He was a war dog. He didn't mean to become one but he ended up being more familiar with War and the battlefield than life. He never knew anything else than the cries for mercy, the tears, and the blood. The stench never left him and could he have boiled his skin to clean it up, the stench would always be there. He was nothing but violence and chaos. You couldn't blame the guy, it was all he ever knew in his life. An orphan at a young age, he was bred to become a war dog since he was able to walk. They turned him into a living weapon, a lethal threat and a tool they used to serve their schemes. He grew into someone who genuinely loved the battlefield. It was comforting because it felt like home. He was familiar with the sounds of broken bones, to the smell of blood and body fluids and to the pleas and cries.
On his days off, when he was allowed to have a week or two of rest, he usually spent them downtown. He was freshened up, well-dressed, to the point that he was almost handsome. His body was filled with scars he earned on the battlefield, his eyes were unusually grey and his once black hair was almost grey. His nose was slightly crooked and misplaced after having been broken so many times and he had a scar on his upper lip. He always went to the same bar, not because it was a fancy one but because he could listen to her. He would sit on a stool and order a cold beer, lose his gaze into his bottle until she appeared on stage. Then, he who almost was apathetic would remove his hat, politely, and look up to the stage. His heart would pound slightly harder against his ribcage and his eyes would grow wide as he was now focusing on her.
She was a simple jazz singer. She wasn't the prettiest or the most conventionally beautiful but she had something appealing to her. She would always wear a white dress because of the sweet contrast with her ebony skin. Her shoulders and neck would be exposed and the dress would tastefully wrap around her body and enhance her silhouette. Her black hair would be styled in a lovely bun and a pink flower would be slid on her left side. Her voice was like no other, deep and sensual and laced with a thick accent nobody could tell. She held the microphone while the diverse orchestra would play behind her and she would charm the audience and steal a couple of hearts. She was simple and sung simple songs about love and war, about sadness and depression, about joy and birth. She would be cheeky and sensual, set some hearts on fire and crush them with her heels. He was completely drawn to her.
He couldn't really tell why he felt the need to be close to her and could barely explain why after her performance he would offer her a drink, sit next to her and listen to her as she would rant about her days. It wasn't easy for her because, in spite of her talent, she was still not the huge star she was yearning to become. She could only perform in this club because it was the only one to accept people like her and because she could live above since it also was a hotel. She had no family and basically no real friends around and she wasn't happy. Why was she drawn to him? He barely talked to her. She could tell it was because the poor stranger was a man of action rather than a man of words but it was fine with her. He listened to her and faithfully attended one of her shows when he was in town. It became a habit, one she soon became addicted to and slowly but surely the Jazz singer started to sing TO him. He noticed but wasn't able to express himself. He didn't have to wait for too long though.
One day, after her show, the jazz singer grabbed his hand and took him upstairs to her room. He didn't resist, no! He was eager to actually be alone with her. Being only together would allow him to fully express his feelings for her. He relished in her scent, delicate and intoxicating just like her and as soon as the door was closed behind him, the Wardog dropped the mask. His hands grabbed her neck and waist as he pulled her into a passionate kiss, the first to many. He devoured her entire being, tore apart the delicate fabric of that white dress to expose her flawless skin to him. He tasted her, made her sing another song, the song of passion and love as he proceeded to become one with her. That night, when all hell broke loose, he discovered that they had more in common than he assumed at the beginning. They both were passionate and while he wanted to sink into what he thought was purity in her, she was searching for his darkness. The room was filled with her screams and his grunts until it was reduced to nothingness.
Everything changed after this moment of passion. The war dog had found someone to tame him and the jazz singer found a muse. Together they were creating something new, something beautiful. He found a new purpose in his life and even learned to smile whenever he was with her! Oh, they made such a lovely pair! He wanted to come back to her and live with her. He would put his skills to use, find a job, provide for her very needs and she would find a soul mate, someone with whom she would share the rest of her days. They were two broken souls that were mending each other or so they thought. War is a nasty beast. Once it's ugliness tainted your soul it became difficult to move on and he had been tainted for his whole life. He couldn't escape his fate and one day he woke up with his hands around her neck. He was strangling her! Horrified, the war dog decided to leave the Jazz singer and eaten alive by his guilt returned on the battlefield. Distraught when she learned her poor sweetheart die there, the Jazz singer started to mourn for him. It was said that her songs were so sad that it made her audience soul bleed, but none of them could truly understand how she was feeling.
She struggled for a year and even became famous (at last!) but it was bitter and sour to her and she couldn't enjoy a second of her fame. A letter someday finally reached her. It was the Wardog's last letter from the front. It said the following words.
« Love of my life. If you read those lines then I am probably dead already. I am sorry. I did the only thing I promised myself to never do. I hurt you. I couldn't live with that. I know you probably think I am selfish, but I realized that I couldn't have a normal life. I am a Wardog. I am meant to live and die on the battlefield. We couldn't fight against it, my pretty bird. Please, don't be upset. Do not cry for me. Save your tears for your wedding night and your first child. Love, if anything I could say is « Thank you. » because you made me happy. You taught me so much. How to love, how to care for someone, how to live. You taught me life and you did make me feel alive! I thank you for this. Pretty bird, remember the first day we met? I do. You were wearing this beautiful white dress and was singing « Tea for Two » and I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame because of your voice first. I didn't even see you at first, but I fell in love with your voice. It was sincere, it was honest, it was warm. You silenced my demons for a while, you almost made me feel human but I disappointed you and I disappointed me. I will keep your scent in my mind and I know I'll meet my end soon but for the first time in my life, I will go out there with a smile because you gave me something nobody ever had. You gave me life. I love you. »
Some said they heard a scream break the silence and others said they heard a lament so heartbreaking that the sky cried in support. The truth was...it broke the Jazz singer down for a while and she desperately tried to join him in death. If it wasn't for her friends and colleagues, she would have been dead already, but the jazz singer wasn't alone. One day, when her friend was cleaning her hotel room, the Jazz lady took the Wardog's letter and read it again, this time noticing a very small line she missed when she first read the letter. She could read « I beg you to keep going. Become the woman you always wanted to be. You are my future and will always be. » Words that stroke a chord inside of her. Since this very first day, she decided to make the best out of her life in memory of the love of her life she became the most prolific singer of her time and married an honest and humble man who gave her two children. She had a good life but a part of her was missing forever.
Sometimes she did sing about the war dog and about how unfair and yet beautiful life could be. They only spent a year together, but it lasted a lifetime to be true.
A lifetime.
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