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He smiled at me and grabbed my elbow and made me sit on the bed. "You don't have to use my elbow all the time Thomas," I say. His smile widens. "Sorry. What would you rather I do?" I shrugged and brushed my fingers through my tangled hair. Thomas moved to the dresser and opened a drawer, grabbing a piece of fabric. He tied a knot in it and stopped my hand from combing my hair. He handed me a comb and I gratefully took it.

As I combed my hair, he looked in the mirror and started to perfect himself. Combing his own hair, cleaning off dirt and grime with a wet cloth, and dusting off his uniform. I snuck glances at him from the corner of my eye while I braided my black hair, using the fabric to hold it in place at the ends. Thomas brushed his hair out of his eyes and tilted his head. I brushed a few strands of hair from my face and peeked through my fingers. He had a solid build, I noticed.

Suddenly, he turned and faced me. I looked up quickly and smiled at him. Thomas stepped closer to me and pushed my bangs away from my forehead. I blinked my green eyes gazing at him shyly.

He pressed the warm rag to my face, wiping the dirt off before stepping away. Thomas gave me a smile and helped me up from the bed. A loud sigh escaped his lips and he spoke, "I hope this war comes to an end sometime soon." I sighed as well, placing my small hands in his large ones nodding. "I– I really should go now. My mother's waiting for me." I looked up at him suddenly shy again.

He let go of my left hand and put it on my cheek. "Alright. Write to me?" I nod and glance to the floor. Thomas lifts my chin and kissed my cheek. "Don't forget about me," he says. I smile suddenly. "How could I?" He laughs and pulls away writing an address on a piece of paper. Thomas hands it to me and I give him a quick hug. "Goodbye Thomas," I said before I left.

I knew I might never receive a letter back from him, but considering the strong tug on my heart strings, I knew I would write to him.

The months passed by quickly and soon it was Winter. The cold crept up at Vicksburg and soon enough, my home could not keep warm. It didn't help to build a fire in the fireplace either. At night time I usually sat by the fire with blankets piled on and write in my diary. Sometimes a letter to Thomas. Thomas always wrote back and told me where he was and what he was doing.

He never revealed their plans in case the North got a hold of them. I sent him packages of food that I meant him to share with his bunkmates. It was really hard to get good food, but I felt like I wanted to help. I never expected him to give me something in return, but he did. Thomas sent me shoes.

"I remember when we first met... you had no shoes and I did. So here are some for you," he had written in his first letter. Mail took a very long time to come and go so I wrote a ton of more letters for Thomas... I just never sent them. I could feel the warmness illuminating from him every time I got a letter. I think I am falling in love.

Maybe Thomas just wants to stay friends, and I don't want to mess that up. Today was Christmas Day, and mother was sick, so she couldn't come. So, I decided to spend it all alone in my home. I gave the mail boy a package of food for mama before bundling up and heading outside. It was snowing, the cold seeping through all of my layers.

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