a fallen soldier

I'm walking in the woods, darkness all around me. I feel as if I've stepped back in time, my dress drags the damp grass. The petticoat is all around me, straw hat in my eyes. The night is beautiful and the land has seen so much. I walk toward a figure that I spot who seems to be beckoning to me. I approach the figure wondering if he sees me. As I gaze upon him he slowly disappear into the darkness. I can no longer see him but I know he is still there. I can feel him and I feel as if he is watching me. I call out to him, begging him to appear. Wondering if my dress reminds him of someone he may have loved. I call to him and tell him to come back to our camp, that I can help him. That I want to help him and I see a figure dash in front of me. A human form that flows in front of my outstretched hand holding an instrument with a little green light. The meter does nothing but I saw him run directly in front of it. He was so quick, faster than any human can run. I turn to look and see nothing but the darkness. I call to him again and beg him to come with me. I know he is watching, I can feel his presence and I am not scared. I hear a whisper in my ear. A man's voice that causes me to turn quickly and find nothing but emptiness. This land has seen so many things, so much blood, so much life lost. I want to help him find his way home. I want him to be safe and able to move on. I feel no sadness only a gentle curiosity. He appears again from behind a tree standing there, a mere shadow in the trees. He slowly dissipates as if he is made of mist. Parts of him melting away into the darkness until there is nothing left of him. He plays with me, he follows me down the road. I hear the footsteps and again another whisper. Then I feel his hand on my back. A man who lost his life, I'm sure much too young. But who seems to still have adventure left in his soul. The most curious man I've ever met, yet a man who I can not seem to find. He is nothing more than a glimpse into the past, into a time so much different than ours today. When men were strong and fought for what they believed in. A time when they had to work hard and see sadness and pain around them all the time. To see their fellow soldiers fall in battle and see their families destroyed by war. I felt him there in that darkness while alone. I felt his presence and he mattered. His life mattered. Everything he had been through mattered if only for that mere moment in time. A moment that connected two worlds. Goodbye my new friend, goodbye my soldier. May you find your peace and may I find mine.