She tearfully remembers the last moment she saw him. Even then, she was “gathering flowers.” Heavy clouds bury the soldiers’ words. Perhaps they knew the deceased or know his wife. The letter feels strange in the soldier’s hands. Securely holding a bible, the other soldier scarcely dares to glimpse the pain in the woman’s mind. What is the protocol for announcing death? The small clusters of flowers that separate the soldiers’ news from the woman’s intrinsic knowledge are not enough to lessen the loss.