Somewhere in a Desert

Desert Storm has ended. A body lies in no-man's land in the desert, across the Iraqi border between the allied front and a small Saudi village. It hasn't decomposed or burned in the sun. Its eves are open, and its mouth is smiling. No wounds show how the man died. No dog tags or insignia identify which side he fought on. The man is John Miller, an American soldier who has gone missing in action. While his wife, Mary, waits at home in the States for news of her husband, John has disappeared and died an absurd death.