War Has Been Waged Too Long

The Green Ranger, now a general in Rita Repulsa's army, stood in the balcony of Rita's palace on the moon! The Green Ranger was holding his beautifully crafted sword! The Green Ranger had received a communication from the Red Ranger an hour ago. The Power Rangers had succeeded in killing the traitor Goldar! Because of Goldar's death, Rita Repulsa would now commence peace negotiations with the United Nations! Suddenly, one of the colonels came to the Green Ranger and saluted. He said "Greetings, General!" The Green Ranger said "Greetings, Colonel! I trust that Empress Rita's peace negotiations with the United Nations went well?!" The colonel said "Yes, sir! They went very well!" The colonel then said "General, Empress Rita signed the peace treaty with the United Nations!" The Green Ranger said "Good!" He then said "Now, with the treaty signed, there will be peace, cooperation, and friendship between Empress Rita and the United Nations!" The Green Ranger then turned to face the colonel and said "But, remember, Colonel! Don't ever make the mistake of trusting the Power Rangers!" The colonel said "Yes, sir!" and saluted. The Green Ranger said "Very good, Colonel! Dismissed!" The colonel then left!

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Scott ran to open the door. “Well, come right in, kids! Jason’s in the living room,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks Mrs. Scott,” came Billy’s polite reply. They entered the house, and they saw Jason reading a letter. He looked up.

“Oh, hey, you guys! Glad you made it.”

“What’s this all about, Rex?” Kim asked.

“Yeah, Jason? What’s going on?” Trini added.

“Sit down, and I’ll tell you all about it.” They sat down—Kim and Zack sitting beside Jason on the couch, Rocky and Aisha sitting on the loveseat opposite them, Billy sitting on the chaise lounge, and Trini, Adam, Kat, and Tanya were sitting on the floor. Jason cleared his throat.

“Before I begin,” he said, “I want you to know that this is weird.”

“Hey, this is Angel Grove. How weird can it be?” Rocky said sarcastically.

“Are you listening, or what?”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.”

“Just read the letter, will you?” Billy said rather impatiently, which was out of character.

“Alright. But I’m telling you guys, this is Twilight-Zone-weird. Anyhow, I found this on my desk a couple of days ago.”

“Who is it from?” Trini inquired.

“You’ll know soon enough. Anyway, here goes. It says, ‘Guys, don’t worry about me. You did the best you could. Zordon was right. It was a prophecy that had to be fulfilled. You couldn’t have done anything. Just remember our good memories together. I want you guys—all of you, not just Kimberly—to move on’.”

“Is this a joke, Jase? That sounds like Tommy,” Adam remonstrated. Jason ignored Adam’s comment.

“He says, ‘Kim, you’ve always been the girl I love—right from the start. I want you to forgive me for believing you wrote that letter. I’ll always love you. To Kat, I know you loved me, and I’m thankful for that. I wish for nothing but your happiness’.” Tears began to fall—first Kim, then Kat.

“‘Trini, you may not know this, but I love you too. Nothing romantic, though. The love I have for you is that of a big brother’s love for his little sister. Billy, I’ve always believed in you, man. I know you’ll get far in life. Take care of my little sister, okay? I know you love her. She loves you too. Jase, if Trini is my little sister, you’re my big brother. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had’.” Jason read those lines with a sob.

He continued, “‘I’ll never forget you, bro, ever—how you broke Rita’s spell and freed me, the way you welcomed me into the team. Take care of Kim for me, will you? Zack Man, thanks for the song you and Kimberly wrote for me. It was an inspiration to me during the darkest points in my life. I’m grateful to you for that. Adam, keep on dreaming, man. You’ll reach your goal someday. You’ll become sensei. You’ll have your own dojo. Just believe in yourself, Adam. Rock, slow down on the appetite, okay? You’re the coolest dude I’ve ever met’.” Jason paused. Everyone was crying now. He went on, “‘Aisha, there are two things I’ll never forget about you. Number one, the warm friendship that you’ve given me. Number two, your warm beautiful smiles. You make everyone’s day, you know that? And last, but not least, Tanya. I hope Adam takes care of you. If he won’t, I’ll come back and clonk him on the head to teach him a lesson. There—I said it all. I don’t want to say this is goodbye. I want you all to move on—to remember me. I’ll always be with you. You’re my best friends. I love you, guys. And may the Power protect you’.”

Zack took the paper from Jason with trembling hands.

“‘Signed with love, Tommy’.”

“It is Tommy. I recognize his handwriting.”

Zack passed the letter on to Billy. It hit him, as realization dawned. He recognized it too.

“You’re right, Zack. Affirmative. This is Tommy’s handwriting.”

For some moments, everyone just sat there, crying. Then, they understood. Kim took her guitar and started strumming.

“This is a tribute—an ode, if you will—to Tommy, from all of us, here.”

Down the road, we never know

What life may have in store

Winds of change will rearrange

Our lives more than before

But you’ll never stand alone, my friend

Memories never die

In our hearts, they’ll always live

And never say goodbye.

They all joined hands as they offered their requiem for the White Ranger. The paper flew out of Billy’s hand, never to be seen again.