It was so quiet. It was always quiet. There were so many noises that left with him when he left. Emil sighed and put his empty cup of tea down. How long had it been? Almost 8 months... It felt like years. He didn't know how much longer he could take. He needed him back, now.

Emil's brother, Lukas, was in the army. They only had each other and in the poor economic conditions at the time, the only job that Lukas could find was being a soldier. Lukas had to get money for his brother, so he could live, even if it meant he died for it. Times were hard, and this was the best job he could get. Emil hated it. When Lukas had told him that he was going to join the army, he sobbed and cried and begged Lukas not to, but Lukas knew what was best for Emil, and this was it. Lukas went through tough training, and when he came home every now and again, he would be so exhausted that he'd literally pass out on his bed. Emil knew that Lukas was trying hard, but he still hated the fact that he had to do it.

Then the worst part came. After all the training was complete, Lukas was told that he would be sent off to fight. The day that he left to go was awful. Emil remembered it perfectly. Lukas had stayed the night at their house, and he was again exhausted. Emil wanted to stay up and talk to him and play with him, but Lukas needed to sleep. The next morning, Lukas and Emil got up early, and Lukas was wearing his blue military outfit which looked much like a sailor suit. They then got the taxi to the airport, both of them in complete silence on the way there. There wasn't much to say at the time; it was too painful for both of them, since they were so close to each other. Once they arrived at the army airport, the two of them parted just as Lukas was about to board the helicopter. Emil grabbed Lukas' arm and begged him not to go, but Lukas of course had to. Emil was sobbing and pleading Lukas to come home in one piece. Lukas didn't even know how long he would be gone for, and he could only pray that he actually did return. Even though Lukas' expression usually stayed stoic, that was not the case this time. Tears filled his eyes and he bit his lip in sadness. He didn't say anything, and he just saluted his brother. Emil saluted back, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Lukas then quickly kissed Emil's cheek, whispering 'I love you' in his ear, and finally he boarded the helicopter. Emil watched the helicopter fly off, and he went home on his own, crying in the taxi.

8 months had gone so slowly. And Emil had no idea what Lukas was doing right now. He didn't even know if he was alive. He just hoped and prayed that he was safe. Knowing that your own brother may be laying in a hospital bed in a M*A*S*H unit right now with a sheet over his head, not breathing, was the most terrifying part of the whole experience for Emil.

The brothers didn't have parents; they had been orphans for as long as Emil could remember. They had lived in a care home ran by a couple who were nice enough, but they never really fitted in with the other kids there, and sometimes they just felt that they were invisible. The other kids were very troublesome and the couple who had run the place mainly focused on them; Lukas and Emil barely got any attention. They didn't want attention because they only really cared about each other; Lukas looked after Emil and Emil enjoyed having Lukas look after him. This lack of attention was a huge advantage to the brothers when Lukas was 15 and Emil was 12, and they decided to leave. Emil could still remember Lukas waking him up in the night, telling him that they were going somewhere. Emil was too tired to really focus on what was going on, but he did exactly what Lukas told him to; which was mainly just to go to the bathroom and put on his coat, meanwhile Lukas packed Emil's bag for him. After that, they ran. Emil didn't know where, but Lukas seemed to know what they were doing.

After two hours of walking, Emil was awake but moaning at his brother, who wouldn't tell him anything at all. However, they then reached a road with some pretty looking houses along it with a cobbled pavement. Some of the houses had wisteria on them, and all was quiet on this street. Emil stopped moaning and looked around. There was so much peace on his road. Even though it was a cold night, the younger boy felt warm inside. Lukas then stopped outside a house similar to the others. It too had wisteria on the front, and it looked homely and welcoming. Emil had an idea as to why they were there and he took a deep breath, before taking Lukas' hand and squeezing it, Lukas smiled at his brother, before taking out a key and opening the door to this house.

"Home sweet home..." Lukas had said to him, as they walked in. From that day on, they had been on their own, save for one guy, a friend who Lukas had made at school who was in his year, and he often came round to talk and be with the two brothers, since he was equally friendly with Emil as he was with Lukas. But other than that, they did everything by themselves. Lukas explained to Emil that their parents had left their money to them, and there was a pretty good amount. This meant Lukas was able to buy the house and also pay the bills. Emil had always admired his brother's intelligence.

And now, he missed it. The army needed someone as amazing and smart as Lukas, but... Emil needed him more. He couldn't express in words how much he wanted Lukas to return, safe and sound.