Inspiration Comes from Anywhere-The Winter Soldier and Willow Creek
Hello, hello! It’s good to be back posting again! I’ve been getting more inspiration to write again lately, which is awesome! I’ve been working to finish the next part of the Willow Creek Chronicles, so hopefully it should be up before too long. Make sure you stick around until the end for a sneak peek! 😊
So one place I got some inspiration from lately was the premier of the new Marvel show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now, if you’re familiar with my blog, it should come as no surprise that my new post is about Marvel. Just look at how many post I have about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (It’s a lot.)
Now, when I first watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, I didn’t absolutely love it. I liked it, but I was comparing it to WandaVision, which was AMAZING. WandaVision was so different from anything Marvel had made before. It was crazy and strange, and it kept you guessing right up until the very end. When I watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it just left me thinking, “yeah, this is definitely a Marvel show.”
But I did get an idea for a very short story from it’s first episode. It goes along with many things in Bucky’s storyline in this episode in particular, but also his overall story as the Winter Soldier. I find the whole Winter Soldier thing fascinating in a very tragic way. Bucky was forced to do so many terrible things that he now has to live with. This story, as well as the episode itself, explores that idea.
So go ahead and check it out!
A chance encounter between the former Winter Soldier and someone from his past ends in a way no one expected.
*****
Brooklyn. I spent years of my life fruitlessly scouring the globe for him, only to accidentally stumble across him in Brooklyn. Here I was, staring across the street at a man I had hated for so long, I could barely remember anything else.
Memories of that long ago day threatened to rise up in my mind. I tamped them down and instead focused on the all-consuming anger that had kept me going since the day my parents were murdered by the Winter Soldier.
I stalked across the street, barely noticing as car horns blared and drivers shouted at me. Revenge was almost in my grasp. But as I got closer, I was better able to see the man. He didn’t look like the monster I had always imagined to be hiding beneath that terrifying black mask. He looked… human.
The closer I got, the slower I walked. I had done my research, though it had been difficult. Up until S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, most people had believed that the Winter Soldier was a myth. Not me. I had seen him with my own eyes. Once S.H.IE.L.D’s files were released to the public, I had access to all the Winter Soldier information I could ever want.
I learned that he had once been a regular man named James Buchannan Barnes. But Hydra had destroyed any trace of that former identity, hadn’t they? I wasn’t so sure anymore.
Now, he was talking to an older Japanese man, who laughed heartily at something I couldn’t hear. The Winter Soldier actually smiled. At first, I was taken aback, but then I looked closer. The smiled didn’t reach his eyes. Hidden in their depths was a world of regret and pain.
I was close enough now that he had spotted me. He leaned close and said something to the older man, who slapped his shoulder and headed into the apartment building behind them.
The thing that surprised me most about the Winter Soldier was that he had been brainwashed by Hydra, that he hadn’t done any of those terrible things by his own free will. Before now, that had never made any difference to me. I don’t know if I hadn’t believed it, or if I just didn’t care. Now, looking this man in the eye, it was obvious that he would never willingly hurt an innocent person.
This wasn’t the first time I had been face to face with him. Long ago, I had looked the Winter Soldier in the eye and lived. I had only been a child then. He could have killed me, but for some reason, he didn’t. Maybe there had been a small scrap of humanity in the Winter Soldier all along.
As I stood right in front of him today, I could tell that he knew. He remembered me. His whole face filled with a sorrow that came from the depths of his soul.
Years of anger and hatred toward this man burned inside of me. He had killed my parents. I had every right to be angry. But I couldn’t, not anymore. In front of me I saw a human suffering from guilt for things he had done, things he had no control over. I couldn’t hate him for that.
All of the bitter, angry words I had planned to say melted away. Instead, I said those three little words, so freeing to both the giver and the receiver.
“I forgive you.”
*****
Brooklyn. Even after all these years I still ended up in Brooklyn. I couldn’t quite explain why I came back here. Both the place and I had changed so much since the last time I called it home. But some things always stayed the same, and maybe that’s what brought me back.
I stood outside my apartment building with Yori, who had just cracked some ridiculous joke and was laughing loudly. It wasn’t even that funny, but I couldn’t help smiling just a little at how happy he was. His smiles were a rarity, a rarity that I was completely responsible for.
I happened to look up at that moment and spotted a young woman storming across the street toward us. The look on her face was one I was all too familiar with. I knew exactly what was coming, and it was not something I wanted Yori to witness.
Leaning close so he could hear me over the noise of traffic, I told Yori to go on inside, and that I would talk to him later. He slapped me on the shoulder before heading inside, still laughing to himself.
The woman was closer now. Her eyes bore into me with years of bitterness and fury. I’d seen the look more times than I cared to count, each and every time I deserved it.
But it wasn’t just the expression that I recognized; it was the young woman’s face. She was much older than the last time I’d seen her, a young girl with terror in her eyes. Small wonder, with what I had just done. At the time, I had only viewed them as pawns in a bigger game. They had been her entire world.
For some reason, I had spared her back then. Maybe I had thought she wasn’t worth the effort, although that reasoning had never held me back before. Whatever the reason, there was no way I could have known she’d track me down on a street in Brooklyn, of all places.
She stopped in front of me, and I braced myself for however her righteous anger would come raining down on me. But she just stared at me with those burning eyes. For a moment, I could see her as a scared little girl. What had I made of her?
This was almost more than I could stand. Whatever she was going to do, I wished she’d get it over with. Hateful words, angry blows, whatever it was, I deserved it.
But as I watched, her face softened. The storm that had raged inside her calmed. Then she spoke three little words that rocked me to the core.
“I forgive you.”
*****
And there you have it. Something not tragic happens to Bucky for once. I’ll try not to spoil anything, but I’m thinking Marvel might actually have something similar to this happen to Bucky with a character we met in episode one. So, if it does happen, remember you heard it here first! 😉
Finally, to close out, here’s a sneak peek at an upcoming part of The Willow Creek Chronicles!
*****
“Miss Elizabeth. Such a pleasure seeing you here.”
Lizzy turned to see Lucas smiling brightly.
“Hi, Lucas,” Lizzy said. “I thought I’d see you at the party last night.”
“I had some work to do. I was sorry to have missed it.” He glanced at Tia and did a double take.
“Oh,” Lizzy said. “This is-”
“Tiana Roman,” he said before she could finish the introduction.
Usually, Lucas was always ready with a quip or a comeback, but for once he actually seemed to be at a loss for words. Finally, he found his voice again. “For a minute there, I thought I was seeing your mother.”
Tia had been staring absently at the back of her phone, but she looked up now. “You knew my mom?”
He nodded and held out a hand to her. “Lucas Bridger. Your parents were some of my closest friends.”
Tia eyed his outstretched hand before shaking it slowly. “Gran’s never mentioned you.”
“I left Willow Creek when you were just a tiny thing. After…” He trailed off, and an expression of pain overcame his face. “Nadia was the best person I knew. Nick didn’t know what to do with himself after she passed.”
Tia was trying to look disinterested, but it was obvious that she truly wanted to know. “Do you know where he went?”
*****
Have a great day, and see you soon! 😊
~Jadyn