Danielle and her ten-year-old son Dillon saw a sign for an estate sale and decided to stop and check it out. While Danielle went in one direction and browsed, Dillon looked around on his own. He looked at several items but only one kept his interest. Dillon found an small and old looking wood box. It was hand-carved and had a soft velvet bottom inside. The box was only 3x5 in size and maybe two inches deep. The price on the box was only two dollars so he asked his mother if she could buy it for him. Danielle looked the box over and then smiled at her son. She could tell that it seemed to be somewhat special to him.
When Dillon and his mother got home, he ran to his room with the box. He knew exactly what he was going to put inside of it. Dillon dug in his dresser drawer and pulled out a legal sized envelope. In the envelope was the medal of honor that his father received in the service. Before his father died two years ago, he had given the medal to Dillon for safe keeping. Dillon took the medal out of the envelope and gazed upon the five point star. With the blue ribbon draped over his hand he felt the ridged texture of the medal. It felt cool to the touch and was made of a strong steel. Strong as steel was how Dillon felt about his father was when he was alive. Dillon placed the ribbon and medal in the box and closed the lid. He set it on his dresser and then went into the living room by his mother.
Later that night while Dillon slept, the box on his dresser began to vibrate. It moved slightly across the surface and then stopped. Dillon woke up and glanced toward the door but didn’t see his mom. I must be hearing things, he thought. So he rolled over and went back to sleep. Before morning came, Dillon started to dream. He dreamt of his father and saw him in his camouflage uniform. His face was painted and he was standing with his rifle behind a small dilapidated building.
“Dad,” Dillon called out in his sleep.
Dillon watched as his father peeked around the corner of the building. With so many trees all around, Dillon didn’t see what his father saw. His father held his gun tight and leaned back against the building wall. He then saw his father look down next to him. There, was another man dressed in the same kind of uniform and bleeding from his belly. Dillon couldn’t tell if the man was still alive but he felt afraid for them. He continued to watch as his father peeked around the corner again. This time his father ran and hid behind a large tree. Wait, you can’t leave him there, Dillon thought.
Suddenly, Dillon watched as his father ran towards another tree, shooting his rifle. Dillon saw six other men with different painted faces running towards him. They weren’t dressed like his father either.
“Dad,” Dillon called out again.
Just then, Dillon saw his father get shot, “Dad, no,”
Danielle rushed into her sons bedroom and woke him up, “Dillon, it’s just a dream.”
Dillon woke up and looked at his mother, “I just saw dad get shot.”
Danielle tried to comfort Dillon and told him that it was just a bad dream. She reminded him that his father was home from the military when he died. Dillon remembered but he wasn’t sure why he dreamed what he dreamed then. It was just about 6 am but it was a Saturday. There was no reason to get up that early so Danielle made sure that Dillon was okay and then went back to her room. Dillon laid back down and gazed up at the ceiling.
Suddenly he heard a sound come from his dresser. Dillon sat up and looked in that direction. With the daylight starting to shine into his room, Dillon could see the small box slowly moving around. He got up out of bed and hesitantly walked over to his dresser. He wasn’t sure what to do at first but then picked up the box. When Dillon carefully opened up the box, all he saw was his fathers medal. That was weird, he thought. Dillon put the box back onto the dresser but left it open. As he turned around and walked over to his bed, out of the blue he heard his fathers voice.
“Hello Dillon.”
Dillon spun around and saw what looked like his father standing in front of the dresser.
“Dad?”
“Hello my son. How have you been?”
Dillon couldn’t believe his eyes. It looked like his father but he was somewhat transparent.
Dillon slowly walked towards his father, “Dad, is that really you? I just had a dream that you were shot.”
“I know son, I was shot. I didn’t tell you though because I didn’t want you to worry. See, they couldn’t remove the bullet from me back then because if they did I would have died.”
“But you died too early anyways,” Dillon said.
“I know I did, and I’m sorry.”
Dillon asked his father about the other man that was bleeding from his belly. His father told him that even though he was shot, he managed to kill the other men that were shooting at him, and then eventually helped his bleeding friend back to safety. He also explained to Dillon that he was very scared back then.
“I never felt so scared in my life before, but I made it through because of my faith, my family, and my friends. I know about that bully Dillon, and it is okay to be scared. But don’t be afraid though to tell to your mother and teacher about it. They will help you to resolve the problem.”
“But dad, it would be better if you were here,” tears welled up in Dillon’s eyes.
“I am proud of you son. When I died, I know that it was hard on you, but it was also very hard for your mother. She made it through because of you Dillon. You are strong. And you are loved.”
“I miss you dad, I wish you were still here,” tears ran down Dillon’s face.
“I know… I will always be close though. And take care of your mom, she still needs you.”
The transparency of Dillon’s father started to fade and Dillon tried to grab on to it but couldn’t.
“I love you Dillon,” his father said before he disappeared.
Dillon grabbed his father’s medal and hugged it, “I love you too dad.”
He plopped down on the floor where his father’s ghost appeared and thought about what he had said. He debated whether or not to tell his mother about it but then decided to keep it to himself for now. Dillon was definitely going to tell her about the bully that he has been dealing with though.
As time went on, the special box that Dillon kept his father’s medal in never vibrated or moved again but that was okay. Dillon felt that his father’s love and guidance was with him everywhere he went. He always felt that his dad was a hero and not just because of the medal. It was because of the good man that he became.
If you liked this story please let me know. It turned out to be a little different from what I usually write. Don’t forget to hit the heart, share it, and subscribe if you haven’t already.
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