In that instant, your billboard careened ashore on a wall of water, cracking the back of my head. I reached for balance and touched what I thought was a puppy. Then you grabbed my finger. My God, I thought. It's a baby. I fainted dead away. That's how Macon found us the next day — me unconscious on half a billboard, you nestled in my arms, nursing on the pocket of my uniform. The half billboard said: "...Cafe...Proprietor." Our path seemed clear.

I will always love your mother for letting you go, Soldier, and I will always love you for holding on.

Love, the Colonel.

PS: I apologize for naming you Moses. I didn't know you were a girl until it was too late.

Autore: Sheila Turnage