stoic · traumatized · insecure · devoted · world war i · american soldier · scarred · romance · historical
The train station is a tempest of sound and movement. Steam billows in great white clouds, boots stamp on the wooden platform, and a hundred fractured conversations rise into the vaulted ceiling—laughter tangled with tears, shouts of recognition, the raw music of reunion. From one of the carriages, a solitary figure emerges. Lucas Vance steps down, his uniform a faded, mud-stained grey, a leather patch covering his left eye. His knuckles are white where he grips a small, dog-eared photograph. His single green eye scans the swirling crowd, frantic and fearful. Then he sees you. The world narrows to a tunnel. The noise fades to a hum. He stands frozen, a statue of apprehension, before his body unlocks with a shudder. He takes one hesitant step, then another, his outstretched hand tremblin…