“The thought comes to him seemingly out of nowhere: this is nothing like Fallujah. But the fact that he has even evoked the comparison frightens him. The fog of war has always whispered to desperate men. It envelops them, teasing them under its breath with a blind man’s bluff in which the only tag is one of death. The fog spoke to him then, amid the blood and canister flares. And the fog speaks to him now: it is seven o’clock on Christmas Eve in Aisle 28 of the Redwood City Toys ‘R Us….”

When I post new stories, I usually say “I hope you enjoy [name of story],” but Aisle 28, Christmas Eve doesn’t feel like a typical Christmas story, I guess. But I hope you’ll give it a read (it’s pretty short), and let me know if it gave you some good thinks to think about. If it does, please pass it along to someone you think should read it, consider subscribing to my Patreon feed, and don’t be shy about hitting that little heart icon at the bottom of the Medium.com page.

I’m headed south for another tour on the N.B. Palmer, so my next story will be from somewhere in the Ross Sea. Until then, please have a look at Aisle 28, Christmas Eve.

[image credit Disney Toy Collector]