Chapter 3: Reality of the War (Part 2)
After spending time with his father, Alexander now departs to take the test required for joining the military. He asked his father if he would like to come with him; however, his father denied him and told him to come back here after the test, as he would be there waiting for him.
Alexander didn't say much and quickly said bye before leaving, knowing his father was waiting for him; he felt a mix of sweetness and longing in his heart; it had been a few months since he had seen his father; this meeting felt too rushed as he wanted to spend much more time with him.
He knew after taking the test it would take a few weeks before he would be joining the force like usual, and during that time he would like to spend it together with his father.
While Alexander had left for the test, William was moving around his son's room with deep thoughts in his mind. He knew he didn't have much time left with his son, knowing how exceptional his fighting and shooting skills were with his well-trained body; he knew those recruiters would be like hyenas to get him to sign the contract to join the military as soon as possible.
At his age, he could never imagine himself being like his son, which made him quite proud of him; he could feel it; his son would surely make the surname Velmora proud.
But currently, his mind is only focused on waiting for his son to come back so he can take him home and spend their last few days in their home together.
Alexander reached the testing ground where he had done his best to show his abilities in both written and physical tests; he heard the murmur of surprise and jealousy from other candidates when he was doing his physical examination, which he didn't pay much attention to, but in his heart, he thanked his father for training him well from a young age.
Just like William had expected, the recruiter, seeing Alexander breaking record after record, was surprised, to say the least; he even questioned himself if a soldier from special forces was pulling a prank on them or not. However, from his data and given Alexander's age, they accepted that a new exceptional soldier was about to join them.
So instead of the usual waiting period, they told him to come back after two days to join them, as they had decided to quicken the process of his joining.
Alexander realized the special treatment, but he didn't complain at all and was excited to come back after two days to start his military journey.
The recruiter who had seen Alexander's performance firsthand, if he had the power, would like to directly enlist him in special forces; however, being a sergeant, he didn't have the power to do so. However, knowing the urgent need for special forces, if Alexander's ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) score is high also, he can give him the 18X-Ray contract so he would have the chance to join the special forces from the start.
It is all up to him now; the best he can do for an exceptional talent like him is to quicken the process of the normal testing for him.
He has high hopes for Alexander.
Alexander, after being told by the instructor to come back in two days, left quickly knowing his father was waiting for him at home. He knew why his father was waiting for him at home; if he hadn't come here to meet him, he would have gone to his home today to spend his last few days together with him.
After reaching his apartment, Alexander told his father about everything that had happened during the test; he could see the proud look on his father's face, which made him feel quite warm inside.
While William felt proud of his son, hearing about the time they had spent together, without wasting time, he led his son, and both of them quickly departed in their car to go to their home.
During the final two days, William and his son spent almost all their time together. In these two days, the training they usually do, the intensity of the training, has increased almost twofold, but that doesn't change anything for Alexander, as he enjoyed the time even more than before. On the last day, William led his son to visit the grave of his wife, his mother.
During that time, for some unknown reason, Alexander felt a strange feeling that he couldn't quite comprehend; they had visited his mother's grave together before, but this time it felt different than before for some reason; everything they did was the same, putting the same flowers on her grave that she liked, praying for her.
Alexander ignored the feeling, thinking it might be because of knowing that he had to leave tomorrow for quite some time.
He didn't know much about his mother, as other than seeing her picture that his father had, he had never seen her; she had left him after a few weeks of his birth, but from everything his father had told him about her, he had come to love her.
Their time together is now over, and today is the day for Alexander to depart for the military joining; this time William personally drives him to the nearby military base, and at the gate, both of them say their final goodbye.
"Be sure to come back alive, my son."
Immediately after hearing his words, his body was suddenly tightly hugged by his father; he felt a slight tremor in his body.
Which for a second even made him question his decision, but after only a second of thought, he cleared his mind and came to a conclusion.
'I can't live the same way with myself if I don't do this.'
In the end, his determination still remained strong even in the face of his usual stoic father, who felt quite emotional today.
After the hug ended, Alexander noticed a little redness in his father's eyes; he couldn't see any tears, but it was enough to assume his father had shed a tear. He quickly turned around; he couldn't bear to look at his father's face right now, as if he looked at him any longer, he didn't know if he would still have the same conviction as before.
He promised to come back alive while not meeting his eyes and left with heavy steps toward the front gate; for Alexander, this is only temporary, as after completing his duty, he would come back and be able to see his father once again, and to do that—
He had to survive no matter what.
William has no one other than his son, who is the last reminder of his beautiful wife, whom he loved with all his heart, and seeing the son he had promised to protect going toward such danger is very hard for him, but there is nothing he can do, knowing the way he had raised his son; if he forcefully stopped him now, it would not be good for him.
So the only thing he can do is hope that he will return alive, and he believes he will come back.