Short Fiction · Chapter
The Colonel’s Romance explained
A group of middle-aged men sit around a stove, sharing tobacco and reminiscing about their old homes.
What happens
A group of middle-aged men sit around a stove, sharing tobacco and reminiscing about their old homes. The colonel recounts returning to his hometown of Crosstree, Alabama, after fifteen years, where he discovers a long-lost love note in a hollow tree—a note that had been left for him years ago. He reveals that despite the missed message, he and his beloved Nellie eventually married and now have five children.
Themes in this chapter
Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
The colonel's return to his childhood home and the unchanged landscape contrast with the fifteen years that have passed, highlighting the bittersweet nature of memory and time.
Love and Romance
The colonel's rediscovery of a lost love note and his eventual marriage to Nellie underscore the enduring power of love despite missed opportunities.
Characters to notice
- The Colonel
The colonel tells the story of returning to Crosstree, Alabama, and finding a lost love note in a hollow tree.
Key passages
“It is like seeing ghosts to be among people whom you have not seen in so long a time.”
Returning to a place after many years makes familiar faces feel like apparitions from the past.
The colonel expresses the eerie sensation of revisiting his hometown after a long absence.
“I stood there holding that little piece of paper in my hand like one in a dream.”
He was stunned and disoriented, as if in a trance, while clutching the old note.
The colonel describes his shock upon finding the long-lost letter.