Introduction
It is good to write to you, after all this time. Now that we are both dead, we get to live on in this new plane of existence. Last time we met, we came to blows. I was angry at you for what you did to me, at first. But I think I understand your motivations now. I like to think that I understand you, too. You were a career officer, and war was what you have ever known. We were people from peaceful lives and vocations, thrown into its fires. You tried to keep us safe, all of us. Even if you had to make harsh decisions, sometimes.
Main body
War was different for me, as I was a soldier who knew nothing of it, before. My experience was shooting targets at a carnival, before getting enlisted. I did not have the same responsibilities you had. My concerns were largely for myself, my actions, and my duties. When I ran into that fire, I did not think about the rest, only about that girl in the fire. It was a girl, you know, not a shadow. I met her at the end of my journey. She was my 5th person, the one I was the guiltiest towards.
I managed to come to terms, with what had happened. With the pain that you caused to me, and the one I caused to others. The Blue Man, my first, said that everything in life is interconnected. Every living being, and every living soul affects one another in ways they could not possibly fathom, or foresee. Before I died, I had no idea about any of it, living separated from others, and from my real self. I lived my life thinking that it was a failure, that I accomplished nothing, and was a victim of circumstance. Being here, however, let me see the results of my day-to-day work, and how many lives I have saved, including that last one. I am sure you have saved just as many, Captain, including myself. Thank you for that.
Learning about what happened hurt at first, but it needed to be done. What I learned about you and myself is that most of us, in the end, are trying to do the right thing, even if it means our demise. I also learned about how much people could forgive. The girl I met at the end, my 5th person, managed to forgive me even though I was the reason she died in a fire, back at the mine. And if she had it in her heart to forgive me for that, how could I not forgive you?
Conclusion
I would like to end this letter by saying that I have no hard feelings for you now. Whatever you did is in the past. And besides, there is no pain here, no suffering. I can see all the people, past, present, and future, who will have benefitted from my work and grew to live their lives to the fullest. And when the girl I managed to save comes here, I will be waiting for her too. Tell her my story, so that it too would be included in the great tapestry of the afterlife. Thank you for waiting for me.