Bradley Whitford: The young soldier was trying hard not to cry. He too, blamed himself. Bent forward at the waist, groping with both hands. He seemed to be chasing some creature just beyond reach; something elusive, a fish, a frog. His lips were moving like Jimmy Cross, the boy was explaining things to an absent judge. It wasn't to defend himself. They boy recognized his own guilt and wanted only to lay out the full causes. Waiting sideways a few steps, he leaned down and felt along the soft bottom of the field. He pictured Kiowa’s face. They've been close buddies, the tightest. And he remembered how last night they'd huddled together under their ponchos, the rain cold and steady; the water rising to their knees, but Kiowa just laughed it off, said they should concentrate on better things. And so for a long while they'd talk about their families and hometowns. At one point the boy remembered he's been showing Kiowa a picture of his girlfriend. He remembered switching on his flashlight. Stupid thing to do but he did it anyway. And he remembered Kiowa leaning in for a look at the picture.
"Hey, she's cute,” he said.
And then the field exploded all around them.
Music Credit:
“Sunrise,” composed and performed by jeffrey roden from his album, Bridge to the Other Place, used courtesy of jeffrey roden and Big Tree Music, BMI.
