My Destiny

4

I was struggling to breathe, I gasped for air but couldn't get any.  I tried to open my eyes, everything seemed painful. I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, fear settling in my heart. I opened my eyes and saw a set of familiar gray eyes.

It was Cooper, she had her hands around my neck. I tapped on her back continuously, when she didn't let go, I struggled to get free. A vase fell down and broke. I tried to get some words out but it was futile. I gathered some strength and pushed Cooper away. She fell down with a thud on the other side of the office.

Cooper groaned and rubbed her head. She looked up, I was coughing and wheezing trying to catch my breath. Cooper ran towards me, she rubbed my back. She brought me a glass of water, I took two sips of the water. I had calmed down now, my breathing was getting back to normal but it still hurt to breathe. Cooper sat beside me on the couch.

"What happened? I don't remember anything, I woke up and found myself on the floor and you were struggling to breathe", Cooper said, her tone apologetic.

"I think you were having a nightmare, you sort of tried to choke me in sleep", I replied.

"Oh shit! I am so sorry. I was having a nightmare. I am so sorry Heather, I didn't know what was happening" Cooper apologised.

"It's alright. Has this happened before?" I asked.

"I don't think so", Cooper answered.

"What was the nightmare about?", I inquired.

"I was in Iraq, in the war zone. It was before my entire troop was killed. I was stuck in the crossfire with two injured soldiers. There was no way out, we were stuck there, nobody could come to rescue us without facing the crossfire. One of the soldiers, his name was Adam Wells, he was shot in the back and because of a land mine, he lost his legs. We managed to tie something to try and stop the bleeding but it was futile. We knew that we had to get him to a doctor otherwise he would not make it".

"There was no way we could keep him alive until we were rescued. It was a very difficult situation. He was crying and yelling in pain. We spent that night hoping that somebody would come to rescue us soon. For Adam Wells, it was a painful night. We prayed that he would make it till tomorrow and that by tomorrow somebody would come to rescue us. I had taken a bullet to my arm and the other soldier, Derek Parker, he lost his hearing when the landmine went off. He was disoriented and in shock. The three of us lay fully awake all night", Cooper narrated, tears were streaming down her face at this point.

"Adam begged me all night to kill him, to put him out of his misery and pain. I knew there was no way we could get him help on time but, I lied to him, I told him to hold on. To have some faith, to think about his family. To think about reuniting with his family but it didn't work. He begged me all night to kill him. By morning, I had had enough, I couldn't bear to lie to him anymore. I could not see him in pain anymore. By the next morning, he had died because of blood loss, later that night, Parker committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and I was captured three days later. I spent three night with two dead soldiers beside me, trying to protect them from the scavenging birds. When I was captured, I tried to fight them off but they were too many and I didn't have enough ammunition." Cooper was sobbing.

"The only difference was that, in my dream I was choking Adam Wells and putting him out of his misery".

I hugged her again, we talked some more, I heated up the leftovers and we both ate. We spent the rest of the night watching TV. Cooper seemed really vulnerable right now. She had gone through so much already, then she was captured and tortured, and now, she was here, grieving her parents. She is going through a very tough time and I wished I could do something to make it better.