April 29, 1775
Redding, CT
Dear Diary,
I am ecstatic, for Joshua is returning! I can hardly write, I am shaking so! Yet I worry that warfare will have changed him.Gone will be the timid, joyous boy that I loved, in his place a man with a heart hardened by bloodshed and death. I must go, for I hear the hoof-beats of Valiant, his Clydesdale stallion.
-Catherine
May 1, 1775
Redding, CT
Dear Diary,
All is not as I feared!The battlefield has been kind to my dearest friend. It took me all of five minutes to seek out and tend to Josh's wounds, all of which were minimal, thank the stars. After putting away the various jars of ointment and bandages, Josh wordlessly accompanied me to the stream, bringing five buckets of cool, clear water back to the barn for me to water down Valiant, I with two buckets, he with three. Just as I was satisfied that th edraft horse was gleaming from his ever-alert ears to the thick feathering on his dish-sized hooves, an abrupt thud wrenched from my peaceful reverie. I gasped loudly, whirled around, and then spotted Josh crouching on the edge of the hay loft, smirking wryly, holding a small cloth-wrapped parcel, a second of which I assumed he tossed in my general direction. I clapped a hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat at a seemingly impossible rate. Due to my mind still being clouded by the odd concoction of adrenaline and sheer terror, it took me a moment to realize that Josh had remembered how easily I started, and used it against me. Then, a rush of thoughts immediately appeared: I was going to climb up there and slap him, he wasn't as scarred as I thought, did he bring the bundles for me, and how did he slip them past me. I located the first item, then made eye contact with him just as he tossed me the latter, which I caught. People have always told me that I am sharp of eye and quick of hand. I fixed him with a querying gaze. Now, just what are you up to, Joshua? Then, as if he read my thoughts, he nodded towards the objects in my hands, urging "Well, go ahead, then". Glaring suspiciously at his bright gray eyes, I slowly, deliberately untangled the twine holding the cloth together. It was a beautiful new pen, and upon unwrapping the second object, I find a small pot of ink. I re-wrapped them, placed them gently in my apron pockets, then hastened up to the loft.
Redding, CT
Dear Diary,
I am ecstatic, for Joshua is returning! I can hardly write, I am shaking so! Yet I worry that warfare will have changed him.Gone will be the timid, joyous boy that I loved, in his place a man with a heart hardened by bloodshed and death. I must go, for I hear the hoof-beats of Valiant, his Clydesdale stallion.
-Catherine
May 1, 1775
Redding, CT
Dear Diary,
All is not as I feared!The battlefield has been kind to my dearest friend. It took me all of five minutes to seek out and tend to Josh's wounds, all of which were minimal, thank the stars. After putting away the various jars of ointment and bandages, Josh wordlessly accompanied me to the stream, bringing five buckets of cool, clear water back to the barn for me to water down Valiant, I with two buckets, he with three. Just as I was satisfied that th edraft horse was gleaming from his ever-alert ears to the thick feathering on his dish-sized hooves, an abrupt thud wrenched from my peaceful reverie. I gasped loudly, whirled around, and then spotted Josh crouching on the edge of the hay loft, smirking wryly, holding a small cloth-wrapped parcel, a second of which I assumed he tossed in my general direction. I clapped a hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat at a seemingly impossible rate. Due to my mind still being clouded by the odd concoction of adrenaline and sheer terror, it took me a moment to realize that Josh had remembered how easily I started, and used it against me. Then, a rush of thoughts immediately appeared: I was going to climb up there and slap him, he wasn't as scarred as I thought, did he bring the bundles for me, and how did he slip them past me. I located the first item, then made eye contact with him just as he tossed me the latter, which I caught. People have always told me that I am sharp of eye and quick of hand. I fixed him with a querying gaze. Now, just what are you up to, Joshua? Then, as if he read my thoughts, he nodded towards the objects in my hands, urging "Well, go ahead, then". Glaring suspiciously at his bright gray eyes, I slowly, deliberately untangled the twine holding the cloth together. It was a beautiful new pen, and upon unwrapping the second object, I find a small pot of ink. I re-wrapped them, placed them gently in my apron pockets, then hastened up to the loft.