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Camel - Please Come Home
The 29th monsoon had finally dried when a
distant buzzing sent Nude scrambling for cover.
A tiny plane dipped and swerved, filled the air
with swirling white and disappeared.
He cautiously approached one of the scattered
pieces of paper:
We've been writing letters each day
Hoping that you'll come home.
And we're wondering if you're okay.
As you're not on the phone.
Face the facts now
Take a chance.
Come on back now.
Fast.
Please come home, please come home.
Everyone cares for you.
Please come home, please come home.
Everyone cares for you,
Everyone.
We've been writing letters each day.
Hoping that you'll... come home.
As the sky turned to afternoon gold, Nude picked
up the rest of the envelopes and carried them
carefully up the mountain.
For a long time afterwards he sat rocking
gently. The letters fluttered... the war was
over. Long ago. But it seemed of little
consequence to Nude. For him, it had never
started.
In the days that followed, Nude was no longer at
one with his environment. He was now burdened
with the need to explain what could not be
explained to those who would never understand.
With the air heavy and his instincts dulled by
the preoccupation of his thoughts, he failed to
heed the warning silence of a normally busy
afternoon. With a gasp and a grunt he was
wrestled to the ground. A sting in his skin and
he was released. He reeled around to stare into
the eyes of familiar uniformed figures. The
sudden weight of his head plunged him face down
into sand denying him protest or the right of a
farewell glance at his island...
The band marched beneath a banner that read
WELCOME HOME SOLDIER. City streets were littered
with cheering crowds entangled in the paper
streamers that filled the air. Hailed for
his 'unquestioned patriotism' and 'heroic
bravery' Nude was unable to respond. The tidal
wave of publicity that engulfed his life had a
devastating effect after 29 years alone.
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