Hope

A young soldier kneels next to his cot, warm sand grinds between his toes, sweat rests on his dirty brow, tears roll down his tan cheeks. Fires burn outside his tent, as fellow soldiers talk of home. The cross he bears around his neck, clenched tight in his strong fist. He begins to pray... He asks God to send him home, to the girl he loves so dear, to the son who has never seen his daddy's face. So much ahead of him, he begs for the chance to live his life! A breeze blows through his tent, cooling his body, relaxing his tense muscles. He lays in bed, as sleep comes upon him, an unknown peacefulness fills his troubled mind... Suddenly he wakes in the night, an uneasy feeling, hinting he was not alone. Rolling over he sees something in the sand, startled he quickly sits up... written in the sand, one word to lay all his worries to rest... "HOPE" no footprints, no sign of entrance looking down he sees, the cross he bears around his neck, resting in the palm of his hand!