You had noticed him, the boy with the tousled blonde hair and dog tags around his neck, the lights of the café catching onto the metal. He had caught your eye immediately, that boyish smile drawing you in when he greeted you, the same way he’d been captivated by you at first sight. How come he had never seen you before?

When you’d come to take his order, he’d asked if you could sit with him. “I’m off in an hour, I know a place where we can go,” you’d told him.

When your shift ended, you walked outside to find him there, waiting for you. You had taken him to a park, the sunset reflecting its golden limbs onto the surface of the river, the leaves of the gigantic weeping willow caressing the water. You had met Simon - that was his name - only an hour ago, you didn’t know why you had already taken him to your secret spot, it was like something inside you was telling you to trust him.

He was talking about how he was going to leave that same night, he was going away on his very first mission as a newly-ranked Sergeant, and his brown eyes were twinkling as he told you that he wanted to make a difference.

He was sitting with his back against the trunk of the tree, one of his legs bent so you could lean against it, playing with a daisy you’d picked up from the ground, talking about whatever was crossing your mind.

“You know,” he suddenly spoke up, watching the sun hide behind the horizon. “I know you’ve probably got a boyfriend, but I don’t care. I’ve got no one to send a letter to, would you mind if I sent one back to you?”