Promises Kept, Promises Broken

                                  by Fear359
                               (f/m, mud, grim)


To  the  readers  of  this  story,  this has to do with lost love, and not ever
knowing  the  reason why. So to the one who this is about if you are out there,
"I kept my promise!"

                                       *

Love! Love is a funny thing. You stand in front of all your family and friends,
and  God,  to  make  the  promise for always, and that nothing will ever get in
between  you, and the one you love. And you even promise that you would die for
them if need be. I never really understood that part until now. Let me explain.

My name is - well, that doesn't matter - and I'm here to tell you all how I got
here.  After 6 years of marriage, my wife told me that she wanted a divorce. It
was  a  shock  to the system, and with me being 3,000 miles away I guess it was
easy  for  her to do it this way. I guess that she thought that she would never
see me again, and it would be a clean break. I tried to find out why she wanted
to  leave, but I never got an answer. So I was lost for 2 years. One day when I
went into work, my boss said to me that I got orders back to Alaska, and that I
had  to  be  there in 4 months. Great! Just great! After two years of trying to
put  my life part in some kind of order, I had to go back to the place where my
ex-wife was.

Well,  as  time  went  on I told myself that I would make the best of it and do
what  I could to make myself happy. And if I saw her again, I would be nice and
friendly  and leave it at that. The day came for me to get on the road, and the
trip,  to say the least, was very hard on the heart. Don't get me wrong, Alaska
is  beautiful,  and  I  always wanted to go back, but I didin't want to go back
like this.

After  about  a  week  on  the  road  I rolled into Anchorage about 11:00 pm, I
checked  into  a motel, and tried to go to sleep. Have you ever really tried to
go  to  sleep? It just doesn't work! I must have finally gotten to sleep around
4:00  am - well I think it was four in the morning, because I was watching some
movie  about a guy took a bullet for his wife, and when he looked up at her she
was crying, and even though he was dying he smiled at her, and told her that he
would  always  love her, no matter what, and then he died. I thought to myself,
'Man, what a shitty way to die! You bust your ass to save the one you love, and
you end up getting killed.'

Well  I  got  up  and went to the base to check in and let them know that I was
here.  And  I  needed  to  go find a house and take care of a few things around
town. Well, as I walked out the door I thought, 'Well, I might as well get this
over  with. I'm gonna see her sometime and it might as well be on my terms, and
not  hers!' So with that I jumpped in my truck, and went to the place where she
last  worked,  and with a little luck I wouldn't break down and cry in front of
her.  As  I  pulled up to the bank, and asked if Jodi was in. They told me that
she  had the day off, and wanted to know if I wanted to leave a message. I just
told  them,  "Yeah,  can  you tell her that Casey stopped by to say hi?" If you
could  have seen the looks I got when I said my name! I guess that time changes
everything,  and  in  the last 2 years I had done nothing but go to the gym and
lift  weights,  so I guess I did look different. So with that I started to walk
out,  when this woman walked up to me, and I knew it was her friend Lisa. After
exchanging  greetings we talked for a little bit and she told me that she would
call  Jodi, and tell her that I was back in town and stopped by to say "hello".
I  told  her  that  I didn't excpect her to be happy to see me, but I wanted to
come by and say "hi" anyway.

Lisa  said  that  she  was glad to see me, and it was good to see her. And with
that I left the bank. I drove around to city for a while looking at how much it
changed,  and  how  it  stayed the same. I don't know why I drove to earthquake
park,  but  I  used  to  go out there all the time to think and play my guitar.
Earthquake  park  was  like  an old friend that I missed badly. After parking I
started  walking  down  the  trails, and remembering how happy I use to be, way
back  then,  I saw everything: Me and her walking down this same trail, holding
hands  and  talking  about the future. Then my face was wet. At first I thought
that  it  was raining, but when I looked up at the sky, it wasn't raining ... I
was crying - something that I hadn't done in a very long time.

The  tears  were coming down like a river, and it was hard to see, so I stopped
at  the  first  bench I came to. I knew I was hurting but I didn't think that I
was  hurting this bad. I don't know how long I was sitting on that bench, but I
heard  a  voice,  and it sounded like a scream. So I got up and started looking
around, and I saw this person off in the distance. It looked like a woman but I
couldn't  tell  until  I  heard  her scream, and when I wiped the tears from my
eyes,  I could see that it was a woman, and she had wondered onto the mudflats,
and it looked like she was sinking.

So  I took off running as fast as I could. I had to run back up the trail about
400  yards,  because  the tide had left the mudflats very unstable. I went down
the  side  of the hill, and when I looked up, it was a woman, and she was about
50 yards from me, and in the time it took me to run that 400 yards she had sunk
up  to her waist. I told her not to struggle, that it would only make it worse.
When  I made my way to her, I got a good look at her, and it was her! It was my
ex-wife!

I didn't know what to do. I could get my answers now, or she could die. I could
tell  her  who I was and just walk away, or I could try and save her. Now I ask
you, what would you do?

Well,  I  didn't  care about answers. All I wanted was her to be save, and if I
had  to  give my life to save hers then, so be it! I looked at her and told her
to  look at me, and when she did I told her who I was, and that I would not let
her  die,  not like this. I would do what I could to keep her from sinking. And
with  that I started walking toward her, the mud was sucking at my shoes and it
was  getting harder to walk. I finally reached her, and I took her by the hand,
but  she  was in too deep, and the harder I pulled to more she screamed that it
hurt. I was running out of time, and the mud was slowly pulling her in more and
more.  I  told  her  that  I  had  an idea, and with no time to lose, I started
digging the mud out from around her, but the more mud I dug away it seemed like
more poured in.

I  didn't  know what to do, so I stood right beside her, and started jumping up
and  down,  until the mud would claim me too. My plan was to start sinking, and
that  might loosen the grip of mud on her. I started sinking almost right away,
and I was up to my knees in a few minutes. I took her hands and started to pull
for all I was worth, and she started to come up a little bit, and then a little
more,  I had gotten her back up to her waist when I couldn't pull anymore. When
I looked around I could see that I had sunk to my chest, it was getting hard to
breathe,  and  I  still had to get her out of this. And for some strange reason
the  answer  hit  me,  and  I  knew that I would end up dying to save her. So I
looked  at  her,  and  told her that I was gonna dig some mud out from her left
leg,  and I wanted her to try and pull it out. And when she did, I would do the
same  with  the  right  one,  and  when that one was free I wanted her to start
rolling towards the hill where it was safe. I started digging like a mad man. I
knew  that  I  was  going to die, but if it meant giving my life to save Jodi's
then, so be it!

After  digging  what  seemed  like forever, I got her left leg free, and then I
started  on  the  right  one, and I got her right leg free. But the cost for my
digging was going to cost me my life. After Jodi got to dry ground, she told me
that  Lisa  had  called  her,  and that she came out to surprise me, but wasn't
paying attention to where she was going, and before she knew it, she got caught
in  this  quicksand like clay. I was running out of time, and she said that she
wouldn't let me die like this, and started walking towards me, until I told her
to  stop.  I told her this, "I loved you then, I love you now, and if giving my
life  means  that  you  will be safe then, so be it!" As the tears ran down her
face,  I  could  see, and feel the end was near for me, but I was not afraid. I
had  done  what  I said that I would do, with God as my witness. I had given my
life for the one that I love.

As Jodi screamed for help, I told her, "Don't bother. There is nothing that you
can  do  for  me.  I'm to far under to get out, and if you try the suction will
tear me in half." As the quicksand claims my chin, I told her this, "I told you
in  front of God and all of our friends that, if I had to die for you, I would.
This is my last gift to you, Jodi. I love you! My promise has been kept!"

I  saw  her  lips  moving, but I couldn't hear what she was saying, because the
quicksand  had poured into my ears. And as it started to claim my eyes, I could
have sworn that I saw her lips say, "I love you!" Then ... blackness!