I wake up an hour later to Colt snoring on the couch across from me and no sign of Sarah.
"Sarah?" I groggily mumble, rubbing a hand over my eyes and rolling off the couch.
"Shhhhh Cash!" I hear from the other room. I slowly plod into the kitchen to see her standing by the window.
"What?!" I ask.
"Come look!" I plod over to the window to see snow falling. Glancing at the clock, I finally realize that it's midnight and I'm staring out my kitchen window staring at white fluffy stuff like an idiot because it's... well... fluffy.
"Sarah, it's midnight." I mumble.
"I know, but it's so peaceful." She whispers, staring out with a look of peace. My house sits on a plot of farmland. Out the kitchen, all you can see is corn fields and the woods on the horizon. Look slightly to your left, and one of our three barns sits on the corner of the corn and the cow pasture. It's our feed barn. To the right of the front of the house is out dairy barn, and there's a horse barn to the left of the house. Our driveway is about a half mile long, all dirt. My parents tore down the original house and built the current one. It's an old farmhouse style with vaulted ceilings, large windows, and a crazy amount of square footage.
"Come on!" I gently grab her hand and bring her to the back door.
Cash! What the heck, it's freezing out!" She says. I don't even hesitate. Stepping out onto the back patio, we stand there watching the snow fall. Remembering before it's too cold in the house, Sarah quietly shuts the door most of the way behind us.
"Cash?" She asks.
"Yeah?"
"How are you?"
My brain reeles. Honestly, I'm in turmoil. My heart feels so heavy and my chest feels like I can't breathe. My head is telling me that they're gonna get answers about where he is soon, but my heart is already grieving and trying to prepare me for the worst.
"Honestly, I don't even know anymore." I say. I lean back, and look up into the sky, watching snowflakes come down all around me. "But I'm going to hang in there and hold on, because that's what he would want."
She nods, and I can tell she's thinking deeply about it. I turn so I'm behind her, and wrap my arms around her shoulders, looking into the sky still.
"Cash?" She asks.
"Yeah?" She reaches up and grabs my hand loosely, giving me every opportunity to pull away, but I don't.
"God has him."
"I know."
"Okay, good. But I'm cold. Let's go in." She says, straight to the point. I smile a bit before leading her back in. She gets inside, and says
"I'm gonna sleep in the guest room, are you going to bed?"
"Yeah, I'm right behind you." I tell her.
I pad over to Colt and lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Huh? What? Did they find him?! Is he ok?!" Colt stutters our before even being fully awake.
"No news yet bud, but we're going to bed, coming with?" I ask. He nods, and gets off the couch, bringing his blanket with. I open the door to my room, and tear up at the picture of me and Cody on my wall. Lord, keep him safe. I silently pray. I turn around and walk out of my room. I go to the guest room, to check to make sure Sarah's good for the night. I knock, but she doesn't answer. I poke my head in, to see her out cold in bed. I want to smile, but I'm too worried about Cody. I head back to my room, crawl into bed, and fall asleep.
"Cash, Cash!"
I turn and see Cody standing there, smiling.
"CODY?! YOU'RE OK?!" I yell, running to him and jumping at him.
"What do you mean, ya dodo? Of course I'm fine." He rolls his eyes and snickers, but hugs me anyways.
"But you were MIA, they called mom and everything..." I start.
"If I ever do go MIA, just know this. God has a plan for each and every one of us, and He will get you to wherever His plan for you is. You just have to trust Him. And if His plan is for me to show His love to enemy troops in a POW camp, then I'm gonna do so."
I wake up in a complete sweat, breathing heavily.
"Cody." Is all I can whisper before I'm back asleep again.