“My son, if I were to console you on your physical loss then weakness will become your armor, if I were to tell you to face your loss like the brave man that you are, you would call me harsh. And so, I choose to say nothing about your present condition only to remind you that you are an army officer. It is a path you chose to follow like did your father, who did the same in the path of your grandfather. Though, I know you had little say in the matter.

My dear Valstohl, your last letter concerns me a great deal not because your sentiments are not valid but son you are a colonel now. And when you return you will do so with pride, not otherwise. Thus, it is with this regard for you that I say to you that you cannot return to me into my home son. I love you very much from the day you were born till today. Yet our lives were separated for a reason. I still am that woman who loves her freedom, more than her family. I wish I could have been the mother you wanted and I know you wish for that to change with time.

I left you with your father because he alone could have given you the upbringing that a five-star General’s son deserved and I was not the wife your father expected and needed me to be. This much truth in one letter will not be easy for you to read yet you must know…”