“... And that is why General Hawk was the greatest soldier who ever lived and will be remembered by us forever.”
A soldier of General Hawk’s Fifth Flying Regiment had spoken for a couple of minutes and now he was finally wrapping it up.
“Thank you,” Justin says. “We have one more thing to do before we can say goodbye.”
He exhales, as if preparing for something tough. “Come here,” he reaches out to Joy and takes her in his arms again. “Joy, I couldn’t bring General Hawk back. I tried and I tried. But Red was right. I don’t know how she knew, but I can’t create him again. I’m sorry for that.”
She nods.
“But we can say goodbye one last time. This is what we did when Mary died. Look up, everyone!”
A cloud appears above the small island. We all look up at it: Suzy, me, Joy, Justin, Charlie, Master Mind, and the entire Fifth Flying Regiment.
The cloud suddenly takes the shape of a face, much like a soldier in the Regiment: The hawkish nose, the eyes, and the features all seem the same to me.
Joy exhales and smiles.
Charlie says a soft “Wow!”
The figure in the cloud now has a hand. He begins to wave at us, as if saying goodbye.
“Goodbye, General Hawk,” Justin says.
“Goodbye, General Hawk,” Joy says.
“Goodbye, General Hawk,” Charlie says.
“Goodbye, my friend,” Master Mind says. “I did not join you in death last time, but I may soon yet.”
“To the air!” orders a voice behind me.
The entire Flying Regiment flies into the air and surrounds the cloud.
The face in the cloud looks at them.
All soldiers in the Fifth Flying Regiment remain in the same position in the air, only their wings flapping. Simultaneously, they all salute.
The face in the sky salutes back.
Then the cloud slowly begins to dissipate. The image disappears, then the cloud disappears as well.
The Fifth Flying Regiment flies away and out of sight.
“Goodbye, General Hawk,” Joy says one last time, looking at the tombstone.
—Told by Grampa Walt