Chapter 7: The Bridge Program
Following Miller’s advice, Daniel drove to the local Veterans Community Center on a rainy Thursday morning. The brick building smelled of cheap coffee and damp coats, but the air felt familiar.
In Room 104, eight veterans sat in a loose circle of folding chairs. The counselor, an older Marine with silver hair named Marcus, gave him a quiet nod.
Daniel sat near the back, intending only to listen. But as an older Gulf War veteran spoke about the shame of feeling detached from his own family, something snapped inside Daniel’s chest.
"I feel like a ghost," Daniel spoke up, the room falling silent. "I look at my wife and daughter, and I love them more than life itself. But I feel like I'm watching them through a pane of glass. Like the real me died over there, and only my shadow came back."
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Marcus leaned forward. "The shadow is just the part of you still standing guard, Daniel. It’s time to relieve him of his post."
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