How Far Would You Go For Your Country?- Chapter 24
NOTE- So that's it over! Hope you've all enjoyed reading! Sorry if the ending was a bit rushed but I wanted to have it finished before I went back to class, or else I'd have had to make you all wait until May! Sorry if the ending is a bit cheesy!
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August 12th, 1945- Dusseldorf, Germany
Lily walked through the Dusseldorf suburb of Golzheim, hoping to find Oskar's home. Admittedly, she'd been sceptical in the first place about travelling to Germany, but believe fate had been playing it's hand again when she'd learned that the city fell under the British Zone of Occupation, which made it easier for her to get there through her connections. When she'd arrived though in the city centre, she'd felt her heart plummet as she saw the effects the war had had on bombed-out Dusseldorf. However, as she travelled up to this particular suburb, she noted that it hadn't been as affected as the city centre, meaning the streets signs might still be in tact (hopefully, as they were the only things she had to guide her there. As she walked along the streets, she couldn't fail to notice the vacant, soulless faces of the residents as they walked around aimlessly. Although they were technically the enemy, she felt a sense of sympathy towards them. It couldn't have been easy to have been the defeated, paying the price that she was sure many of them wouldn't have gotten into given the choice. She finally arrived at what she was sure must be the address. Walking up to the door, she paused momentarily before banging the doorknocker. Was she foolish for even coming here? Surely, if he had survived the war, he would be in an allied concentration camp somewhere.
A woman opened the door, pale and with her hair tied messily back. She looked as though she hadn't slept for a while.
"Can I help you?" she asked, eyeing Lily warily.
"I'm here to see Oskar," she said, hoping her German sounded alright, she hadn't spoken it since Christmas.
"Who…who are you?" she asked, blinking.
"I'm…I'm a friend," Lily said feebly, feeling unsure in this lady's presence.
"Come in," the woman said, stepping aside to let Lily in.
She followed the woman into the sitting room. As they entered, a girl who must have been only a few years younger than Lily stood up when she saw her. Lily looked at her, knowing instantly that she was Oskar's sister. She looked just like him.
"Mama, who is this?" she asked, eyeing Lily.
"She is a friend of Oskar's," the woman, who must therefore have been Oskar's mother said, sighing wearily.
"You know my brother?" the girl asked, her face paling slightly.
"Yes, from France," Lily explained. "My name is Lily Stone."
The girl's face paled further when she heard this, but composed herself enough to offer her hand to Lily. "I am Julia, his sister."
"It's nice to meet you," Lily replied, shaking her hand.
Julia pointed to the older woman who had opened the door. "This is other mother, Augusta."
"It's very nice to meet you," she smiled at his mother, thinking that perhaps a handshake wasn't appropriate.
"You too, my dear," Augusta replied, sighing tiredly again.
An uneasy silence spread over the room as Lily became uneasy with Julia's intense stare.
"Julia," Augusta broke the silence. "Could you take Lily to see Oskar?"
"Yes, Mama," Julia replied, walking towards the door, casting a glance back at Lily. "You coming?"
"Yes," Lily, followed her.
"We'll need to take the bus," Julia told her, shutting the door behind them.
…..
Lily followed Julia through the twisty path of what seemed like a small forest after they dismounted the bus following an hour's journey, not wanting to question where they were going, but hoping that perhaps they were going to visit Oskar at a new job perhaps. Perhaps he'd taken work on a farm out of town.
"How do you know my brother, Ms Stone?" Julia asked, looking at Lily again with that intense stare.
"I…I met him in France," Lily explained, not wanting to give too much away.
"He said as much," Julia remarked, casting another glance her way.
"He spoke about me?" she asked, surprised.
Julia nodded. "He wrote that he'd met a beautiful, charming girl. We were so pleased for him."
"Really?" she asked, taken aback. "So, was he discharged from the army?"
"Not quite," Julia turned the corner and suddenly stopped, pointing down to a small headstone. "There he is."
Oh no, Lily's face drained of colour. She couldn't believe it. "No!"
"I'm afraid so," Julia nodded almost as though she was no longer phased by it, hardened to it, even.
"How…what…when?" she asked, not knowing what to say.
"February," Julia said, sitting Lily down on a log nearby and handing her a tissue.
"How did it happen?" Lily asked, between sobs. Death was never any easier to deal with.
Julia paused for a moment, looking at how upset Lily was. "…killed in action."
"Oh," she choked out between sobs.
When she'd managed to compose herself, Lily walked over to the tombstone, kneeling in front of it. Reaching into her satchel, she took out the paint set, removing a slender paintbrush from it and, scooping some dirt out, buried it in front of the grave.
"What's that?" Julia asked, peering over her shoulder, interested.
Standing up, Lily passed the paint set over to Julia, who looked surprised to see it. "How did you get this?"
"He gave it to me in France," she explained. "He told me that I should return it if I was ever in Dusseldorf…that's why I came."
Julia took it, clearly emotioned by the sight of her brother's favourite paint set. "You came all the way to Dusseldorf just to give my brother this?"
"Well your brother really helped me in France," she replied, looking down.
Julia stepped forward, looking intently into her eyes. "Helped you how?"
"Just…helped me," Lily looked away. "I can't say anything more."
"Okay," Julia passed the paint set back to Lily.
"No," Lily handed it back to her. "He'd want you to have it. Come on, we should go back and get a bus to Dusseldorf."
Julia, holding the paint set in her hand, watched Lily walk on. She could see her brother had meant something to this girl in some way, and it was for that reason that she would never tell her that she had lied. Oskar hadn't been killed in action, like she'd said. He had, in fact, been shot to death by firing squad. His crime? Aiding the allies and betrayal of the Reich, in particular giving information to a spy in Mourmelon.
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August 17th, 1945- RAF Bridgnorth, Shropsire, England
"Home Sweet Home," Simpson let out a sigh of relief as they touched down back on the airbase a few days later. "I felt as though we were going to be in France forever!"
"Mmmm," Lily said, not really listening.
"Are you listening to me?" Simpson asked, looking over at her.
"What?" she snapped back to earth. "Sorry, I was miles away."
"Apparently," Simpson mused as she turned off the engine. "You've been quiet since you got back from Germany? Are you okay?"
Suddenly Lily couldn't hold it back any longer. "No I'm not."
She dismounted the plane quickly without a further word.
"Why not?" Simpson asked worriedly, dismounting quickly and catching up to her.
Lily began to cry. Simpson, shocked, pulled her into a hug. "Ssssh, it's okay. Tell me what's wrong?"
"I'm not happy here," Lily sobbed. "I've been doing a lot of thinking whilst we were in France and…I can't be here. It's not what I want."
"Wait, I'm confused," Simpson shook her head. "Where do you want to be?"
"I don't want to do this job anymore," Lily said, heading in the direction of the personnel offices. "I need to get to America."
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September 12th, 1945- Aldbourne
Lily dismounted the bus at Aldbourne, breathing in the home air and smiling. She always felt it when she got home. As she walked down that familiar road to her home, a million thoughts raced through her head, and most of them panicked ones. After handing in her official recognition of resignation into the ATA, they'd given her leave to go and handle her personal issues, stressing to her that she'd have to be back to complete her notice time.
She couldn't worry about that for now, however, as her head was full with trying to devise a way to get passage to America to find Bill. Christian was right, she had to tell him that it was now or never, she wasn't going to wait for him any longer.
As she walked up the steps to her door, a new thought entered her head. She hadn't been home in months nor had she written to her family- her mother was going to kill her when she realised her daughter who she hadn't seen in months was only home to pack a bag before running off again. She decided that perhaps the best thing was to try and sneak in and sneak out unnoticed. Skulking through the hallway, she tried her best to avoid the creakiest of floorboards. She passed the kitchen, where she heard the sounds of food being prepared and cheered herself mentally inside when she reached the stairs.
"Don't think we didn't hear you come in, Lily Stone!" Her mother's voice called out from the kitchen.
"Shit," she closed her eyes and sighed as she made her way to the kitchen. There she hugged her mother warmly, breathing in the familiar smell.
"Where have you been?" Mrs Stone asked, tutting at her daughter. "You haven't written in so long!"
"I'm sorry, I've been busy," Lily tried to explain.
"Well, it's been very inconvenient," Mrs Stone scolded, a smile playing about her lips.
"Inconvenient?" she echoed.
Her mother pointed towards the living room. "Why don't you go into the sitting room, dear. I think you'll find something waiting for you in there."
Blinking at her mother, Lily made her way into the sitting room. At first she didn't notice him, but suddenly the figure of someone with her back to her, staring out of the window, caught her attention. Giving it a further glance, she recognised that thick, dark hair. She put a hand to her mouth, gasping. That caught his attention, and he turned round to face her.
"Bill?" She asked simply as his handsome face beamed back at her.
"I told you I'd come for you," he smiled at her.
That was enough for her, she run to him, throwing herself into his arms.
"Of course," he continued, laughing. "I wasn't counting on having to wait here for a month until you decided to pay a visit!"
"I'm so sorry," she laughed. "But you know the funny thing is…I was coming here to pack a bag to come and see you again!"
"Really?" He pulled back, looking at her in the eye.
"Yes," She said, hugging tighter into him. "So you're really here for me?"
"My life hasn't been half as good since you left, kiddo," he said, breathing in the flowery smell of her hair. God, he'd missed it. It didn't take more than a few seconds before their lips met, making up for months of lost kissing.
She pulled back, looking down at him standing on both legs. She pointed, confused. "You have two…."
"Fake," he laughed, knocking on it. "Thought I'd give it a try."
"It looks good," she smiled.
"Don't it," he agreed, holding it out. "Plus it helps me keep my balance so that I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you to…."
She put a hand over his lips. "I can't."
His face fell. "You don't wanna come to Philly?"
She shook her head. "Oh no, I do. I do more than anything, but…I can't just leave the forces instantly. I may have to work up to another year before I can be discharged."
Almost without hesitating, Bill put a hand gentle on her cheek, stroking it. "Then we'll stay here in England til you can leave. Sound good?"
"Really?" She asked, smiling at him coyly. "You mean that?"
"I do," he said, kissing her softly, then smiling at her mischievously. "And when that's done, then I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you home."
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June 15th, 1946
Lily leaned over the railing, listening to the horn of the ship and watching the coastline of England gradually getting smaller. She took a deep breath, breathing in the sea air, feeling freer with every lungful she took. She was going to miss England and, to some extent, her time in the forces. But she'd gone far for her country, devoting 5 years of her life to the cause. Now it was time to do something for herself.
"Ready for a new start?" Bill asked, appearing from behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, shielding her from the sea breeze.
"Yes, Sir," she joked, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his lips.