flashed before her eyes. Every pothole in the road seemed to echo the explosions that had claimed the lives of those she had fought alongside.

Crush handed her a pack of citrus-flavored gum with a smirk on his face.

— Take one. I know you like those…

Aria took one and looked out at the setting sun. The truck kicked up clouds of dust as it passed through open fields and dense forests. Crush had a distant look in his eyes, smoking silently, and probably feeling the same way she did; Adine was fast asleep next to Rhodes; Max lay in the back of the truck, his cap pulled down over his face as JJ played games on his phone.

Of the thirteen people in her squad, only six survived. Their future, from now on, was unknown. The weight of leaving the military weighed heavily on Aria’s shoulders, a burden she carried with quiet resilience.

As the sun sank below the horizon, the sky became a canvas of vibrant colors. The truck rolled on, a solitary figure against the backdrop of a world in transition. A lone hawk soared overhead, a silent witness to her journey home. Something she had been trying to put off, after all, could the old abandoned house in California ever be called home?

With every mile that passed, Aria felt the ties to military life loosen. The open road stretched out before her, almost like a metaphorical bridge between the past and the uncertain future. As the stars began to appear in the dark sky, Aria allowed herself to exhale a heavy sigh, a symbolic release of the burdens she had been carrying.

The truck pulled into a small roadside diner, its neon sign flashing and welcoming the weary travelers. One by one, they filed out, their weariness a stark contrast to the quaint atmosphere of the diner. The air inside was thick with the smell of fried food and the low murmur of other customers.

The defeated group found a table in the corner, the worn vinyl seats offering a semblance of comfort. A tired waitress approached, a pencil tucked behind her ear, and took their orders without asking too many questions. It was silent until the coffee arrived, steam rising from the mugs, cutting through the heaviness of the room.

The squad leader was Lieutenant Max Hawthorne. His tired eyes looked over the group.

— In the end, it’s just us…

Rhodes nodded solemnly.

— Hard to believe, right? I thought we were invincible…

Adine looked at her coffee as if searching for answers and spoke softly.

— Losing others… is harder than I thought. Everything seems to no longer make sense…

As they drank their coffee, a silence fell beneath the table. They had a lot to say, but they didn’t have the will to do it. The future seemed uncertain for everyone there. Crush looked, focused, at the steam swirling over his mug and decided to break the silence.

“ What are your plans now? I know it won’t be easy to go back to the way we were…” He leaned forward, took something out of his pocket, and spread it on the table, his eyes scanning the worn map spread out on the table. “I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe we could start something new, together. A business, maybe… We have skills that go beyond the battlefield…”

— Starting from scratch sounds good. — JJ nodded in agreement.

Their conversation turned to lighter topics, but a shadow lingered in the background – the fear of returning home and no longer fitting in with her home, and her family.

— I can’t stop thinking about Asher… — Aria admitted, breaking the silent tension at the table.

— Neither do we, believe me. — Max said, his gaze fixed on the road outside. — They were all my responsibility, and I failed miserably.

Adine shifted in her seat, offering a reassuring smile.

— You did what you could. You were the best captain any of us could ask for. We’ve always supported each other, and that won’t change. You have unmatched resilience.

The words hung in the air, a silent pact between them all.

As they left the diner, the truck came to life, taking them away from the past and toward an uncertain future— a future they were determined to shape on their own terms.

— We are Myra. — Crush said. — We will overcome…