Aurora 2024

Madeline Davis

for poker. Every time we were not being gunned down, he would beg whoever was close in proximity to play cards with him. He was dangerously good at poker, and I lost many games and quite a bit of money to him. I typically avoided such endeavors, since my mother had told me that gambling was extremely dangerous and I had always listened to my mother. One night, we were attacked by the Germans, much worse than usual, and we suffered many casualties. I, myself, was shot in the shoulder and thought death was surely coming for me. I found myself in a trench, surrounded by others who likely thought the exact same thing. I found myself next to Edward, he had been shot in the leg and was losing blood fast. “Sir”, I exclaimed, “You’re bleeding” He looked down at his bloody leg and shrugged; “It’ll stop at some point.” And he pulled out a deck of cards with a grin on his face. He asked me to play poker with him, I reluctantly agreed and I beat him with a straight flush, it was the first time I had ever done so. I thought maybe he’d be upset but the strangest thing happened. He grinned as big and as gleefully as a child on Christmas. I felt pride, in both him and myself, though I always wondered if he let me win. It was not to last though, Edward died only seconds later. I learned sometime later from someone else that he had been hit in the femoral artery, and had only moments to live. Why he spent those moments with me, I still have no idea. I think he did let me win. It’s odd but maybe he wanted me to feel some sense of joy while he lay there

30