The camp was quiet that night, the usual hustle replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence.

Macey sat beside Lieutenant Quinn, her exhaustion nearly overwhelming her.

She had barely closed her eyes for days, her focus solely on keeping him as comfortable as possible.

Now, with the camp’s quiet tranquility enveloping them, she finally allowed herself to rest.

As Macey drifted into a fitful sleep, her dreams were filled with a poignant vision.

In her dream, Lieutenant Quinn appeared before her, bathed in a soft, golden light.

He was standing in a field of summer flowers, the air around him filled with the warm, comforting scent of the season.

He looked at Macey with gentle eyes and a faint, reassuring smile.

“Goodbye, Macey,” he said softly, his voice filled with warmth.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead, a tender, fleeting touch that seemed to linger in the air.

Macey awoke with a start, her heart pounding.

The familiar scent of summer was still in the air, even though it was far from the season.

Confused and disoriented, she looked around the dimly lit infirmary.

The scent was unmistakable, mingling with the sterile smell of the medical supplies.

Her eyes fell upon Lieutenant Quinn, and her heart sank.

The gentle rise and fall of his chest had stopped. Quinn lay still, his body cold and lifeless.

Macey’s breath hitched as she realized that the summer scent was not a dream but an echo of something deeply comforting that had left with him.

Tears began to stream down Macey’s face as she gently embraced Quinn’s lifeless body.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered through her sobs.

“I'm sorry I was late...”

She kissed him one last time, her lips lingering on his cold forehead.

The kiss was a final farewell, the symbol of her love and regret, possibly even guilt.

With shaking hands, Macey moved to the desk in the corner of the room.

She picked up her pen and the stack of unsent letters, her heart aching with each word she wrote.

The letters were no longer formal reports but heartfelt messages filled with sorrow, gratitude, and love.

She addressed them simply to “Lieutenant Quinn,” her pen moving slowly across the paper.

In the quiet of the room, Macey wrote:

Dear Lieutenant Quinn,

I can’t believe you’re gone. The world feels colder without you. I still remember the way you smelled, like summer, even though it’s nowhere near that season. I wish I had more time with you, to tell you how much you meant to me...

She paused, her tears staining the paper. The words seemed inadequate, but she continued, pouring out her heart.

Even though you are gone, I will keep writing to you. I will hold onto the memories we shared, the moments of kindness, and the quiet strength you brought into my life. You will always be with me, in every letter I write, in every breath I take.

As Macey finished the letter, she looked around the dimly lit room, her heart heavy with the weight of loss.

The scent of summer, though fading, lingered in her senses, a final, bittersweet reminder of Lieutenant Quinn.

The chapter ended with Macey sitting alone, the room filled with the soft rustle of paper and the silent, poignant memory of a summer that had come and gone.