The Other Things.

“You remind me of a young woman I met during the war,” Axel smiled fondly. “She was sweet and naïve. All the boys wanted to marry her. She was the pinnacle of Good, and Beauty, and Right.”

He closed his eyes, remembering her. “She was the nurse who saved my life. She always wore a little American flag pin on her lapel. It was worn from how many times she put it on.

“She was… killed thirteen days after I left the infirmary to come home. Her throat was slashed, her body mangled beyond recognition. Her killer was never caught.”