Timed Prompt

It was Christmas Eve. Fog stuck to the tarmac at Lindbergh Field. It was only morning, the sun isn't out yet. My plane has arrived to its destination. I grabbed my bags and left my seat. The plane ride was almost 12 hours long. I just can’t wait to see my wife and kids.

I took a cab from the airport. My house was seventeen minutes away. I hope I surprise everyone. I can’t wait to see all the Christmas decorations. The tree that my beautiful wife put up. All of the presents for my kids. This is my favorite time of the year.

At 7:23 AM, I finally made it home. The Christmas lights outside the house looked lovely. I opened the door quietly. The tree looked amazing with all the lights and ornaments.  All the decorations were set up. The stockings were lined up on the fireplace. The  My family was still asleep. I decided to make breakfast. Pancakes and eggs for my little girls, Melissa and Holly. An egg sandwich and hash browns for my wife. I can’t wait to see their faces.

I heard my kids run down the stairs, my wife after them. The room was filled with screams of excitement. My dog gave me lots of kisses, I hugged everyone tightly and kissed my wife. These are the moments I live for.

“Daddy! Daddy! We missed you so much!” Holly yelled.

“I missed you girls even more. You girls got bigger and look so beautiful!” I said

"John, I thought you weren't suppose to be home until February! Oh my gosh, this is a lovely surprise. I am so glad you are back honey." My wife then kissed me.

"I wanted to surprise you guys!!" I explained.

I haven’t seen my kids and wife in eight months. My name is Lieutenant John Bass. I served in the Vietnam War. Now, I don’t need to go back. I’m done. I can now watch my little girls grow up. I can attend school plays, games, and activities. I can wake up to my best friend every single day. I can take the dog on daily walks. I missed these days.

“John, babe, thank you so much for the breakfast. I've missed you dearly. I love you so much.” My wife said to me.

“Daddy, I don’t want you to go back to war. War is bad. Stay with is.” My little one, Melissa started to say. 

“Don’t worry, darling, I’m not going anywhere for awhile.” I said with a smile. 


PS: My story and the authors concerns aren't the same. Hers talked about violence. Which my story doesn't have at all. My story is happy and heart warming. She said that almost all her students wrote about death and violence. When reading this prompt, not everyone writes about violence. Also, no terrible things happened to my protagonist. In fact, it was the opposite of terrible.