Love Began with the First Meeting

It was too early for supper. Brian had made the decision to come here too suddenly. He had only told Edgar about their arrival, while Daniel and Cathy had no idea that they were coming.

"Mr. and Mrs. Long, our Chief said that you have freedom of action. If you are not tired, you may walk around the camp," Edgar's secretary said in an embarrassed tone.

Brian nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the secretary said with a warm smile on his face. "Then, I will take my leave now. I don't want to disturb you any longer. Please enjoy yourselves." He stood at attention and gave them a grand salute.

The family rested for a while. Charlie and Evelyn said that they wanted to go see their uncle. Considering that there was sufficient time, Brian and Molly took the twins out for a walk. They asked a soldier who was on guard about Daniel's whereabouts. They walked to the training ground to look for him after getting directions from the soldier.

"I haven't seen him in quite a long time. It has been half a year since I last received his photos," Molly said emotionally. Glancing quietly at the soldiers coming and going along their way, she sighed. "Everything that happened in the past seems like a dream now." Daniel had once been addicted to a dangerous drug called "Dream" because of altercations with some people in their lives. As a result of that, the relationship between Molly and Brian had nearly come to an end. But no matter what had happened and how much they had all suffered, Molly was grateful for everything because all that had brought them here to this beautiful present.

"Weight steeplechase. Complete the round in four minutes. If any of you feel that you are not fit for this challenge, come forward right now!"

a sharp, deep voice bellowed all of a sudden.

Brian and Molly stopped in their tracks. Charlie and Evelyn looked at their parents and then at the direction of that voice. They saw a man standing in front of the steeplechase training ground. He looked mighty in his military uniform, with the shoulder badge of a Lieutenant Colonel. In front of him was a team of no more than twenty people of different military ranks varying from major to private first class, wearing their respective shoulder badges.

They stood in attention, without moving a muscle.

"If you're not confident about your skills, you'd better admit it and come forward now. If anybody here doesn't finish the steeplechase in four minutes today, he will have to wash the underpants for everybody in the battalion this evening," Daniel declared. He was glad that nobody came forward, but he was quite dissatisfied with their complacency.

"Yes, Captain!" the team shouted in chorus, the loud sound echoing all over the place.

"All right!" Daniel said, satisfied. "Red Falcon, come forward!"

"Yes, sir!" a man with the shoulder badge of a Major answered. Nicknamed Red Falcon, he was a couple of years older than Daniel and was almost as tall as him. There was a deep scar on his right elbow, which looked rather scary.

"Give a demonstration and then time the others," Daniel ordered.

After a brisk salute, Red Falcon threw the weighted backpack on his back and began overstriding the barriers. It was compulsory for all members of the special troops to pass through the barriers in five and a half minutes. However, as the leader of the Falcon Commando team, Daniel required all his men to finish the task in four minutes. He believed that if they could go beyond the limits of their bodies, they would have more chances of survival under the enemies' bullets.

"Three minutes and forty-seven seconds!"

Daniel announced when Red Falcon completed his circuit. The rest of the members were shocked, wondering whether they could perform as well as he did.

"Anybody who takes more than four minutes will be punished. And if any of you can complete it faster than Red Falcon, you can buy snacks from the canteen on my tab," Daniel said when he found the men unmotivated. Hearing that, the men burst into cheers. A private first class asked, "Captain, can I buy whatever I want?"

"Asshole..." Daniel murmured, looking at him. As a private first class, he should not have been admitted into the commando team, but he had performed excellently ever since he had joined the army. He had outstanding physical agility and comprehension skills. After leaving the new recruit company, he had been promoted to be a scout as an exception. Daniel had taken him in from the reconnaissance company two months ago. Now after two months, he had been able to catch up with the others. Daniel could reasonably predict that he would show better performances as time went by, as long as he worked hard.

Motivated by Daniel's promise, everybody decided not to spare any effort. They wanted to surpass Red Falcon. In the troop camp, especially in the Falcon Commando, everybody was busying training every single day. Going to the canteen was one of the few ways they could relax. Since Daniel agreed to pay, nobody wanted to miss the opportunity.

"He has changed so much. I almost don't recognize him," Molly said with tears brimming in her eyes. As she stared at the high-spirited and vigorous soldier, who was the leader of the top commando team in the whole country, she could no longer remember the Daniel who had been an addict.

A faint smile played at one corner of Brian's thin lips. Slowly, he said, "People do things in accordance to the place they are in... They will somehow get back what they had once missed in their life."

"Hmm?" Molly looked at Brian with a confused expression as she didn't understand what he meant by that.

Brian answered with a smile. He said, "They have finished the steeplechase. Let's go see whom Daniel will be paying for today. Maybe I will ask him to buy me some snacks too." He strode forward with Evelyn's hand in his, followed by Charlie.

Molly didn't move from her spot. Standing there, she gazed at Brian's back. A smile gradually spread from the corners of her mouth. 'It's such a wonderful thing for me to have met you in this life. It would be better for me to not know some things, but I always know that you do everything for my good. So, why do I have to go look for trouble?' she thought.

Pursing her lips, Molly strode forward too. They were still walking towards him when he suddenly saw them. Daniel looked at them in complete surprise. Gradually, he grinned from ear to ear, forgetting that his men were waiting for him to announce the result of that private first class. D