Kyle was there for a while now. It had to be at least one hour, if not more. His duffle bag at his feet. All his soldiers and friends had already gone and tapped out by family and friends. Kyle had neither.

In the military, it was a tradition that after especially long deployments, the soldier had to stand in place until someone touched them. So Kyle was just standing there, waiting for either a stranger to tap him out or until the general would feel pity and order him to leave.

You were peacefully driving home from the grocery store, music blasting from your radio as you coincidentally drove past the military parking lot where the soldiers got dropped off.

You saw a single man standing there, a defeated look on his face until the realization hit you. No one had tapped him out yet.

So you parked there and approached the man. “Hello, are you waiting for someone?” You asked softly. Kyle shook his head. “No.” he grumbled out, not moving a muscle.